New Technologies for Filtering Toxins Such as Arsenic out of Well Water

Drilling in the ground is often an effective way to get fresh water, but the problem is that it's particularly important to filter well water. Well water may often have dangerous toxins in it that have to be carefully removed in order to make the water usable. If you're looking to drill for potable well water, here are a few new technologies that can help you with filtration.

The Dangers of Water Wells

One of the largest dangers from using water wells is that it will be contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic is readily found in the earth's crust. There's a trace amount of arsenic in many water sources, but it's critical to make sure it doesn't rise.

In Canadian drinking water, for example, the estimate is that levels are around 0.005 milligrams per liter. Arsenic can cause numerous negative health effects including nausea and diarrhea in the long term, and even skin discoloration. It can make your limbs numb and cause heart rhythm problems and damage to your blood vessels.

Nanotech Systems

Fortunately, there are solutions for filtering out toxins such as arsenic from well water. An example is something called iron oxide nanoparticles. This is an approach advocated by many experts due to the fact that it's low cost.

The approach works by making it so that iron oxide particles combine with arsenic, resulting in a mixture that your body won't process. Basically, the new mixture just flows right through you without causing any damage like what happens when your body breaks down arsenic normally. These systems would be effective to use in remote water wells since they don't require power.

Membrane Filtration

Modern advances in membrane filtration have made it so that very small particles that are only as wide as 10 nanometers across can be filtered out safely. Research continues to go into this particular approach to filtration in order to make membrane pores that are smaller and more effective at filtering out toxins.

Some new research approaches in this area include using ceramics in order to drive the cost of remote filtration down. This technology also makes the system more durable and more efficient.

Overall, the key for effective water wells is to make sure that affordable filtration systems are used that work well in the more remote areas where wells are often drilled. For more information, talk to a water well professional like J R Drilling Central Limited Partnership.

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