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Environmentally
correct treatment of water, lime scale, ochre, & corrosion.
The drinking
water quality is determined by the content of elementary substances
in the water. The water quality and its properties can be very
different from one area to another. In practice the applications
divide the supply water quality into two types:
1. Drinking water
2. Process water (including emulsions and waste water)
Drinking
water
The demands to an excellent,
pollution and bacterial free drinking water quality are life
essential. In addition it requires a balance regarding the content
of elementary mineral salts and a neutral pH value. Drinking
water must not contain bacterial, poisoning metals or chemicals,
which are dangerous to the life of mankind, animals or the natural
food chain of the products, which we consume.
Process
water
The demands to the
industrial process water depend on the application. The quality
may be very different from drinking water like oil emulsions
or chemical solutions. More important is the cleaning of industrial
wastewater to avoid environmental pollution and especially contamination
of drinking water resources.
The
water contains elementary minerals to all life.
Without water there
would be no life on earth. Water is the best emulator of elementary
substances like magnesium, manganese and calcium, which determine
the hardness of the water. Far the major percentage is calcium
and absolute necessary to all life, but when it crystallises
as lime scale, it also causes a daily irritating problem in most
water installations.
Natural
drinking water contains two different calcium crystal structures.
Calcium is a basic
element. Its physical and chemical symbol is Ca and belongs to
the group of metals. Just as water below the freezing point may
crystallise into the two well known unlike binding forces and
shapes: ice and snow, this also applies for the calcium crystal:
- Calcite - the solid crystal
type, hard like ice and world wide called lime scale.
- Aragonite
(Italian word for calcium) - the soft binding of crystals, loose
like snow and without the force to form solid lime scale.
Calcite
and Aragonite are natural elements in subsoil ground water. At
increased temperature the water releases free CO2
(carbon dioxide), which forms solid calcium crystals (limestone).
Sufficient content of free CO2 in the water may dissolve
lime scale deposits, but can by its aggressivity also cause corrosion
in water supply systems! |
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