Many home water treatment systems use activated carbon filtration. It can be used as a standalone filter to reduce or eliminate bad tastes and odors, chlorine, and many organic contaminants in municipal (pre-treated or chlorinated) water supplies to produce noteably improved drinking water.
There are two principal mechanisms by which activated carbon removes contaminants from water; absorption, and catalytic reduction, a process involving the attraction of negatively-charged contaminant ions to the positively-charged activated carbon. Organic compounds are removed by absorption and residual disinfectants such as chlorine and chloramines are removed by catalytic reduction.
Carbon is a substance that has a long history of being used to absorb impurities and is perhaps the most powerful absorbent known to man. One pound of carbon contains a surface area of roughly 125 acres and can absorb literally thousands of different chemicals.
Activated carbon is carbon which has a slight electro-positive charge added to it, making it even more attractive to chemicals and impurities. As the water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the carbon granules.When flow conditions are suitable, dissolved chemicals in water flowing over the carbon surface “stick” to the carbon in a thin film while the water passes on.
Activated carbon water filters require very little maintenance, however it’s still vital to ensure that filter replacement schedules are followed so you have correct filtration at all times. Don’t wait for bad tastes and odors to return to the water before deciding the filter needs replacement as this means that the filter is no longer able to completely remove contaminants and that it has surpassed its service life. Simply call your water cooler company and have them send someone out to change the filter. They should automatically do this if it has been six months already.
If you would like any further information please call DrinkingWaterFountains.co.uk on 0845 500 4455 or email contact@drinkingwaterfountains.co.uk
