Water Filter Media Information
Carbon Water Filtration
Unlike all the others!
Okey Water introduces
Z-1 carbon water filtration process with ACTIVATED CARBON.
It’s the magic behind our awesome water filters!
Z-1 Process
Okey Water Water Filter Media
Z-1 is a media consisting of a high purity copper-zinc formula. It is an NSF approved water filter media that drastically extends the life of a carbon water filter. It is 100 % recyclable and has no chemical additives.
The Z-1 Media is a combination KDF 55 with other medias and is unparalleled in Chlorine removal and heavy metal reduction.
KDF 55 Media is used in chlorine removal applications in conjunction with granular activated carbon. KDF 55 strips the chlorine from the water before the water contacts the carbon. The carbon media, not being burdened with the job of chlorine removal is then free to perform higher-level carbon filtration. Such as the removal of chemical contaminants including Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC’s) and Trihalomethanes (THM’s).
Using our Z-1 media in conjunction with granular activated carbon extends the life of the media bed significantly over using carbon alone. That means longer service runs before replacement of the water filter media is required.
We also use KDF 85 which is used for the removal of iron and sulfur from well water. It regenerates with a thorough backwash of water. No chemicals are required and 100% environmentally safe as well as recyclable!
Carbon Filtering
Activated carbon from a water filter used for Carbon filtering in powder and block form.
Carbon filtering is a method of filtering that uses a piece of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, utilizing chemical adsorption. Each piece of carbon is designed to provide a large section of surface area, in order to allow contaminants the most possible exposure to the filter media.
One pound (454g) of activated carbon contains a surface area of approximately 100 acres (1 km²/kg).[1] This carbon is generally activated with a positive charge and is designed to attract negatively charged water contaminants. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water purification, but is also used in air purifiers.
Carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds.
Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range from 0.5 to 50 micrometers. The particle size will be used as part of the filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed to the filter media for a longer amount of time.
Souce: Wikipedia
ACTIVATED CARBON WATER FILTERS
How It Works…
Activated carbon water filters are the workhorse of the water filtration industry. Activated carbon has the broadest application of any material currently available. Activated carbon is produced in many different sizes, from a powdered form, to large particles and compressed blocks. The type of carbon that is of most concern to the point-of-use water filtration industry is a granular activated carbon, better known as GAC. A properly designed GAC filter will remove chlorine, bad tastes and odor, color, chemicals, and other organics found in both treated and raw water supplies. The mechanism by which GAC removes the aforementioned contaminants is both absorption, as well as catalytic reduction.
Since the absorptive force of carbon is greater than that of the water, and since most organic contaminants are hydrophobic (water hating), they have a tendency to adhere to the surfaces of the GAC. This absorption removes these contaminants from the water as it passes the carbon column. Contaminants such as salt and hardness are hydrophilic (water loving) and will not absorb onto the carbon. They will remain in the solution and pass the carbon column unaffected.
The largest application of activated carbon for point-of-use is for chlorine reduction. This process is achieved by the granules of carbon acting as a catalyst to convert molecular chlorine to the chlorine ion. Activated carbon can also oxidize hydrogen sulfide to sulfates, which do not have the characteristic “rotten egg” smell, but the capacity of the filter may be greatly reduced, and much longer contact times are required. The longer any contaminant has in contact with the carbon, the better the removal rate.
SOURCE: Water Conditioning & Purification, June 1988
Types of Carbon Filters
Carbon filtering is usually used in water filtration systems. In this illustration, the activated carbon is in the fourth level (counted from bottom).
There are two predominant types of carbon filters used in the filtration industry:
- powdered block filters
- granular activated filters
In general, carbon block filters are more effective at removing a larger number of contaminants, based upon the increased surface area of carbon. Many carbon filters also use secondary media, such as silver or KDF-55, to prevent bacteria growth within the filter.
History of Carbon Filters
Carbon filters have been used for several hundred years and are considered one of the oldest means of water purification. Historians have shown evidence that carbon filtration may have been used in ancient Egyptian cultures for both air and water sanitization. 2000 B.C. Sanskrit text refers to filtering water through charcoal (1905 translation of “Sushruta Samhita” by Francis Evelyn Place).
The first modern use of a carbon filter to purify potable water occurred in 1862.
Carbon filtration was further advanced in the mid 1970’s by H. Allen Rice and Alvin E. Rice when they first manufactured a porous carbon block for drinking water use.
Currently, carbon filters are used in individual homes as point-of-use water filters and, occasionally, in municipal water treatment facilities. They are also used as pre-treatment devices for reverse osmosis systems and as specialized filters designed to remove chlorine-resistant cysts, such as giardia and cryptosporidium.