In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the U.S. East Coast faced a water crisis.

The torrential rains had contaminated drinking water sources with millions of gallons of sewage water. Naturally, the authorities tried to disinfect the water with chlorine. Chlorine, traditionally, has been good at killing microorganisms. More recently, however, scientists have discovered that in reacting with raw sewage and organic matter, chlorine also produces a number of toxic chemicals. These chemicals could be harmful to people, animals and the environment.

Therein lies the ultimate catch in modern water filtration systems. Many businesses and all local governments treat drinking water with chemicals like chlorine to kill potentially disease causing microbes.
These disinfectants, however, cause what the Environmental Protection Agency refers to as “disinfection byproducts,” or in other words toxic trash. EPA currently regulates such toxic trash in cooling tower chemical treatment caused by the trihalomethanes family such as chloroform. Toxic trash present in drinking water can lead to serious issues like bladder cancer in people or even birth defects. It can also contaminate streams where animals and plants end up absorbing these toxins.

A Chemical Free Future for Water Filtration

Industrial water filtration and treatment systems are the most at fault for release of toxic waste from chemical treatments. As a result, industrial water treatment companies are looking for ways to purify water without the use of chemicals. It’s not as easy as initially imagined. Chemicals, though they cause environmental damage, are highly potent at killing microorganisms. There are less potent methods to filter water, like UV rays, but no one wants to risk a potential outbreak by using an alternative treatment method.

There are some companies, like Dynamic Water Technologies, that are pushing forward new innovations that filter water without causing serious environmental harm. These technologies, like Universal Environmental Technology (UET), are using new methods to filter water. Rather than depending on chemicals, filtration methods like UET use careful calculations and the natural properties of water to purify it.

How UET Filtration Works

UET is based on unique algorithms. Also, it promotes water purification by restoring natural equilibrium of water. Traditional water treatment methods inhibit minerals present in water to purify it.

UET instead uses these minerals to remove harmful material to achieve a dynamic equilibrium curve. Electrolysis is the secret to how UET can destroy bio contaminants and remove heavy metals, scale, and corrosion residue from water without adding any chemicals. Water filtered with UET method is entirely free of deposits and bio agents. UET uses a series of reaction chambers to remove minerals from water. How it removes microbes is particularly interesting. The system can introduce H+ ions leading to electro-chlorination that creates biocides. These biocides kill viruses and bacteria just like chemical treatments, but without the harmful effects.

Lesser Known Benefits of Chemical Free Water Treatment Methods

Chemical free processed water treatment methods like UET has other benefits that people don’t necessarily notice right away. UET for example is highly cost efficient; a business can save up to 24 percent in costs by using UET in comparison to a more traditional water treatment method. UET is also water conserving. This filtration method can save up nearly 70 percent of water that’s filtered through. The system itself is low maintenance and thus eliminates unnecessary servicing costs.

Thanks to methods like UET, and even UV ray treatment, the water filtration methods in the future look poised to cause less environmental damage.

Related
WATER TREATMENT CONTAMINANTS: Forgotten Toxics in American Water