Water filter news

Check out this article. It details the downsides to water purification.

Water filter good, process interesting, but a few drawbacks


PUR markets its latest water-purification product as a "mini water treatment plant in a packet" and indeed, the pragmatically named PUR Purifier of Water employs the exact chemical process as used in many municipal water-treatment plants around the Western world.

Developed more than a decade ago by Proctor & Gamble, and used in municipal as well as humanitarian applications, the process introduces iron sulfate and calcium hypochlorite in a powder form to water tainted with sediments and microorganisms.

Unlike iodine or other typical treatments used in the outdoors, the P&G process pulls all the gunk in water together, coagulating nasties including cysts, microbes, viruses and bacteria into clumps you can then filter out.

As a two-step process, calcium hypochlorite, a bleaching agent, kicks in after the initial coagulation to kill off any remaining gastrointestinal disrupters. The final result is water that's 99.99 percent pure, according to data from PUR parent company Reliance Products, which needed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval before introducing the chemically-potent product to the consumer market earlier this year.

Scott Mitchell, a spokesman for Reliance, explains the iron sulfate coagulation process by referring to the chemical reaction as a "dirt magnet."

"It reacts in the water and pulls everything in suspension together in clumps," he said.

Put to the test

I tested the product with tannin-tainted water from a stream in northern Wisconsin that flowed from the depths of the Chequamegon National Forest.

The water was dark brown and speckled with sediments. Microorganisms were swimming freely in it.

Working with the PUR Clean Drinking Water Kit? $28.99 do-it-yourself water treatment plant that includes the PUR chemicals, stir sticks, filtering cloth and containers? mixed and stirred and followed directions for 45 minutes.
I watched the clock for timed waits while chemical reactions triggered. Slowly, the brown water began to turn clear, with sediment clumping together in a disgusting reddish mass at the bottom of the container.

Filtering the flocculent?he technical term PUR uses to describe the clumped putridity?as a pain. I worked with a friend near our campfire for 20 minutes, pouring the water through a cloth that kept clogging up.

The cotton caught the flocculent fine, though it allowed only a small stream of clean water through its tight fabric weave and into the vessel below
Another annoyance: The collapsible buckets that come with the Clean Drinking Water Kit have small openings, making pouring and filtering slow. The foldable containers are difficult to clean, too, as deep accordion creases in the plastic catch and hold flocculent that's then nearly impossible to wash out.

But after some struggle, the PUR method yielded water that was indeed quite clean. In front of my eyes, the final product transformed from a container of gloppy river water into a gallon of sparkling, crisp H2O that seemed siphoned from a spring.

PUR sells two Purifier of Water products, including the kit I tested as well as a $14.99 package with chemicals for six treatments and a cotton filter cloth, though no containers.

While the process is cumbersome, Purifier of Water is a superior way to clean large quantities of suspect liquid. My main beef was with the Clean Drinking Water Kit's containers. The chemical reaction in dirty water was amazing to watch, and the mix-and-stir process is easy to follow and manageable if you have a half-hour or so to work with your water in camp.

Compared to pumps and other traditional chemical treatments like iodine, PUR's system is purportedly the most thorough. There is almost no smell or chemical aftertaste, just hydrogen and oxygen mixed and pure, sloshing, swirling and ready to drink in a bucket below.

Next time, though, I'll use a custom configuration of buckets, vessels and a larger cotton cloth to speed the mixing and filtering steps.

- For more information visit www.purpurifierofwater.com

Stephen Regenold writes The Gear Junkiecolumn for 11 U.S. newspapers; seewww.thegearjunkie.com for video gear reviews, a daily blog, and an archive of Regenold's work.

water purification system save lives

We are all very concerned with our daily lives, and we all think that having clean water is a very basic thing to have. And for most of us in westeren countries - it is.
But think for a moment about all those people whose wter supply is in constant danger of being contaminated.
For them a very simple water purification system can acually save lives.
This is true even in western countries, as water contamination happends more and more often.

For example, here's an article I found on the subject the other day:

Local water purification system could save lives here, around world
By Robert McCoppin Daily Herald Staff
Contact writer


Visiting dignitaries from around the world came to Hanover Park Tuesday to drink water out of a retention pond.
A fish jumped in the brown, turbid pond as a hose sucked water through a filter and pumped out crystal-clear H2O.
The water seemed to have a remaining whiff of its source, but betrayed no taste of it as visitors toasted with styrofoam cups, quaffed their drinks and found it tasted as pure as any tap water.
"I'm impressed," said Boniface Unachukwu, representing a prominent chief from Nigeria. "This is going to be very useful."
One billion people - 1 out of every 6 - do not have access to a safe source of drinking water, the lack of which kills 3,900 children a day, especially in Africa and Asia. The United Nations goal is to halve that by 2015.
The new SOS Mobile Water Purifier first runs the water through sand filters to remove solid particles, then through a proprietary Polyhalex resin made of iodinated granules to kill any virus or bacteria, and finally through carbon filters to remove organics and bad tastes and odors.
Currently, many villages in Africa and Asia use unpurified drinking water from ponds and streams. Water can also be purified by treating it with chlorine or a diluted bleach formula, but that may leave it tasting like pool water.
The new system, manufactured by Calco Ltd. of Hanover Park, can be mounted on a small trailer and pulled by a pickup truck to a water source to produce 15 to 20 gallons a minute. Each unit can also be equipped to take salt out of salt water, and costs $40,000 to $60,000.
A unit will be sent to India to use in the Braj area, where many pilgrims travel to small villages and need fresh water.
Tuesday's demonstration was held up when the unit could not pull water 15 feet up from the pond surface to the banks, but that was solved by using a second pump.
The marketers of the system, House of Mohan Corp. of Washington, D.C. hope to also sell the system for disaster relief.
in the U.S.
The Illinois Department of Public Health uses bottled water for disaster relief, such as during flooding in the state this past spring, spokeswoman Kelly Jakubek said.


As you can see, water filtration becomes more and more important for people's health everywhere.

Water Purifcation Co. Raises First Round Of Funds

It seems that Water Purifcation is a very hot subject in the market right now. Many companies around the world develope water filtration and Purifcation solutions, as the world's drinkable water supply lessens evey year.

For example, Environmental Operating Solutions Inc., a Mass.-based water purification company, just completed it's first round of fund raising.

Here's the full story:

Environmental Operating Solutions Inc., a Bourne, Mass.-based water purification company, has closed its final tranche of its Series A round.

No financial terms were disclosed, although VentureWire pegs the deal at $2.5 million. Stuart Mill Venture Partners led the round, with the Wolverine Venture Fund also participating.

Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc. (EOS) announced today that the company has closed the final tranche of an institutional financing round led by Stuart Mill Venture Partners. The Wolverine Venture Fund also participated in the financing. EOS is an environmental technology company that develops and markets green chemicals specifically engineered for the denitrification of wastewater, helping plant operators to meet increasingly stringent nitrogen discharge limits. Since completing the initial tranche of financing in March 2008, the company has added new manufacturing facilities in Portland, Oregon and Greenville, South Carolina to complement its existing facilities in Boston, Massachusetts and Baltimore, Maryland.

The company has also expanded its customer base from 185 to 220 wastewater treatment facilities. Investment proceeds will be used to expand sales and marketing activities, broaden the company's technical capabilities and support research and new product development.

About Stuart Mill Venture Partners (WWW.STUARTMILLVP.COM)
Stuart Mill Venture Partners, L.P. is a $20 million Northern Virginia-based fund investing principally in small- to medium-size companies with substantial growth prospects. The fund has a special focus on the clean technology sector but also considers investments in areas such as technology, travel/hospitality, and federal government services. In addition to providing growth capital, the fund offers experienced business guidance to its portfolio companies.

About Wolverine Venture Fund (WWW.ZLI.BUS.UMICH.EDU/WVF)
The Wolverine Venture Fund (WVF), the $3.5 million student-governed venture capital fund at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, invests primarily in early-stage, emerging growth companies. Created in 1997 and administered by the Zell Lurie Institute, it is the only university-based venture fund of its kind in the United States. The 34 MBA students currently on the fund's board research companies, evaluate business proposals and make investment decisions. At this time the Fund has active investment in 10 firms.

ABOUT EOS (WWW.EOSENVIRONMENTAL.COM)
Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc. (EOS) is an environmental technology company providing innovative products for the purification of water. It's MicroC� line of products provide wastewater treatment plants in the United States with a safer, more effective, and environmentally sustainable solution compared with other carbon sources such as liquid methanol. In addition, the company offers technical services to help customers optimize the use of its denitrification products

Just goes to show you that this is a full scale global trend, not only a home-based applience.

home water filtration - the solution to water contamination?

Water contamination is defenetly "in".... Water quality is getting worse every year, as more and more contamination events happen all over the world. This is just a part of the whole picture, as our planet is becoming more and more poluted, from air, water and soil prospective.

Home water filtration is probably the easiest and most effective solution to this increasing problem. This is a means for anyone to have an ongoing cheap and waste free pure water supply.

If you are not presuaded with that, here's an article I found that gives a good look on the water contamination trend.

Water contamination 'worst in years': Greens

Tim Morris has again called for the Government to introduce chemical trespass laws. (ABC News)

New figures show pesticide contamination in nine of Tasmania's waterways last month.
Five different pesticides were detected across the waterways during testing by the Department of Primary Industries and Water.
The latest pesticide test results show contamination in nine waterways including the Coal, Meander, Macquarie and Rubicon Rivers.
The Department of Primary Industries and Water tested 55 locations last month as part of its monitoring of agricultural and forestry pesticides.
The Tasmanian Greens say the latest results are the worst in three years, with seven new incidents of contamination. The Green's water spokesman, Tim Morris, says herbicide and pesticide use guidelines are inadequate and he has again called for the Government to introduce chemical trespass laws.
The State Government has proposed new regulations for ground and aerial spraying, including the creation of exclusion zones around waterways. It has sought public submissions on the draft guidelines.
Federal survey
Scientists are working on a plan to ensure farms in Tasmania remain productive without jeopardising the health of rivers and waterways.
More than 350 farmers across the state will soon receive a survey in the mail as part of a $20 million research project funded by the Commonwealth Government.
The Leader of the survey team, Professor Allan Curtis, says the aim is to keep toxins and fertilisers to a minimum.
"Yeah, there's a lot of time and financial resources invested in improving water quality condition and particularly in terms of investing in that river frontage or riparian strip," he said.
"And we need to be confident that the recommended practises that are being proposed are both socially acceptable and soundly based."
Professor Curtis says the aim is to work with farmers and graziers.
"There's not much point scientists proposing recommended practises if farmers don't find them acceptable and it's also important to see what land holders understand about the links between these practices and the water quality outcomes," he said.
"They might have different understandings of things than the scientists."
The results of the survey will be available early next year.

Why do we need a home water filter

It's easier to look the other way.
It's easier to take the easy way out, and keep drinking tap water, or buy bottled water.
But the truth is that a home water filter is the way to go, if you want cheap, endless, clean and safe water supply for you and your family.

You can even bottle these filtered water yourself and take them anywhere you go. How much money will you save than?

Here's an article I founs on the subject. It says that %84 of americans think their water are pulloted, but only %6 actually install a home water filter. A food (drink?) for thought.

"Water purifier sales take off"
By Nicole Ciarapica • Staff Writer • July 21, 2008

The slogan of the company is "The Future of Water," and its atmospheric water generator could very likely live up to that title.

The product is being released onto the market in the United States, Germany, Africa and Mexico. The Xziex machine extracts water from the humidity in the air and purifies it into 99.9 percent pure drinking water.

During the process, the machine cleans and dehumidifies the air.

Carmen Meo of Ocean Pines, a distributor of the product at www.meo.myxziex.com, says the quality is comparable to that of bottled water.

"With bottled water, you don't know what the source is. It's nothing but purified water," he said.

The device purifies water with UV treatment and carbon block filters.

"It's generating water from the heavens, the sky, the atmosphere," Meo said.

Also being generated in recent years is a growing interest in water purification systems of all types.

Market research group SBI recently issued a report that found high growth in the U.S. market for residential water treatment products.

And according to one company, 84 percent of Americans think their home water supply is polluted, but only six percent of this market has been tapped. "

home water purification

It's easy to get started on your way to implementing a good home water purification system.

The cost is a lot lower than buying bottled water and the health benefits are huge.

Tap water are no longer safe theses days and a home water purifier is not a luxury but a must.

Here's a very random excert I found lately. One of many:

"South Hadley Deals with Water Contamination"

By Sabrina Rodriguez
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (abc40) -- Residents and businesses in South Hadley Fire District Number 2 still need to boil their water tonight.
The town's water is routinely tested for all sorts of contaminants. On August 11th total coliform bacteria were detected in three samples.
When they tested again on August 12th e-coli bacteria were found in one of the samples, and that's what sparked the boil water order.
Now, the town and business are doing their best to keep residents safe and allay fears.
Since the order was issued officials at Fire District Number 2 have been busy fielding phone calls from concerned residents.
The most recent water samples on August 14th show no traces of e-coli, but total coliform bacteria are still present...."

And this is just one random article. So many of these water contamination news are all over the contry. Getting a good home water purifier is the way to make sure you never get hurt.

The most recommended way to go is with a whole house water filtration system. These systems make sure that all the water supply to your home is filtered ans safe, and you don't need to worry about the water you shower in and brush your teeth with.