What We Remove
Contaminants Reduced by Mechanical Filtration
Contaminants trapped by a physical barrier or pore size.
Mechanical filtration physically separates contaminants from the influent water stream by a physical barrier. The contaminants are prevented from remaining in the effluent water due to the contaminant particle size being larger than the pores in the filter – much in the way fish can be trapped in a fishing net while water can still pass through. Contaminants filtered by mechanical means are weakly bound, and can be released back into the influent water if the water flow is reversed.Contaminants reduced by mechanical filtration include:
- asbestos – mineral once used in building insulation; known to cause cancer
- cysts – parasitic microorganisms such as giardia or cryptosporidium
- particulates – miscellaneous physical particles that can cause turbidity (general water cloudiness), such as dirt or dust
Contaminants Reduced by Physisorption
污染物的物理吸附过滤地中海ia by surface/capillary energy.
物理吸附的过滤方法,或physisorption, is made possible due to the porous nature of activated carbon. The surfaces of the pores within the carbon block have larger attractive forces than non-porous surfaces; therefore, certain contaminants enter the pores in the carbon block and remain “stuck” to the surface of the pores by Van der Waals forces or capillary energy. Contaminants trapped by physisorption are strongly bound, and unlikely to release with a reverse water flow.Contaminants reduced by physisorption include:
- Bisphenol A (BPA) – used in the production of plastics
- DEET – used as a pest repellent
Contaminants Reduced by Chemisorption
Contaminants adsorbed to the filter media by chemical forces.
The filtration action of chemical adsorption, or chemisorption, is made possible due to the formal charges of activated carbon – activated carbon block surfaces contain a mixture of positive and negative charges. Metallic contaminants in the water contain positive or negative charges, and are attracted to their opposite charges in the carbon block. Contaminants adsorbed in this manner are strongly bound, and unlikely to release with a reverse water flow.Contaminants reduced by chemisorption include:
- Lead – metal; known neurotoxin that can poison the blood, nervous system, and brain
- Mercury – metal; known neurotoxin that can poison the blood, nervous system, and brain
Contaminants Reduced by Catalysis
Contaminants rendered harmless through catalytic reaction.
Catalysis is the filtration action by which a contaminant molecule is adsorbed to the filter surface and in the process experiences a change in electron density, causing the contaminant to be altered by catalytic reaction into relatively harmless chemical compounds.Contaminants reduced by catalysis include:
- Chloramine – used as a disinfectant
- Chlorine – used as a disinfectant
Detailed Contaminant Reduction List
Multipure Drinking Water Systems are NSF certified, and tested according to NSF/ANSI Standards 42 (Aesthetics), 53 (Health Effects), 401 (Emerging Contaminants) and P231 (Microbiological Purifier) for the reduction of:
- Arsenic V*
- Asbestos
- Atenolol
- Bacteria**
- Bisphenol A
- Carbamazepine
- Chloramine
- Chlordane
- Chlorine
- Cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba, Toxoplasma)
- DEET
- Estrone
- Ibuprofen
- Lead
- Linuron
- Meprobamate
- Mercury
- Metolachlor
- MTBE
- Microcystin*
- Microplastics
- Naproxen
- Nonyl phenol
- Particulate matter, Class I (0.5 micron)
- PCB
- PFOA*
- PFOS*
- Phenytoin
- TCEP
- TCPP
- Toxaphene
- Trimethoprim
- Turbidity
- Waterborne Viruses**
- Volatile Organic Chemicals (listed below):
- Alachlor
- Atrazine
- Benzene
- Carbofuran
- Carbon Tetrachloride
- Chlorobenzene
- Chloropicrin
- 2,4-D (Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid)
- Dibromochloropropane
- o-Dichlorobenzene
- p-Dichlorobenzene
- 1,2-Dichloroethane
- 1,1-Dichloroethylene
- cis-1,2-dichloroethylene
- trans-1,2-dichloroethylene
- 1,2 Dichloropropane
- cis-1,3-Dichloropropylene
- Dinoseb
- Endrin
- Ethylbenzene
- Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)
- Haloacetonitriles (HAN):
- Bromochloroacetonitrile
- Dibromoacetonitrile
- Dichloroacetonitrile
- Trichloroacetonitrile
- Haloketones (HK):
- 1,1-dichloro-2-propanone
- 1,1,1-trichloro-2-propanone
- Heptachlor
- Heptachlor Epoxide
- Hexachlorobutadiene
- Hexachlorocyclopentadiene
- Lindane
- Methoxychlor
- Pentachlorophenol
- Perflourooctanoic acid (PFOA)***
- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)***
- Simazine
- Styrene
- 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane
- Tetrachloroethylene
- Toluene
- 2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
- Tribromoacetic acid
- 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene
- 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
- 1,1,2-Trichloroethane
- Trichloroethylene
- Trihalomethanes (TTHM):
- Chloroform (surrogate chemical)
- Bromoform
- Bromodichloromethane
- Dibromochloromethane
- Xylenes (total)