WHAT IS A CERAMIC WATER FILTER?
It was discovered hundreds of years ago that dirty water could be filtered through earthen pottery to produce water that was clear in appearance. While the water seemed safe and clean, it was still teeming with living organisms that could make you quite sick, even kill. Through the decades, different formulations and ingredients were experimented with, but it was not until recent times that ceramic technology began to actually produce safe drinking water. The addition of diatomaceous earth into the clay mix, coupled with exacting firing and soak times in the kilns, have produced modern ceramics that can be surprisingly effective energy-free water filter filters.
HOW CERAMICS WORK
Ceramic water filters work in three ways. First, surface sieving, much like a screen door, does not allow larger particles to pass through the outer surface of the filter. Second, ceramic filters operate as a depth media, providing a twisting, tortuous path like a maze, trapping contaminants within the walls (usually in the top .005” below the surface). Third is surface charge or adhesion, whereby contaminants that are small enough to penetrate the walls of the ceramic may cling to the walls like opposite polarity magnets attract each other. This surface charge is often greater than the force of the water flow that might otherwise dislodge the contaminant. This is particularly true with gravity or siphon-fed ceramic applications.
Wall thickness is particularly important with regard to a ceramic’s performance as a depth media. The maze-like, tortuous path formed by the diatomaceous earth allows for filtration performance at an effective pore size that is much less than the actual median pore diameter of the diatoms from which the filter is made. As clogged filters are cleaned to restore flow, contaminants in the top .005” of surface material are removed. Gentle abrasive cleaning will gradually reduce wall thickness. Filtration performance will gradually diminish as wall thickness diminishes. Eventually, filtration performance will fall below acceptable, safe levels if the filter is used with walls that have become too thin. This will occur before the filter physically cracks or breaks, making a reliable end-of-life indicator or gauge absolutely essential for the health and safety of the user.
Page 2: The AquaRain Ceramic Water System
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