Clean and tasty tap water in an apartment is a rarity in modern realities, so many today use water filters to purify it from impurities, harmful substances, and eliminate unpleasant taste and smell. Water purification systems that make it completely potable usually include special cartridges that need to be replaced as they reach their end of life and which can be selected according to one's own needs. Let's find out what water filter cartridges can be and how to choose the right one.
Types of cartridge filters
Cartridges are used in three types of filters.
- Filter jug. This device uses a quick-change cartridge. The disadvantage is a small resource - from 100 to 750 liters - which is affected by the degree of water pollution. Most often, cartridges with a coal mixture obtained from coconut shells are used here. Also widely used are cartridges with ion exchange resin, which reduces water hardness and removes heavy metal impurities from it. In water with a low fluorine content, fluorinating cartridges are used. Since only one cassette can be installed in a jug, these refills often include multiple components and multiple cleaning levels.
- Faucet nozzle for which you need a suitable water pressure. The maximum resource reaches 1,000 liters. Cartridges are installed here mainly to remove chlorine and rust. There are also ion-exchange cassettes, but their resource is extremely small and is no more than 100 liters.
- Sink filter. The device requires a fixed installation and pressure from the water supply for the cleaning system. One tap water cartridge can have a capacity of up to 15,000 liters. Here you can choose any type of purification, up to a cartridge with an ultrafiltration membrane. The disadvantage is the high price. Such a water filter usually contains cartridges, each of which is located in a separate flask and is responsible for one specific type of cleaning, but there are also combined products.
The difference between the filters is shown in the video:
Cartridge filters connected to the water supply have a sorbent density much higher than that of jug filters, since water passes through them under the pressure of the water supply.
And now let's look at different types of filtration and cartridges for water purification filters.
mechanical filtration
The cartridge for the filter of mechanical water purification contains a filter element made of a wound cord, porous polypropylene or corrugated polyester fabric. It retains mechanical impurities, sand and rust. The minimum size of the removed particles can be from 1 to 100 microns. The water filter cartridge must not let in suspensions larger than 1 µm or 5 µm.
Mechanical filtration is preliminary, and is used before other methods, so that the resource of fine cleaning devices is longer. Garbage accumulates inside, negatively affecting throughput. For pleated cartridges, debris can be removed by periodic flushing, other types of cartridges are not flushed and must be replaced. Such water purification cartridges are used for approximately 6 months, after which they must be replaced.
Such filters are used in the flowing drinking filter Atoll D-31si STD
It is recommended to use the following replacement filter elements:
- 1st stage: mechanical pre-filter P5 (5 µm) to remove mechanical impurities larger than 5 µm.
- 2nd stage: iron remover Atoll RF-10 - to remove dissolved and oxidized iron, as well as reduce odors associated with the presence of hydrogen sulfide in the water
- 3rd stage: Pentek TSGAC-10 carbon filter - to prevent scale formation.
When using non-certified cartridges, as well as elements of dubious origin, you risk harming your health!
Regardless of the degree of use of the resource of individual cartridges, for the sake of sanitary safety, it is recommended to replace the filter elements in all stages of cleaning at least once every 6 months.
adsorption devices
Due to the high porosity, adsorptive replaceable cartridges for water purification filters allow you to purify the liquid from organic compounds by absorbing them. As a filler, zeolites, aluminosilicate, silica gel or mixtures thereof are used. The most common is activated carbon, which traps and retains harmful substances in its pores.
According to the method of manufacture, carbon cartridges are divided into:
- granulated;
- pressed.
In granular (they are also called bulk) water passes along the axis along the entire height of the cartridge, and not across, as in compressed carbon cartridges. This design increases the thickness of the carbon layer in contact with water by 10 times, which gives a more effective cleaning result, but also more resistance to flow compared to pressed carbon cartridges.
Device disadvantages:
- the possibility of reverse contamination of the liquid if the recommended timing for replacing cartridges is not observed;
- low filtration rate.
Important! The manufacturer's recommended replacement period for carbon cartridges is 6 months. even if the resource is not exhausted in liters. This is due to the fact that coal is a favorable environment for the development of bacteria. To avoid the formation of bacteria colonies on it, the carbon cartridge should be replaced at least once every 6 months.
Ion exchange cartridges
In such devices, the main profile of which is softening, a filling of ion-exchange resin granules is used. When water passes through them, calcium and magnesium ions, which are part of hardness salts, are replaced by sodium ions. As a result, the water becomes softer.
After saturation of the resin with calcium and magnesium ions, it should be regenerated with a 10% common salt solution. After the first regeneration has passed, the resource of the replaceable element is reduced by 1.5 times. With subsequent regenerations, the decrease in resource occurs more slowly.
At home, it is possible to restore working capacity only for collapsible cassettes. For non-separable, special nozzles are produced, with the help of which it becomes possible to pass saline through the device.
Membrane
If the water contains a lot of impurities, membrane cartridges are indispensable. They can be of two types: working on the principle of reverse osmosis or ultrafiltration. The first is a cartridge for producing high-quality drinking water, similar in composition to natural rainwater or meltwater from high-mountain rivers.
The membrane is the smallest sieve, where the pore size is slightly larger than the diameter of a water molecule. The latter easily seep through the membrane, while foreign impurities remain, since their size does not allow them to penetrate through the pores.
The ultrafiltration membrane has a pore size of not more than 0.1 microns, which provides ultra-fine purification and disinfection of water, removing up to 99.99% of microorganisms. But at the same time, the mineral composition of the water is preserved.
The long service life of molecular membranes is ensured by the fact that they are practically not clogged, and the trapped solid particles and organic matter are drained into the drain. Some membrane cartridges have a resource of 15 thousand liters of water.
The disadvantage of the membrane cartridge is the complexity of the cleaning system and low productivity.
Cleaning based reverse osmosis is currently the most efficient. Bottled water is sold in stores, purified according to this principle. The disadvantage of this method is low productivity and high price of the cartridge. It provides a flow of 0.1 - 2 l/min. at a pressure in the water supply of 3.5 atm. It requires an additional pump and storage tank. All equipment, including the filter, is placed under the sink.
After purification by reverse osmosis, the demineralized water composition must be restored. For this, a mineralizer is used - a device with natural substances that enrich the water. When using ultrafiltration membranes, this is not necessary, since the mineral composition of the water is preserved after purification.
Ionizers
Ionizers, such as Aqualife, are used to improve water quality. The water treated in this device is divided into acidic and alkaline. Alkaline ionized water has many health benefits.
The cartridge for the water ionizer is used for periodic cleaning of the ionization chamber from salt deposits and scale, which degrade the quality of the process and can even lead to damage to the device.
What cartridges to choose?
Replacement cartridges for water purification filters are selected depending on its composition and the required quality. In each individual version, the service life is different and largely depends on the characteristics of the liquid to be cleaned.
You can determine the cleaning method if you find out the following questions:
- Required water pressure for this filter. It is important to pay attention to the water pressure, the permissible values \u200b\u200bof which must be indicated in the passport.
- The throughput of the cartridge and its compliance with the needs.
- Specific costs for water treatment. They are determined by the cost of a replaceable cassette and its resource.
- Water pollution.
Rules for choosing cartridges for water filters:
- A pre-stage mechanical filtration of 1 or 5 µm is required. It is desirable to have another mesh filter with a filtration fineness of 10-100 microns.
- If the water contains iron, a special cartridge is needed to remove it.
- Hard water is softened with one or two ion exchange elements installed after the mechanical filtration stage.
- A charcoal cartridge is always needed to produce high tasting water and remove chemical compounds.
- Chlorinated water is treated with two or three carbon cassettes.
- At the last stage of cleaning, a device with bactericidal additives is needed.
- If the filter contains fewer flasks than the required cleaning steps, it is necessary to select combined replaceable cassettes for it.
