Case Study – Whole House Water Treatment

In Ireland, the ground is laden with high amounts of iron and manganese. When this is present in water it can lead to staining on any surfaces the matter comes into contact with, alterations to the taste, and clogging of pipework and appliances. Removing the iron and manganese would help to maintain the cleanliness and appearance of the showers, sinks and appliances within the property. To achieve efficient removal, J&F supplied both a Pyrolox and Ecomix unit.

Pyrolox, a granular filter media, works through the process of oxidisation. The oxidised iron and manganese will then essentially become ‘trapped’ within the media and then be removed through a backwashing cycle. This media is efficient at removing these compounds as well as hydrogen sulphide in problem waters, all without the need for salt regeneration.

Ecomix, one of our favourite filter medias, provides an advanced five stage treatment for the removal of both iron and manganese, in addition to water hardness, ammonia and organic substances; making it perfect for an all-in-one solution. Ferrosorb, a unique ingredient within Ecomix, has an advanced process for removing both iron and manganese; it is able to remove dissolved and suspended forms, among others. Manganese, however, is more problematic to remove. Higher volumes can contain black sediment or turbidity due to the precipitated manganese. Because the water supply had high levels of iron we suggested installing an Ecomix unit after the Pyrolox unit, to remove any iron and manganese that may have been left after the Pyrolox unit.

Water hardness is a common characteristic in the majority of Ireland’s water supply. Ecomix helped address the issue with hard water in this particular supply. When it came to this project, issues with pipework and appliances would have been caused by the hard water and therefore increased maintenance and repair costs. One of the five ingredients that make up Ecomix is the cation exchange resin. Calcium and magnesium ions that create the limescale are essentially captured by the resin and then during the backwash cycle are displaced with sodium ions. The entire system is then rinsed and regenerated to start the process again.

Lastly, there were strong odours coming from the water and a water analysis revealed this was because of high amounts of hydrogen sulphide present in the water. This led J&F to suggest installing a Catalytic carbon unit with air intake at the end of the equipment train. We used AquaSorb CX-MCA within the unit; an activated carbon media that boasts high catalytic activity- making it highly effective when it comes to the removal of chloramines and hydrogen sulphide from potable water. Because iron was such a significant issue in the water supply, the air intake would aid in the removal of suspended iron through oxidisation, preventing the particles from exacerbating the turbidity problem.