Secondary Filters And Their Role In Water Purification

By Author: Anuj Singh
Total Articles: 32
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When it comes to water purification, most purifiers need multiple filters because they are not effective enough individually. Typically, there are 3 kinds of water purification processes: pre-treatment filtering, water treatment and post-treatment filtering. Though UV and RO are standard water treatments, pre-treatment and post-treatment filters vary with the kind of water treatment needed.

Pre-treatment filters: Most methods like UV water purification help to combat most microbes in the water. Inorganic particle filters as a pre-treatment filter does have its uses, though. While filtration processes like UV water purification are effective, suspended particles in the water may not be affected by this process. A sediment filter, though, will help eliminate all particles. Other pre-treatment filters like activated carbon filters are also employed to help increase the effectiveness of these mainstream filtration processes.

Water Treatments: There are two main water treatments. UV and RO water treatments remove microbes and inorganic particles respectively. As they are not 100% effective by themselves, some of the ...
... best water purifiers use UV+RO treatment for germ-free and particle-free water.

Post-treatment filters: RO water purification process has two side-effects. Firstly, it completely demineralises water. Secondly, it isn’t 100% effective. There could be a few ions or particles left in the water. So, there are water purifiers that add UF filter i.e. Ultra Filtration. It removes pending contaminants from the water and completes the purification. This part is extremely helpful for regions with hard water. It may seem little over the top. But, this protection provides completely clean and safe water.

Nowadays, there are some purifiers that also use post-treatment phase to re-mineralise water and add the minerals into water that are essential for optimal well being. So, it could remove harmful ions of lead and mercury. Yet, it could retain iron, calcium and magnesium etc, which perform vital functions in the body.

With the right design, water purifiers complete the process and offer the best possible result in terms of cleanliness and purity. Even though secondary filters are hardly mentioned in advertisements or brochures, they perform important functions and aid in effective completion of primary water purification processes.

Anuj Singh works as a quality analyst at Livpure RO Water Purifier. Anuj is a technology enthusiast and shares his information on UF water purifiers in India. He explains the use of sediment filters in water purifiers.