Modern water treatment techniques have evolved to meet the rising demand for cleaner, safer water in all aspects of Australian life. From industry and agriculture to local councils and residential spaces, the demand for quality water remains as high as ever. Oxidation-reduction and electrolysis are techniques which have proven their effectiveness in treating highly mineralised water and highly saline groundwater. Hydrosmart has created a handy guide to understanding ion exchange hard water systems that use these techniques and why they are so valuable to the water treatment industry.
Reduction & Oxidation Definition
Oxidation and reduction are commonly used terms in the field of hard water treatment. The two processes go hand in hand when oxidation occurs, as does reduction. The increase in positive valence or decrease in negative valence is the definition of the oxidation process. Chemical reduction, on the other hand, is the increase in negative valence and decrease in positive valence. Simply put, oxidation is the removal of electrons and chemical reduction is the increase in the number of electrons.
Benefits of Oxidation-Reduction on Water
As a technique for water treatment, the process of oxidation-reduction, also known as Redox, is one of the key recent innovations. Some of its benefits are:
- Redox is a natural, electrochemical process, which requires no additional chemicals or additives.
- The process removes up to 98% of positively charged ions from dissolved metals. Heavy metals such as copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and chromium are detrimental to health and the redox process is highly effective at removing these substances.
- The process also has the effect of rendering certain harmful contaminants into harmless substances.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is fast becoming the popular option for treatment of sewage and flood water. Simply put, electrolysis is a process which uses electricity to break water down into oxygen and hydrogen. The splitting of hydrogen and oxygen causes pathogens and bacteria in water to die, so the resulting solid mass can be filtered out safely. An electrolysis ion exchange hard water treatment system requires no chemicals, very little maintenance and is 100% environmentally friendly.
Cutting Edge Groundwater Treatment Systems in SA
Contact Hydrosmart for a wide range of comprehensive solutions for groundwater and hard water treatment. Our products use an innovative resonant frequency technique, which descales irrigation pipes, prevents algae growth, and makes even toxic groundwater usable for a wide range of purposes.
