Carbon Water Filtration Systems

Carbon filters, like other water filters, serve as barriers to contaminants in your drinking water. The ancient Egyptians originally discovered carbon's detoxifying properties. Carbon is still used today to remove pollutants from water and improve the flavor and fragrance of foods and drinks.

What is the Purpose of a Carbon Filter?

Carbon water filtration systems work by adsorbing pollutants. Absorption absorbs particles in the same way a sponge absorbs water. Adsorption acts like Velcro on a surface, adhering particles to it. Because water and pollutants are both polar molecules that attract one another, organic compounds bind or cling to the surface of a carbon filter. Carbon water filtration systems are excellent in reducing unpleasant tastes, smells, and other particles in water because they are highly porous and have a huge surface area. As water passes through a carbon filter, it functions as a parking lot with pores for pollutants to park in.

Microns are the size of the pores. The finer the filtration, the smaller the micron. Contaminants have more time to park or attach to carbon when the flow rate and pressure are low. The longer water spends in contact with a carbon filter's surface, the more effective the filtering.

What is a Carbon Filter Made Of?

• Bituminous coal
• Media made of wood
• Coconut shells as a medium

Coconut shell carbon is the most renewable of the three kinds of filter media. Because this kind of carbon is produced from the coconut shell rather than the flesh within, it does not induce allergic responses or taste of water. Burned wood is crushed into granules to make wood-based carbon, similar to what the ancient Egyptians would have used. Since amounts of arsenic were found in the media, bituminous coal has been utilized less often.

What Exactly is Activated Carbon, and How Does It Work as a Water Filter?

Heat or steam is used to activate carbon. The activation process expands the surface area of a carbon water filtration system, allowing it to retain more pollutants. As a result, we use activated carbon in all of our carbon filters, whether it's granular activated carbon (GAC), carbon block, or radial carbon filters.

What Do Carbon Water Filtration Systems Remove?

Carbon water filtration systems are the most effective at eliminating chlorine and unpleasant tastes and smells, but they may also be certified to remove other pollutants. To find out what a carbon filter is capable of eliminating, look for the NSF certification. Calcium and magnesium dissolved in water pass straight through a carbon filter. On the other hand, mechanical filtration may remove coliform, cysts, lead, arsenic, iron, and other heavy metals using a carbon filter with a pore size of less than one micron. These pollutants cannot pass through the tiny pores, even though they do not attach to the carbon.

• Bad tastes and odors? YES
• Chlorine? YES
• Trihalomethanes (THMs)? YES
• Mercury? YES
• Pesticides and herbicides? YES
• Iron or heavy metals? If certified
• Lead? If certified
• Bacteria? If certified to remove coliform
• Hard water? NO
• Fluoride? NO
• Total dissolved solids (TDS)? NO

To enhance carbon's reduction capabilities, minerals are often added. When you mix silver with carbon, you get a medium that kills germs. To generate a chemical reaction, iron-reduction carbon contains a KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) medium composed of powdered copper and zinc. The KDF transforms heavy metals from a ferrous (dissolved) to a ferric (solid) state to capture the solids in the carbon matrix. Although some carbon mixes may decrease coliform, a UV water filtration system is the most efficient way to disinfect bacteria-infested water.

Is It Safe To Use Carbon Water Filters?

Carbon water filtration systems are safe, particularly if they have received a material safety rating from a third party. CTO (chlorine, taste, and odor) removal is rated on all carbon filters, while sub-micron carbon blocks remove other pollutants like lead or cysts. Activated carbon block filters with sub-micron ratings go above and beyond mechanical filtering to remove extra particles. Mechanical filters function similarly to a screen door in that they keep undesirable elements out while allowing pure water to pass through. Cysts cannot pass through the pores of a carbon block filter that are smaller than one micron in size.

The most frequent purpose for using a carbon filter is to remove chlorine. Chlorine taints your food, drinks, and drinking water, as well as emitting a gas that you might breathe in when showering. Chlorine isn't attracted to carbon. A carbon filter, on the other hand, uses a chemical process to remove chlorine. The chlorine molecules are chemically altered by activated catalytic (more reactive) carbon, converting them to chloride.

Advantages of Carbon Water Filtration Systems

We've compiled the list of the most significant advantages of this type of water filtration system. Check below to learn what those are.

• Eliminates Contaminants: Carbon block filters have a huge porous surface area. This implies that carbon filters, like sponges, enable water to be absorbed and cleansed simply by flowing through them. Asbestos, cysts, lead, pesticides, trihalomethanes, and volatile organic compounds are all removed by these filters (VOCs). Chemicals aren't used in carbon filters. They also don't remove the salts and minerals that are naturally present in the water.
• Active Minerals: Activated charcoal purifies the water, but it also preserves the nutrients already there rather than removing them all. Charcoal also adds minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron to the mix.
• As Simple As Pie: Carbon block filters are simple to keep clean. In reality, there is hardly little upkeep required. You'll need to change the filter every three months or so, depending on your typical water usage.
• It Is Easy To Replace: These filters are easy to replace. You'll be drinking clean water again in no time if you follow the product's installation instructions. You'll never have to struggle to locate a replacement filter since Water Filter's Fast offers such a large variety of carbon block filters.
• Affordability: Because of the naturally occurring substance, these filters are the most affordable on the market. This is excellent news for your pocketbook as well as your water.
• Delectable: The natural purifying process improves the taste of the water significantly. Many individuals dislike the flavor of tap water. The smells are absorbed by carbon block filters, making the water considerably more attractive.

Eco-friendly Filter

Filling your reusable water bottles at home with freshly filtered water will not only save you money, but will also help the environment. While bottled water is handy, purifying your water is both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Consider this: a single filter is equal to 300 disposable water bottles!

Disadvantages of Carbon Water Filtration Systems

Before your purchase, it's important to know some disadvantages of carbon water purification systems.

• If you don't use the filter for a long time, it may get clogged with germs. Even if this bacterium isn't harmful, it's still an unfavorable condition. This disadvantage may be mitigated by flushing the filter once a day for half a minute.
• When utilizing a carbon water filter, some contaminants will not be eliminated. Toxic minerals, fluorides, nitrates, and a variety of microbes are among the contaminants.
• It is obvious that the benefits of utilizing a carbon water filter greatly outnumber the drawbacks. So, if you want to safeguard your family from any unpleasant pollutants in your water while keeping costs low, you might consider installing such a filtration system.
• Chemicals that are not attracted to carbon (e.g., salt, nitrates, heavy metals, fluoride, etc.) are not removed well by carbon filters.
• These filters cease functioning and need to be changed when the bonding sites (the ones responsible for "trapping" impurities) get clogged with contaminants.
• Filtration efficiency is influenced by variables such as the quantity of carbon used and the length of time water is in contact with the filter material. If water does not remain in touch with the carbon filter medium for long enough, its efficiency is reduced.
• These filters are also ineffective against certain harmful bacteria and viruses, and they may harbor germs, resulting in bacterial grow-through. However, some filters have avoided this problem by adding small quantities of silver to prevent bacterial development (these filters are known as silver-impregnated activated carbon filters).
• Activated charcoal filters are not often utilized as the main filter material due to the drawbacks mentioned above. Activated charcoal is often used as a supplement to other filter media to remove pollutants that other filters may not remove. As previously stated, no filter media can remove all pollutants. Therefore, sophisticated filter systems will use various filter media to provide high-quality filtered water.

Contact Charlotte Water Filtration for Top-Quality Carbon Water Filtration Systems!

Your family deserves safe and healthy water to drink in your home. At Charlotte Water Filtration, we ensure that you choose the right filtration system that will meet your needs without breaking the bank. Contact us today to get started.