Filtration
This technology consists of the application of pressure on water to make it circulate inside a housing where there is a physical barrier that allows some contaminants to pass while others do not.
There are several types of filtrations that are categorized according to the pores found on the filter cartridge. Generally speaking, the three types of filtrations used in water treatment are microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration.
In addition to the categories based on filtration pore size, subcategories of filters exist. There are filters optimized for certain types of contaminants, self-cleaning filters and much more.
To learn more about filtration, we invite you to consult these articles.
- Types of filters: Cartridges VS. Media VS. AMF VS. Discs VS. Screens;
- Types of filtrations
- Prefiltration or primary filtration?
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis systems are the technology of choice in industrial water treatment. Operating on the same principle as filtration systems, reverse osmosis systems have semi-permeable membranes that allow the extraction of contaminants as small as 0.0001 microns.
When they first came on the market, reverse osmosis systems were mainly used for water desalination. Today, their uses are very broad, which is why they can be found in the pharmaceutical, hospital, food, mining, electronics, and many other sectors.
Although there are no categories of reverse osmosis, there are some particularities that can be brought to the systems. Not to mention that the types of osmotic membranes are very diversified.
Visit this article to learn more about reverse osmosis
Ion exchangers
Popular in both the industrial and residential sectors, ion exchangers are a technology that allows contaminating ions in the water to be replaced by various ions found on the resin surfaces. Like filtration, there is a wide variety of ion exchange systems. Among the most common are the following.
- Water softener.
- Dealkalizer.
- Demineralizer.
- Electrodeionization.
Depending on the type of ion exchanger, the contaminants removed change. As an example, water softeners will remove hardness from the water.
At the heart of the ion exchange process are the resins. Resins are small plastic beads that are polarized and porous so that they attract and hold the ions needed for ion exchange. When the permutation is completed and the resin has no more original ions, it is exhausted. When the resin is exhausted, it must be regenerated.
In short, you will find more information about the ion exchange principle in these articles:
- What is ion exchange
- What is resin regeneration and how does it work?
- What can a water softener remove?