Water purification systems from iron. Purification of water from iron from a well: chemical and mechanical methods. Application of oxygen or ozone

Purification of water from iron from a well is required in most water supply systems for private homes. The same problem exists in city water supplies. Drinking such water is unpleasant and sometimes dangerous. In addition, the presence of iron negatively affects the condition of household appliances and the cleanliness of washed linen and dishes.

Harm from excess substance

In no large quantities iron does not cause visible damage to health, because it is practically not absorbed and is excreted by the body in its original form. But if there is a lot of it, natural filters human body can't cope. The sad result is bad skin, a change in blood condition for the worse, and allergies.

The safe amount of the substance is within the range of 0.1–0.3 mg/l, but many wells produce liquid with more than ten times this level.

Health problems, of course, are extremely rare. After all, the abundance of iron in water is usually very noticeable both visually and tastefully. Drink nasty rusty water and cook food on it in non-extreme conditions reasonable person it won't.

But what to do with household appliances? An excess of a microelement leads to the formation of plaque as a result of oxidative processes, corrosion and rapid deterioration household appliances: water heaters, washing and dishwashers, steam generators.

In addition, iron leaves unsightly rusty-brown stains on freshly laundered clothes, dishes, and the walls of bathtubs, sinks and toilets. The inner surface of pipes and heated towel rails is also covered with plaque and clogged with flakes, which leads to bad pressure water and possible leaks.

Why you shouldn’t drink rusty water, video:

Finding out the shape of iron

In order to purify water from iron from a well quickly and effectively, it is important to know not only the concentration of the element, but also its form. After all, in nature the substance is found in various chemical compounds.

What forms of the element can be found in water:

• elementary;
• divalent and trivalent;
• bacterial;
• colloidal;
• soluble organic (polyphosphates).

You can guess which form of iron predominates in your water supply system based on certain signs. So, if it comes from the tap clear water, but after settling, a red-brown sediment remains at the bottom of the vessels, this indicates a trivalent modification. Its source is often old steel pipes in centralized water mains. This type of connection is always indicated by rusty stains on the sink, bathtub, and toilet.

The divalent form is indicated by initially brown water - a common problem in artesian wells.

If in doubt, you can check such a liquid by adding a little weak solution potassium permanganate. In the presence of divalent iron, the weak yellow tint transforms into dark brown.

From shallow wells, where water penetrates from the surface, turbid liquid with excess colloidal iron may flow. Iron bacteria reveal themselves by the appearance of a rainbow film on the surface of the water and slimy deposits in plumbing fixtures and pipes.

A visual assessment of the water condition is usually not enough. To know exactly the type harmful impurities, you should entrust the research to professionals in the laboratory. You can call specialists to collect the fluid, or do it yourself.

How to properly collect water for chemical analysis:

1. Wash a one and a half liter glass or plastic bottle hot water. Dishwashing detergents should not be used so that their traces do not affect the results of the study.
2. Open the tap for a quarter of an hour and let the water flow through. Then fill the container at minimum pressure. All this is necessary to ensure that there is as little oxygen in the water as possible.
3. Dial full bottle, waiting for the liquid to flow over the edge.

For the result to be accurate, you need to get to the laboratory in less than three hours. The water bottle should be wrapped in light-blocking material.

How to analyze and purify water from a well, video:

Professional cleaning methods

Many have been invented various systems, helping to get rid of iron in water in living conditions. They can be divided into groups:

• Filters using reagents. Getting rid of harmful impurities occurs through a chemical reaction.
• Systems that use oxygen or ozone (aeration and ozonation). Under their influence, iron takes on an insoluble form and precipitates.
• Filters operating on a reagent-free principle. These can be purely mechanical barriers against suspended matter, electromagnetic devices, or even modern nanomembranes that clean due to pressure drops.

Exposure to chemical reagents is required if the iron concentration exceeds 10 mg/l, as well as at very low water pH levels. In other cases, it is better to choose aeration, ozonation or reagent-free complexes. Their use is simpler and less expensive. The reagents in the filters must be constantly replenished and the quality of the output water must be monitored.

Methods for purifying water in a private home, video:

Application of oxygen or ozone

Purification of water from iron from a well is often carried out using the aeration method, the principle of which is based on the saturation of the liquid with oxygen. Artesian springs contain dissolved ferrous iron, which requires oxidation to transform it into an insoluble precipitate. The oxide is removed using mechanical filtration.

Aeration can be either pressure or non-pressure. In the latter case, the water is directed into a special tank, where it is sprayed and atomized using nozzles or an injector. The compressor in the device saturates the liquid with oxygen. As a result, insoluble sediment falls to the bottom, so the containers must be cleaned regularly (every 2–6 months).

The pressure method requires a static mixer or an aeration column. They are filled two-thirds with water, and oxygen enters the center of the liquid chamber, forming bubbles. Oxidation occurs due to these bubbles, as well as the air filling the remaining third of the tank. Double aeration increases cleaning efficiency.

Pressure aeration allows you to eliminate not only iron compounds, but also harmful volatile impurities, for example, hydrogen sulfide.

Using aeration, you can purify water in the mains of a private home. The only disadvantage of the method is additional expense electricity.

Ozonation is carried out on the same principle as aeration and gives even better results. But equipment for oxidizing iron with ozone is expensive, and setting up the device is difficult for non-professionals. This method is rarely used in private homes.

Use of reagents

Previously, one of the most popular methods of water purification was chlorination. But now they are trying to use this method only for industrial purposes. When chlorine interacts with water, not only the destruction of harmful substances occurs, but also the formation of free radicals that are harmful to the body. In addition to chlorine, other chemical oxidizing agents are also used in industry.

This method is not applicable in domestic conditions: large tanks and special skills in working with toxic substances are required.

From reagent techniques for home use filters with backfill and system are suitable backwash. Water purification from iron from a well is carried out if aeration is insufficient or technologically impossible. An automatic deferrizer is a cylinder filled with a special filter medium. This backfill speeds up the oxidation process significantly. Water flows in and out automatically thanks to the built-in timer and flow meter. After the filtration and regeneration cycle, the machine introduces a portion of the reagent into the filter medium to restore chemical activity.

The reagent method also includes ion filtration. Thanks to filters with catalytic resins, metal ions are replaced with sodium ions. The ionization method allows you to eliminate excess not only iron, but also other metals.

To restore chemical activity, add to filters citric acid or regular salt. But such support does not last long. After 2–3 years, the filters will have to be changed. And organic iron can settle on the resin as an insoluble film and become a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria.

Ionic water purification method, video:

Reagent-free cleaning systems

Mechanical cartridge filters (propylene or fine-grained granulite) have become widespread due to their simplicity and the possibility of long-term use without additional consumables. They allow you to clean the liquid from rust flakes, that is, insoluble iron.

Filters are used in buildings with centralized water supply, and in country houses– after transformation of the soluble form of the element, for example, through aeration. Direct purification of water from iron from a well is not carried out in this way.

For rough cleaning Macro filters are sufficient - they trap particles larger than 15 microns. For thin ones, you will need microcartridges (their cells are 5 microns). They are usually placed after macro filters to increase service life.

Reagent-free methods also include:

1. Distillation. Here the system heats the water and redirects clean steam without harmful particles to the after-treatment systems. It is then cooled in special condensers. The result is absolutely pure distilled water. It is not suitable for drinking - it contains not only harmful, but also useful substances. And people don’t like the taste of this water – it seems a little musty. Such a liquid is required for research and production processes. In domestic conditions, distillation devices are low-productive and require high costs electricity.
2. Electromagnetic cleansing. It involves exposing water to ultrasound and passing it through an electromagnetic apparatus. Particles containing iron are drawn into the magnetic field and settle in mechanical filter. Electromagnetic method economically beneficial - it protects pipes from corrosion and does not require additional consumables. However, filters need to be changed when they become demagnetized.
3. Membrane technologies. Filters with membranes are used to combat not only iron-containing impurities, but also bacteria, viruses, and harmful salts. Nanomembranes are good for combating bacterial and colloidal forms of pollution, microfiltration membranes retain rust particles, and reverse osmosis membranes are capable of eliminating all soluble modifications of iron. However, the cost of such devices is high, and they quickly become clogged and deteriorate. Their use is justified only in cases where extremely high quality cleaning is required.

Sometimes ultraviolet irradiation is used to remove iron-containing impurities. But this method is not very effective, and it is used only as an additional method.

Which option should I choose?

Each cleansing technique has its own pros and cons. Which system should you prefer so that there is enough water for all household needs? To avoid mistakes, the following factors should be taken into account:

• Speed ​​of water passage. Each system has its own period of liquid purification.
• Performance. It is calculated depending on the volume of the maximum intake at one time. If dimensional filters are used, this figure is higher. But such structures require serious maintenance costs.
• Filter medium. Not only the speed and flow of water is important, but also the absence of harmful influences and safety for health.
• Purposes of application. For household and technical needs it is not necessary to install filters fine cleaning. And for drinking water such systems are necessary.

When choosing a cleaning system, it should be taken into account that the composition of the water in the well may change periodically. It depends on the time of year, the composition and amount of precipitation, and soil characteristics.

To make water purification from iron from a well as effective as possible, it is recommended to combine several methods.

Home remedies for getting rid of impurities

To completely eliminate harmful impurities, treatment systems will be required. But sometimes it is not possible to install them immediately after determining the composition of the liquid. In this case, home methods will help:

• Freezing. Fill a bottle with water and put it in the freezer. When half of the liquid turns into ice, drain the rest. Melt the frozen part and use it for drinking or cooking.
• Boiling. If you boil water over low heat for a quarter of an hour or more, ferrous impurities will settle to the bottom of the pan or tank.
• The use of shungite or silicon. Minerals should be placed at the bottom of a container of water. After a few hours, drain two-thirds of the water. Harmful impurities will remain in the residue.

The easiest way to get rid of iron is settling. You can simply settle the water in a pan or tank or connect an additional container to the water supply system. Under the influence of oxygen, iron is transformed into an insoluble form and settles to the bottom.

The advantages of this method include a constant supply of water in the house, and the disadvantages are the need to regularly clean the tank.

Making a filter with your own hands (step-by-step instructions)

It is possible to create a system that purifies water from iron from a well without purchasing expensive equipment. It operates on the principle of converting ferrous iron into ferric iron under the influence of oxygen. An insoluble precipitate will fall to the bottom, and clean water can be drunk and used for household needs.

For the filter you will need:

• ten-liter plastic tank;
• rubber hoses;
• tap;
• spray nozzle.

If an aquarium compressor is connected to the system, the transformation process mineral matter will go faster. Then the device will work using the aeration method.

Installation of the treatment structure takes place in several stages:

1. We prepare a place for the tank (for example, in the attic).
2. We build the base from wood or brick. We secure the plastic barrel well on it to give the structure stability.
3. In the container on one side (closer to the top) we make a hole for the hose, through which water will flow from the well. Inside the container it should be covered with a nozzle with small holes. An inlet pipe with a sprayer or a regular watering can speeds up the process by increasing the contact area.
4. On the other side, at a height of 40 cm from the bottom, you will need another hole. We connect a hose to it, through which purified water will flow to household appliances. It needs to be equipped with a filter deep cleaning, retaining suspended matter that did not have time to precipitate.
5. We install a tap at the bottom to drain the residue.
6. We attach the aquarium compressor to the outer wall of the tank.

The operating principle of the treatment plant is simple. At night, the container is filled with water and the compressor is connected. It saturates the water with oxygen, which converts divalent iron into trivalent iron. “Weighted” particles settle at the bottom of the tank.

This allows you to reduce the concentration of harmful impurities by at least five times.

The next morning you can take clean water from the container. When it is almost finished, you need to open the tap at the bottom of the tank and drain the brown sediment. If there is no compressor, the cleaning process will take longer.

Be careful not to overfill the tank. For safety, it is worth equipping it with a float system for connecting and switching off the well pump.

How to create a deferrizer with your own hands, video:

It is better to solve problems caused by iron-saturated water at the stage of installing water supply lines. But thanks modern technologies Purifying water from iron from a well is also possible with an existing communications system. The main thing is to install the right one cleaning system. If you doubt your choice, you should contact a specialist.

Water obtained from natural sources at the dacha does not always meet all quality standards, and before using it for drinking or cooking, it must be additionally purified from various impurities, including iron. Let's consider how such cleaning can be done using filters.

The dangers of excess iron in drinking water

Iron is one of the most common metals in nature, and it gets into due to soil erosion. Due to their small size, iron particles weigh little, so they are easily transported with the flow of water and end up in drinking wells and springs.

It is almost impossible to visually determine the presence of an increased amount of this metal, but it is easy - it has a distinct metallic taste. But excess Fe is harmful not only from the point of view of unpleasant taste. This leads to the accumulation of rusty stains on dishes and plumbing fixtures, which are difficult to clean off even with aggressive agents. detergents, scale quickly forms on washing machines and dishwashers, as well as in pipes, and washed clothes remain with yellowish-red stains. Harm to health is expressed in liver damage, an increased risk of problems with the cardiovascular and genitourinary systems and decreased immunity.

The water in apartments undergoes serious purification and disinfection before being supplied to consumers, but even then it is not always of ideal quality. For liquid from a well at the dacha, the filter becomes the only obstacle and experiences serious stress.

To avoid having to spend money on updating cleaning systems too often, you should immediately purchase devices with high power and a good margin of safety, designed for heavy loads.

Methods for deferrizing water

Iron can be found in water in several forms:

• connections with others, does not precipitate;
• divalent, water-soluble, precipitates when reacting with oxygen;
• trivalent, is insoluble in water, gives it a yellowish color, and upon reaction with oxygen forms a precipitate in the form of flakes.

Depending on the predominant type of iron and its concentration, the following will be effective: different methods water treatment The valence and amount of iron in water is determined using laboratory tests; accurate results cannot be obtained at home.

Filtration methods for ferrous iron

The following cleaning methods are effective against this form of metal:

1. . The essence of the method is that special ion exchange substances in the filter cartridge react with impurities contained in the water. Sodium systems are usually used for water purification. The method is effective when the amount of iron in water is up to 3 mg/l; at higher concentrations it is practically ineffective.
2. Reverse osmosis. The essence is the passage of water under pressure through a partially permeable membrane from a solution of higher concentration to a solution of lower concentration. The diameter of the membrane pores is smaller than the size of the iron atoms, so they cannot pass through it and are washed down the drain. This method is effective at iron concentrations up to 15 mg/l. However, filters reverse osmosis They remove not only Fe, but also other substances, some of which are useful and necessary for the body. Therefore, it is recommended to subject filtered water to additional mineralization.
3. Aeration. Actually, this option cannot even be called cleaning. By interacting with oxygen, divalent iron simply turns into trivalent iron, which is easier to remove. There will be a usual settling of water in an open container. In addition to this method, water is also divided into many small jets by fountaining or shower-like devices; use injectors or ejectors for water-gas dispersion; a stream of air is passed through the water under pressure. But aeration is rarely used as an independent method of water deferrization; usually it is only one of the stages of multi-stage purification.

You should choose a filter only after a laboratory analysis of the water, since only this can show how many of these or other substances it contains, and what type and power of purification system is needed.

Methods for removing ferric iron

The water purification methods mentioned above are effective for the trivalent form of the metal only at low concentrations. At high levels of content they use, retaining impurities are simply due to small size cells.

We purify water without special devices

If there is no purification system at hand, and water of acceptable quality is needed, then you can only use several simple, but not 100% effective methods.

Homemade filter

To do this, the bottom of a large bottle with a volume of 4-5 liters is cut off, and a small hole is made in the lid. Next, place in layers from bottom to top:

• fabric, gauze, cotton wool;
• charcoal;
• washed river sand.

The filtration rate will be low, the water will still have to be boiled, but in the absence of more advanced devices and such homemade design will be useful.

Prolonged boiling

With this method everything is simple - Boil the water for at least 10-15 minutes. At high temperatures iron compounds precipitate. But although the water is purified, scale quickly forms on the walls of the boiling container.

Freezing

The water is frozen in any suitable container by about half, after which discard the unfrozen remainder, defrost the ice and use for drinking or cooking.

Advocacy

Water leave in a container with the lid open for about a day, after which, carefully, so as not to stir the sediment, approximately 70% of the water is drained for use, the remainder is used for household needs

Types of filters for high iron content

The easiest way to filter is using a traditional filter jug. In his top part pour and wait until it passes through the membrane into the lower container. This option is simple and convenient; the jug can be placed in any convenient location, the filter is easy to change, and it is quite cheap. The only drawback is the small volume of the jug (only 2-3 liters).

Pitcher filters should be washed periodically warm water with a weak soap solution to remove sediment from the walls.

Another technically simple and convenient option is using a compact faucet attachment. As a rule, such a filter uses an adsorbent or ionic strainer, removing not only iron, but also hardness salts and chlorine compounds. Because tap water is pressurized, the filter materials are denser than those used for jugs. These attachments are only used for taps. cold water, have a filtration resource on average of about 1.5-2 thousand liters. The efficiency of such filters is approximately the same as that of jugs.

The most advanced option is filter systems of 1-5 stages, installed under the sink and capable of providing water treatment speeds of up to 2.5 liters per minute. Obviously, the more filters, the more diverse methods of purification the water is subjected to, and the higher its quality at the output.

The resources of such filters are 4 - 25 thousand liters, and individual stages can be restored (albeit not to the original resource) and reused.

All methods of water filtration remove not only iron from it, but also other chemical and mechanical impurities.

A little about filter manufacturers

There are quite a lot of companies producing water purification systems, but we will focus only on some of the most common ones.

1. Aqualine (Taiwan). The company specializes in household filters with the system, components and replacement elements for them. The product is popular due to good quality at reasonable prices.
2. Aquafilter (Poland). Produces reverse osmosis filters, both household and industrial main ones. Good quality products, certified in many countries around the world.
3. Aquafilter (USA) . The assortment includes a wide range of household filters - from the simplest mechanical ones to complex multi-stage ones with electronic system control.
4. Aquaphor (Russia). It produces jug-type filters, faucet attachments, multi-stage sink systems and all kinds of replacement and component products for them. In addition to them, the range includes regenerators and mineralizers for enriching water with useful elements. The company is one of the leaders in the production of water treatment systems in Russia and sells its products to another fifteen countries.
5. Barrier (Russia). It produces filter jugs and replacement cassettes for them, flow-through filters (for washing), components and consumables.
6. Geyser (Russia). It compares favorably with a low price and a long product life. Produces household and industrial systems water purification in the form of jugs with filters, membrane devices, multi-stage “under-sink” installations, mainline purifiers. Filters not only remove chlorine, iron, various salts and other chemical impurities, but also bacterial purification.

The first few liters after installing a new cartridge in the filter will definitely be cloudy and blackish. This is normal, this is what the particles look like coal dust that were shaken during transportation.

Water purification at the dacha, video

Excess iron in water is not a sign that it cannot be used in everyday life, only need . The market is rich in offers of various filtration systems, and all that remains is to choose the appropriate one based on your needs based on laboratory water analysis.

Regular purification of iron from well water is very important. It allows you to rid the liquid of rusty sediment and unpleasant aftertaste.

Drinking water is the basis of life for any person. Sanitary services at the very least, but control its quality in the systems central water supply. But the owners of dachas and houses outside the city, who receive precious liquid from a well, are forced to monitor the purity of the water they produce and consume. It can be contaminated with various impurities that have a negative effect on the body. A common problem with water from a well in a country house is its saturation with iron.

Excessive presence of this element in a liquid is not difficult to determine: the need to purify water from iron is signaled by a decrease in its taste and unpleasant appearance.

In this case, it is advisable to have the liquid analyzed in the nearest laboratory. If an analysis of water from a well showed that it contains no more than 0.3 mg/l of iron, your worries were in vain. This liquid can be safely used for drinking.

Iron removal from water

But when the iron content is more than 0.3 mg/l, the water should be purified immediately. You can do this procedure yourself. We will talk about this later, but first we will determine in what form iron can be present in water. There are only two options here: trivalent insoluble and divalent soluble.

Special techniques allow you to get rid of excess iron present in water in one of these forms. Here are them all:

1. Cleaning with manganese dioxide.
2. Aeration.
3. Use of chemical reagents.
4. Application of electromagnetic field.
5. Ozonation.
6. Biological treatment.
7. Ion exchange and membrane techniques.

Let us consider each of these methods in more detail, since for each specific case of improving water quality, a different method is selected.

The use of manganese dioxide is recommended in cases where the liquid contains a lot of divalent iron. The technique involves the use of a special column. A filter membrane is installed in it, which is made of manganese dioxide. It comes into contact with iron. As a result of their reaction, an insoluble compound is obtained that precipitates. It must be periodically removed from the column with your own hands.

The cost of manganese dioxide filters for systems is quite high. But the filter element retains its effectiveness for a long time. In addition, this technology has another important advantage. It guarantees additional removal from well water methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

Manganese dioxide filters for well water systems

An alternative to the described technique is aeration. Water purification in this case is based on the principle of saturating it with oxygen, which leads to the transition of iron from a divalent to a trivalent state and its precipitation into an easily removable precipitate. Aeration has the following advantages:

• no need to purchase expensive reagents;
• absolute safety for humans (no chemical compounds are used);
• low load on the filter elements (as a result - a long service life).

Aeration of water from the well is carried out using a special container equipped with a compressor. It is placed between the filter column and the well. You can buy the container or make it yourself. It doesn't matter. The main thing is that its volume matches the amount of liquid you use during the day. In the aeration tank, water is saturated with oxygen and settled for a certain time. After this, the liquid can be drunk.

Pay attention! Aeration purification is effective only when the iron content in well water does not exceed 10 mg per liter.

If you saturate water with ozone, you will get a perfectly clean liquid. The technique is performed using a special installation. It has a generator that produces the required ozone from oxygen, as well as a system of tubes. Through them, the liquid is supplied to the tank, where it is cleaned. After iron is removed, the water is passed through a filter (fine purification procedure).

Advantages of ozonation:

• absence of any harmful bacteria in drinking water (ozone simply kills them);
• cleaning is carried out instantly - the water simply passes through the installation and becomes perfectly clean.

Ozonation of drinking water

Let us say right away that you cannot install an ozonation installation with your own hands. For these purposes, specialists should be involved. Another disadvantage of this technique is the high cost of equipment.

Biological water treatment also requires the participation of professionals. It is performed for liquids that contain a lot of iron (30–40 mg/l). The technique involves the use of bacteria. They are added to the purified water, thereby achieving the oxidation of iron. After this, the liquid is filtered and treated with ultraviolet rays.

Biological technology is very effective. But it requires the use of bacteria, additional equipment for filtration and irradiation. Yes, and it lasts quite a long time. Therefore, it is used very rarely to remove iron from liquids.

A simple cleaning method is the use of various reagents. Chlorine, permanganate and calcium hypochlorite are usually used as such. The principle of their action is identical - the reagents oxidize iron dissolved in the liquid. To carry out such an operation, simple equipment is required, which is often done with your own hands.

The following methods for purifying life-giving moisture from a well are more difficult to perform independently. Membrane technology uses special microfilters. They trap iron hydroxide (its individual colloidal particles). IN lately New generation membranes – nano- and ultrafiltration – have gained popularity. With their help, you can purify water by 97–99%, removing any impurities from it.

Membrane method of moisture purification

The following technique uses magnets. The liquid is passed through an electromagnetic field. Large iron particles in in this case communicate with each other. They do not enter purified water, as they are retained by filters. The latter are designed for 2–3 years active work. They will then demagnetize. The main advantages of the technique are protection of water pipes from rusting and high-quality disinfection of liquids.

The ion exchange technique uses special filter devices. They are made from ion-exchange resinous compounds. Such filters do not require pre-oxidation of iron. They immediately purify the water from it. In everyday life, such technology is rarely used due to its complexity and the high cost of resin filters.

Thus, if you want to clean liquid from a well yourself, spending a minimum of money on the process, experts advise turning your attention to the aeration technique. In terms of the ratio of cleaning quality, labor and financial costs, it is optimal.

To drink clean water and not spend money on expensive equipment, we advise you to make your own simple but highly effective purification system for liquid coming from a well. Refer to the following diagram:

1. Install a storage (sufficiently capacious) container in the attic of your country home. Find a barrel-shaped tank with a curved bottom. It is not difficult to purchase such a container. For example, a regular food-grade plastic tank is suitable.
2. Bring two branches to the barrel in the attic. One is connected to the pump from the well, the other is a discharge pump.
3. The first pipe must be stretched along the entire length of the tank, and a sprayer must be installed at the end. You can do without it - just drill a series of holes in the pipe. They are necessary to saturate the liquid coming from the well with air, which promotes the transition of iron into the trivalent form. There should be enough holes so that water flows into the tank in as thin streams as possible.
4. At a height of about 0.2 m from the bottom of the tank, connect the second pipe (it is connected to the back of the tank). At its outlet, it is advisable to mount a filter element for rough cleaning.
5. Connect the aquarium compressor to the tank. This device significantly speeds up the aeration process of water treatment by pumping air into the container.
6. You cut a faucet into the bottom of the tank, through which rust (that is, iron in trivalent oxidized form) will be drained from the tank.

Aeration cleaning system for liquid

In principle, your purification plant is ready. The essence of its functioning is elementary. Using the spraying method, liquid flows from the well into a self-prepared reservoir. The water settles in it for 20–24 hours.

This period of time is quite enough for the iron to completely oxidize and settle on the bottom of the tank. After this, drain the clean liquid, use it, and use the faucet to remove rust from the homemade aeration unit.

The technique provides you clean water. At the same time, no serious costs are required for its implementation - no expensive equipment or special reagents are needed. The only disadvantage of this iron removal technology is its duration. If you installed a container of 800–1000 liters, water purification will take, as was said, about a day.

The most troublesome and common water contaminant is iron. Water with high content iron has a metallic odor and taste. The use of such water for water supply leads to the appearance of rusty spots and stains on the surface in contact with water. Iron in dissolved form in large quantities contained in groundwater, and therefore, their use as a source of water for a house in a village imposes on its owner such a need as purifying water from iron from a well.

The concentration of iron in underground groundwater ranges from 0.5 to 50 mg/l. In the central part of Russia, the concentration of iron is in the range of 0.3–10 mg/l, most often 3–5 mg/l, depending on the geographical location and depth of the source. Starting from a concentration of 1.0–1.5 mg/l, water has an unpleasant metallic taste. At values ​​greater than 0.3 mg/l, iron leaves stains on linen and sanitary products. When the iron concentration is less than 0.3 mg/l, the odor is usually not noticeable, although turbidity and coloration of the water may appear.

Often, when using water with a high iron content, the following picture is observed. At first, the water obtained from the well seems clear in appearance, but over time it becomes cloudy and acquires a yellowish tint. The resulting turbidity settles over time to the bottom of the dish, forming a sediment in the form of oxidized trivalent iron. The presence and concentration of iron in water is checked through laboratory analysis. If it is contaminated, the water must be purified from iron from a well or water supply.

Water deferrization methods

There are two methods for deferrizing water: removing iron from water by oxidation with its subsequent deposition in the thickness of the load and ion exchange method(in which oxidation processes do not occur).

Purifying water from iron from a well using an oxidizer.

Iron removal in this case is carried out by filtration in combination with one of the methods pre-treatment water:
– ;
– dosing of coagulants;
– dosing active chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, potassium permanganate, or ozonation.
The simplest and most accessible method of the above is to use it with preliminary.

The essence of the method. At the stage of pre-treatment of water using an aeration column, air from the room is supplied opposite the water flow using a compressor. Thus, the percentage of dissolved oxygen in the water increases and the process of accelerated oxidation of iron occurs. Next, the water is supplied to the filter of the water deferrization system, where the formation of ferric hydroxide flakes and their retention in the volume of the filler is completed.

Purifying water from iron from a well - Ion exchange method

The principle is based on the ability of the ion-exchange filter media to retain, in addition to hardness salts, also divalent forms of dissolved iron and manganese. The advantage of this solution is that there is no need for preliminary oxidation of water on aeration columns or a settling tank. That is, there is no need for such a capricious and “dirty” (due to the need to wash away rust) stage as oxidation.

However, when using this method There are restrictions on the iron content in water, since at its high concentration, there is a high probability of the formation of insoluble trivalent iron, which leads to “clogging” of the pores of the ion exchange load and the impossibility of washing even with a reverse flow of water.

Attention! Based on the above, before purchasing a deferrization system, be sure to consult with a specialist about the possibility of using one or another method, having prepared an analysis of the source water in advance.

Purifying well water from iron not only improves safety when using liquids for cooking and drinking, but also helps extend the life of household appliances, as well as keep bathtubs and sinks clean. The water deferrization method, as a rule, is selected depending on the initial water quality (percentage and type of ferrous impurities), technical and financial capabilities, and volume of consumption.

Conventionally, all water lying in the ground used for water supply can be divided into three types:

• "overwater" or surface groundwater, which usually go into wells,
• sand layer water, which is extracted using shallow wells (they are usually called sand wells),
• deep-lying waters of the calcareous layer (artesian water and wells of the same name

Iron in surface waters

Surface waters are characterized by the presence of organic iron:

• humates (compounds with humic salts),
• colloidal suspended particles (lignins and tannins),
• bacterial substance (the result of the vital activity of special iron bacteria that are capable of changing the valency of iron, turning divalent particles into trivalent ones).

Wells on sand

Water from sand wells, as well as that contained in surface waters, in most cases contains iron in small quantities. Due to the presence of oxygen in these soil layers, it is usually in the trivalent form. At the same time, increasingly, water from sand layers becomes close in composition to surface waters, which means there is a high probability of the presence of hard-to-remove organic iron in the form of humates.

Artesian springs

The water of artesian wells is environmentally safer than that which is extracted from the upper layers, due to the minimal influence on its composition of human activity (to a depth of about 100 m) toxins that fall on the soil surface, pathogenic bacteria from landfills, chemicals from applied fertilizers and Ave.

At the same time, due to contact with certain types of soil artesian water contains more salts, including iron salts. At great depths, oxygen is absent in large quantities, and in the absence of an oxidizing agent, iron in most cases it is divalent. The following compounds are most often found in artesian water: Fe(HCO3)2 (iron bicarbonate), FeCO3 (carbonate), FeSO4 (sulfate), FeS (sulfide). Organic ferric iron and ferric sulfate Fe2(SO4)3 may also be present in small quantities and in rare cases. When using an artesian layer, you will most likely have to decide how to purify water from iron from a well.

Read more about artesian wells we told our site. How to design it, what designs are used and the approximate cost of the work.

Introduction of Reactants and Catalysts

The use of reagents to purify water from iron is more typical for industrial processes. In most cases, such methods require additional purification and filtration to remove chemical compounds. IN industrial installations Water clarification can be done by introducing slaked lime or potassium permanganate, and the use of sodium hypochlorite is also possible in private houses and cottages. The principle of purification in all cases is that the reagents react with dissolved iron, forming a precipitate.

The use of catalysts (filter media) makes it possible to speed up and increase the efficiency of the process and is used in conjunction, for example, with pre-aeration or oxidation with reagents. The catalytic method of iron removal can be implemented by passing a stream of water through filters filled with a material that has catalytic properties. The porosity of such fillers ensures effective cleaning. Similar filter fillers include, for example, synthetic materials Birm, Greensand, MZhK, MFO.