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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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