- Adsorption
- The binding of particles or molecules to the surface of a material, as distinguished from absorption, where pores in a solid material are filled. The most common adsorbent materials include carbon, alumina, and silica gel. Compounds with color, taste and odor bind well to adsorbent materials, which is why they are commonly used in air and water purifier designs.
- Absorption
- A physical or chemical process or where ions, molecules or atoms fill pores in the absorbing material. In the body, absorption describes the uptake of nutrients from food in the digestive tract, or cellular uptake of a substance.
- Bioceramic Water Amplification (BCWA)
- Bioceramic Water Amplification (BCWA): Filters that achieve the same result as electric water ionizers, usually with a higher pH, lower ORP (more effective as an antioxidant), higher levels of OH- (hydroxyl ions), and considerably higher levels of dissolved ionic minerals (negatively charged) including magnesium, potassium and calcium than can be achieved with electric ionizers. Bioceramic water amplifiers are available as inline filters added to traditional water treatment systems, as a drinking water glass (Alkalark) that has bioceramic minerals at the bottom, and as small thin “sticks” that can be added to any bottle of water (Balance Water Sticks).
- Ceramic
- Inorganic, nonmetallic materials processed or consolidated at high temperature. This definition includes a wide range of materials known as advanced ceramics and is much broader than the common dictionary definition, which includes only pottery, tile, porcelain, etc. The classes of materials generally considered to be ceramics are oxides, nitrides, borides, carbides, silicides, and sulfides. Ceramic materials can be subdivided into traditional and advanced ceramics. Traditional ceramics include clay-base materials such as brick, tile, sanitary ware, dinnerware, clay pipe, and electrical porcelain. Glass, cement, abrasives, and refractories are important classes of traditional ceramics.Ceramic water filters, often called ceramic candles, are made from Kieselguhr Diatomaceous Earth and fired to above 1000 degrees Celsius. Over 80,000 overlapping pores make up each element. With filtration to .9 of a micron and 99.999% rejection of bacteria and cysts, ceramic filters reject bacteria and foreign particles as small as .2 of a micron are trapped on the outside of the element while the water passes through the ceramic wall to the inside of the element. Ceramic candles are rigorously tested and fully certified, and are excellent choices for microbiologically unsafe water. Ceramic water filters are in use in over 150 countries.
The latest ceramic technology features a three stage filter that is bacteriostatic (self sterilizing), as the ceramic material is impregnated with silver to ensure trapped bacteria is killed, to prevent bacterial colonization in the filter. Stages 2 and 3 provide “post filtration,” utilizing materials inside the ceramic shell that include a zeolite metal ion reduction medium, granular carbon and powdered carbon to form a tightly packed matrix that provides chemical reduction of chlorine, pesticides and solvents, and heavy metal reduction (lead, aluminum, mercury, iron, etc.).
- Chloride
- Chloride is required for normal metabolism (the process of turning food into energy) and to control acid-base balance. The amount of chloride in the blood is carefully controlled by the kidneys. One of the most important electrolytes in the blood, chloride helps keep the amount of fluid inside and outside of your cells in balance, while helping to maintain proper blood volume, blood pressure, and pH of your body fluids. Tests for sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate are usually done at the same time as a blood test for chloride.Most of the chloride in your body comes from the salt (sodium chloride) you eat, however many supplements, including Concentrace are important sources of chloride. Chloride ions are secreted in the gastric juice as hydrochloric acid, which is essential for the digestion of food. Chloride is absorbed by your intestines when you digest food. Extra chloride leaves your body through your urine.
Chloride ions have important physiological roles. For instance, in the central nervous system, the inhibitory action of glycine and the conversion of GABA depends on chloride. Also, the chloride-bicarbonate exchanger biological transport protein relies on the chloride ion to increase the blood’s capacity of carbon dioxide, in the form of the bicarbonate ion.
- Chlorine
- A member of the halogen family of elements (with iodine, bromine, astatine and fluorine). Chlorine is a poisonous gas used to kill harmful bacteria in water and to sanitize industrial waste and sewage. Chlorine is also used to bleach paper, in the manufacture of petroleum products, antiseptics, solvents, paints, plastics and many consumer products. Chlorine combines with plant material in water to form trihalomethanes (THMs) which are carcinogenic compounds. New research has found that nature’s most valuable anti-cancer and anti-disease phytochemical nutrients which are commonly found in food (soy, fruits, vegetables, green tea catechins, vitamins, etc.), form deadly cancer causing substances called MX (unknown mutagen) when consumed or combined with chlorinated tap water.» More on chlorine.
- Distillation
- The process of heating a liquid until it boils, capturing and cooling the resultant hot vapors (steam), and collecting the condensed vapors.
- Electric Alkaline Water Systems
- (Micro Water Machines, Water Ionizers, etc.) Electric water treatment systems that utilize low voltage electrically charged titanium plates to create ionized water. Water that has dissolved minerals (distilled or RO water cannot be ionized) that has been passed over platinum plated titanium plates is ionized, with the water being effectively split in half, with OH-, one atom of oxygen and one atom of hydrogen negatively charged – the Hydroxyl ion (alkaline water), coming out of the alkaline water faucet, and HO, one atom of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen, which is acid (oxidized) water, or H+, coming out of the acid water hose. Acid water is useful for cleaning and germicidal uses.
- Filter
- A porous material through which a liquid or gas is passed in order to separate the fluid from suspended particulate matter, or a device containing such a material, especially one used to extract impurities from air or water.
- Fluoride
- Sodium fluoride (NaF) is used as a cleaning agent, often to remove iron stains, and to enhance the strength of teeth by the formation of fluoroapatite, a naturally occurring component of tooth enamel. In the US, NaF was once used to fluoridate drinking water but its use has been displaced by hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6) or the related sodium salt (Na2SiF6).Toothpaste often contains sodium fluoride to prevent cavities. Entire books (The Fluoride Deception, by Christopher Bryson) have been written about the dangers of fluoride. Fluoride is added to most municipal water supplies, as the American Dental Association (ADA), and the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) believe that the addition of fluoride to drinking water results in a decrease in tooth decay.Fluoride, like chlorine, is a halogen gas, and is one of the most bone seeking elements known to man. Fluoride has been linked to higher rates of osteosarcoma in young boys, is more toxic than lead, and has been shown to depress thyroid function. There has never been an independent, controlled study to confirm a health benefit from fluoride, and continental Europe does not fluoridate water.
- Hard Water
- Hard water contains excessively high levels of calcium (lime) and magnesium, which causes mineral build-up in showerheads, dishwashers, pipes, and water heaters, reducing water flow. In addition, soap and detergent lathering is reduced causing less effective cleaning, with soap scum on glasses and dishes and lime deposits on bathroom fixtures, toilets and bathtubs.Water hardness is measured with five different classifications and can be expressed in mg/litre or parts per million (ppm) or grains per gallon (gpg):
soft » below 17 mg/litre or ppm (0 – 1 gpg)
slightly hard » 17.1 – 60 mg/litre or ppm (1.1 – 3.5 gpg)
moderately hard » 61 – 120 mg/litre or ppm (3.6 – 7 gpg)
hard » 121 – 180 mg/litre or ppm (7.1 – 10.5 gpg)
very hard » over 180 mg/litre (over 10.5 gpg) - Inline Filter
- An inline water filter is a sealed plastic device normally used to filter water that supplies ice makers and water dispensers in refrigerators. Inline filter designs are also used to add specific filtering capabilities to traditional 10” water treatment designs, by installing horizontally above the 10” vertical filter housings.
- Ionized Water
- Water with a higher concentration of negative hydrogen ions (hydroxyl ions), ionized minerals (minerals with a negative charge), alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. Compared to non-ionized water, ionized water has a lower Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), giving ionized water antioxidant properties and a reduced water cluster size, thought to increase cellular hydration and nutrient absorption. Ionized water has increased levels of negatively charged hydrogen ions (OH-), also called hydroxyl ions, which have the ability to donate electrons to counteract the damaging effects of positively charged ions (oxidants), also called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).Ionized water can be produced by three methods, including (1) electrolysis, where water is passed over low voltage electrically charged titanium plates that have been plated (coated) with platinum, (2) by passing water over bioceramic minerals as are used in Bioceramic Water Amplifiers (Bioceramic Inline Water Amplifiers, Alklark, and Balance Water Sticks), and (3) by the addition of liquids designed to increase pH, oxygen and negative hydrogen ions (AlkaLife, Cellfood, etc.).
- Reverse Osmosis
- A water filtration system that uses pressure to force water through a semi-permeable membrane that retains the dissolved minerals and impurities (solute) on one side (which are washed down the drain as waste water) and allows pure water (solvent) to pass to the other side.This process is best known for its use in desalination (removing the salt from sea water to produce fresh water), but it has also been used to purify fresh water for medical, industrial and domestic applications since the early 1970s.
When two solutions with different concentrations of a solute are mixed, the total amount of solutes in the two solutions will be equally distributed in the total amount of solvent from the two solutions.
Instead of mixing the two solutions together, they can be put in two compartments where they are separated from each other by a semipermeable membrane. The semi permeable membrane does not allow the solutes to move from one compartment to the other, but allows the solvent to move. Since equilibrium cannot be achieved by the movement of solutes from the compartment with high solute concentration to the one with low solute concentration, it is instead achieved by the movement of the solvent from areas of low solute concentration to areas of high solute concentration. When the solvent moves away from low concentration areas, it causes these areas to become more concentrated. On the other side, when the solvent moves into areas of high concentration, solute concentration will decrease. This process is termed osmosis. The tendency for solvent to flow through the membrane can be expressed as “osmotic pressure”, since it is analogous to flow caused by a pressure differential.
In reverse osmosis, pressure is applied to the compartment with high concentration. In this case, there are two forces influencing the movement of water: the pressure caused by the difference in solute concentration between the two compartments (the osmotic pressure) and the externally applied pressure.
» More on reverse osmosis.
- Sediment
- Solid particles, including rust, sand, silt, gravel, chemical precipitates, fossil fragmenmts or particles that come from the weathering of rock, carried by water, ice, or wind. Filtration systems usually include a sediment filter ranging from 20 to 5 microns, designed to protect other filters, as sediment deposits can affect filter efficiency in KDF, activated carbon or other filter media.» More on sediment filtration.
- Shower Filter
- Shower filters are designed to remove chlorine from shower water. As our largest organ is our skin, and as the body can absorb as much chlorine from a 5 minute shower, as from drinking eight glasses of chlorinated water, shower filters are recommended when there isn’t a point of entry (whole house) water filtration system installed. While absorbed chlorine is linked to many health concerns, it is also very drying to the skin and hair, and can aggravate many skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea.» More on shower filters.
- Soft Water
- Water that contains little or no dissolved minerals, as compared to hard water
which may contain high levels of minerals, especially calcium and magnesium. Soft water tends to be more corrosive to metals including steel, and water softened by water softeners will have a higher sodium ion content, potentially raising the risk of hypertension in susceptible individuals. In technical terms, water is considered soft if it contains less than 17mg per litre, or less than 1 grains per gallon. - Well Water
- Well water is produced from a water well, which is usually created by a company that specializes in drilling wells. Water wells are usually drilled when municipal water supplies are not accessible. Modern wells have well water pumped from the well by an electric submersible pump. Wells can vary greatly in depth, water volume and water quality, and usually has a higher concentration of minerals (hard water) than surface, municipally treated, or lake water, and may require softening to remove minerals such as arsenic, iron and manganese.