Aqualen

aqualen

AQUALEN – is an original material developed by Aquaphor and patented by Aquaphor. The advantages of using this material for household water filtration and purification are so far reaching that it is used in virtually all of our filters.

AQUALEN provides:
1) high speed impurity removal
2) effective removal of heavy metals from water sources of all hardnesses
3) efficient bacteriostatic qualities (due to activated silver)
4) no “channeling”, so it is hard for water to bypass the filter (100% filtration)

The Details

Domestic and household water purification varies from industrial water filtration because water borne impurities need to be removed very quickly through a small sized cartridge. Standard water filters use activated carbon as the main active ingredient. Water passing through carbon water filters come in contact with carbon granules, leaving much of the harmful impurities behind. Some impurities are mechanically filtered out (the surfaces of carbon fragments can be seen as textured or porous), others bind through chemical reactions. Aquaphor water filters use high quality activated carbon, produced from coconut shells.

Besides carbon, filters often use ion-exchange resins, these bind up heavy metal ions. Ion-resins appear as round polymer granules. AQUALEN performs in a similar way, but unlike standard ion-exchange resins, AQUALEN is an ion-exchange fibre. This property of ion capture makes for significantly improved filtration performance.

Water filters made with AQUALEN absorb impurities much quicker due to their high surface area. AQUALEN effectively differentiates between heavy metals, with an 800-fold greater affinity than calcium and magnesium (which cause hard water). Therefore AQUALEN recognizes and absorbs heavy metals at any level of water hardness, something standard filters don’t offer. The amount of active ion-exchange compounds in AQUALEN is dozens of times higher than that in equivalent amounts of conventional ion-exchange resins.

Water filters with AQUALEN are better at fighting bacteria, thanks to the heavy metal capture abilities described, as it’s possible to incorporate silver in its active ionic form. Using AQUALEN with granulated absorbents such as carbon creates a powerful synergistic effect. The resulting composite filter has qualities greater than the sum of its constituent materials.

Small cartridge type water filters have two main problems: inability to use smaller granules and the “channeling” effect.

Smaller granules provide a larger area of contact with water within the same filter size, allowing efficient water purification. But, water finds it hard to flow through dense layers of tiny granules. AQUALEN fibres in Aquaphor filters expand in water and ease open granular arrangement, enabling water to flow through. Aquaphor use water filters with granules two times smaller than regular water filters, with impurities captured four times faster.

“Channeling” is when loose granules move under flowing water. As water passes through a standard water filter, it “parts” carbon granules, opening channels through which it can flow making poorer contact with purifying surfaces. AQUALEN fibres are interwoven with layers of finer granules to keep them static. Much like a plant’s roots hold on to soil to prevent erosion, AQUALEN fibres prevent channeling, allowing the filtration of all water through the water filter.

AQUALEN fibres also distribute the flow of water evenly through the water filter cartridge. The amount of surface area in contact with water is thus increased. Thanks to an optimal method of mixing AQUALEN with other filtering media, Aquaphor water filter cartridges don’t have dead zones that would otherwise hinder the water filtration process.

The last (though not least) advantage of water filters using AQUALEN is their ability to remove the smallest particles of colloidal iron exceeding drinking water standards four times over. The space between granules is densely packed with AQUALEN fibres 20% to 30% the diameter of a human hair.