how to remove iron from ground water?

Answer 1

by Larry Braul PFRA, Water Quality Unit

A reverse osmosis (RO) system can remove high levels of iron, manganese, sodium and sulfates; however, without pre-treatment to remove the iron and manganese, the RO cartridge may need to be replaced every two weeks.

With effective pre-treatment, RO cartridges should last long enough to be an economical treatment of poor quality ground water.

In conjunction with ADD Board #10 and with funding from the Canada-Saskatchewan Agriculture Green Plan Agreement, PFRA constructed a trailer in the summer of 1997 to evaluate ways of removing iron and manganese.

High levels of iron, manganese, sodium and sulfates all cause bad tasting drinking water.

Iron or manganese in the water can stain laundry.

Sodium can cause health problems for people with high blood pressure.

Sulfates can cause diarrhea in animals and humans.

The RO membranes are very effective in removing large percentages of these major ions from water.

The problem with membranes is that their tiny pores are easily plugged by high levels of iron and manganese. Removal of iron and manganese before the RO system will significantly extend the life of the RO system.

High levels of iron and manganese can be removed from the ground water depending on the form of iron and manganese in the water. Some forms of iron and manganese are easily removed by oxidation using air, chlorine or potassium permanganate. Oxidation causes the soluble iron and manganese to form precipitates and settle out.

Other forms of iron and manganese are bound to organic matter--often called organically complexed--and are difficult to oxidize. These organically complexed forms of iron and manganese are often found in water with more than two mg/L of dissolved organic carbons (DOC).

Five methods of removing iron, manganese and other major ions were tested in waters with very high dissolved organics.

The following table shows the approximate iron and manganese removal levels for the various treatments. All five treatments were somewhat effective in the removal of iron, but only the slow sand filter combined with the granular activated carbon (GAC) was consistently effective. These treatment systems also used an RO system to polish the water.

The RO system was the only consistent treatment for removing sodium, sulfates, hardness and total dissolved solids, but without pre-treatment to remove the iron and manganese, the RO membrane only lasted one month.

The work indicates that the slow sand filter combined with a granular activated carbon was the most effective way of removing both iron and manganese.

Removal of manganese by the GAC was unexpected. It is speculated that the removal of organics by the GAC also removed the organically complexed manganese.

Additional testing is required to ensure repeatability of these findings and to determine the relationship between water DOC levels, forms of iron and manganese and the removal of iron and manganese with GAC.

Answer 2

Use a magnet.

Seriously there are water treatment systems that just filter water, and there are systems made to handle ground water and it’s unique problems. An electromagnetic or a simple magnet CANNOT remove the iron from the water. The iron has to be taken out of suspension in the water. The iron usually needs to be oxidized (rusted) and separated from the water before it can be pulled out. Just as a simple magnet won't work, nor will a simple water filter. You need a full water treatment system or a under the sink version that SPECIFICALLY states it removes iron.

The general types of water filters:
·Phosphate treatment will NOT remove iron.
·Ion exchange water softeners can only remove small amounts and can get clogged by iron.
·Oxidizing filters can remove iron, but if there is too much dissolved oxygen in the water than that could be a problem.
·A system that features aeration followed by filtration might be your best system to get.
·Chemical oxidation followed by filtration can be the best way to remove high concentrations of iron, but the chemicals involved are hazardous (chlorine, bleach and potassium permanganate).

Before you make a decision have your water tested to see just how bad a problem it is, that will tell you which system is best and which system can handle the other water impurities. This site offers some do-it-yourself test kits: http://yourwaterneeds.com/FS_TestKit.asp

Start out on this website: http://www.water-research.net/manganese.htm
It gives you a better definition of the problem and why you will need a certain type of filtration system. It goes beyond just stains on clothing and discusses the serious problems like bacteria promoted by iron and corrosion of your pipes.

You need to contact some companies and do some research.
http://www.puritec.com/store/category.cfm?Category=75
http://www.budgetwater.com/iron_filters.htm?source=google
http://www.intec-america.com/
You can check out eBay: http://search.ebay.com/iron-water-filter_W0QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ3QQxpufuZx
This would work, but not very wel,l and I wouldn't recommend it; but, it could be a short term solution: http://www.crystalclean.us/index.html

A comparison of water filters, none that can remove iron: http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.net/WaterFilter_Comparison.cfm

Answer 3

Morning

This American site (I was surprised to see that 47% of Americans rely on ground water) gives some comprehensive information that should help

http://www.wellowner.org/awaterquality/basics.shtml

Cheers

Steve

Answer 4

iron cannot exist in ground water in metalic form it is a heavy metal and it will setel down .if it exists in ion form it can be separated by electrolytic process