Only a couple of months ago a Time Magazine report stated that plastic fibers could be found in approximately 83% of the world’s domestic tap water supply. This microplastic pollution has even be found in certain brands of plastic bottled water, and many people are worried about the possible health consequences. The obvious next question that should be asked is can the microplastics be removed from our tap water? In this article, we will look at three water treatment technologies that can help.
Plastic is Everywhere
There are three effective ways to remove microplastics, but the first obvious thing to note is that many of these treatment solutions are also made of plastic. So could these solutions also leach plastic into the water that they are treating? This may be the case with cheaper products, but the materials used in higher quality water treatment products will be made from higher density plastics that will not leach into your water supply. We know that this is true because laboratories have used equipment made from high density plastic and no leaching has ever been recorded.
The Three Main Microplastic Removal Systems
All three of these water filtration systems are effective at removing microplastics and a variety of other types of contaminants.
1. Electro Adhesion
This system uses an electro adhesion process to filter out sub micron sized particles. It can remove any microplastics and many other contaminants, such as viruses, bacteria, arsenic, cysts, chromium, lead and a variety of other heavy metals.
2. Carbon Block Filtration
The smaller plastic particles found in our water supply are approximately 2.5 microns in size, but they are usually much larger than that. A carbon block filter is engineered to stop lead particles which are approximately 0.5 microns in size and so it will stop plastic particles. This system is very common as an undersink filtration solution in many modern kitchens.
3. Reverse Osmosis
A reverse osmosis (RO) system separates contaminants down to .0001 microns using high pressure and a membrane filter to trap the unwanted particles. This makes the RO system a very viable option for removing microplastics and many other types of contaminants. The RO system can be installed as a whole house filtration or under sink system as needed. Of the three options available this is the most popular choice for many homeowners that are interested in a safer water supply.
All of these systems can be used in isolation or alongside other systems if required. Some homeowners may only want to install a point of use system to provide clean drinking water that will be free of microplastics. Other people will want a whole house system to remove all of the contaminants that may be coming into the home. This will provide cleaner water for bathing, showering, cleaning and laundry purposes. The choice on which technologies to use is entirely up to the homeowner, but a local water treatment specialist will be able to offer some useful advice.
With more than 25 years experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Terry is a WQA (Water Quality Association) certified water specialist, LEVEL 3, as well as a WQA certified sales representative. Terry currently sits on EcoWater Systems (a Berkshire Hathaway Company) national Peers committee, as a water treatment expert advising other water professionals with less experience on best trade and technology practices. EcoWater Systems of Nebraska is one of the biggest water treatment and water delivery businesses in the state.