Here we look at the latest water purification technology for the home or point-of-use. Let’s start with the methods of water purification that are out dated.

Water purification technology was invented very early in human history, and distillation was the method. Distillation was commonly used to raise the alcohol content of various alcoholic beverages.

Distillation methods of water purification are available for households. There are distillers and collection tanks on the market, but also factor in your time as a cost. Distillers work quite slowly and would take quite a while to purify any large volume of water.

Here’s how it works. Waters or other liquids are passed over a heated coil, turning them into vapor. The steam rises and follows a tube into a cooling chamber, where it is returned to its liquid state.

The temperatures are high enough to eliminate bacteria. Calcium, magnesium, lead, and other molecules do not travel up the tubing. With distillation methods of water purification, however, there are dangerous chemicals that do become vapor and pass into the collection tank. These include THMs, which are known to cause cancer. There are material costs, too: 20 to 26 cents per gallon.

It used to be that reverse osmosis (also known as RO) was the most advanced water purification technology. These methods of water purification put fluids under high pressure and direct them through a semi-permeable membrane. Minerals as well as a number of contaminants do not pass through the filter, because most have larger molecules than water does.

Many synthetic chemicals, such as herbicides and pesticides are smaller, molecularly, than water’s, so RO methods of water purification must be used in conjunction with a carbon filter. The systems require adequate pressure and extensive maintenance. They produce less than a gallon per hour, so a storage tank is necessary. Several gallons of wastewater are created for every gallon that is produced. Per gallon, the cost of use is 18 to 24 cents.

More convenient and manageable water purification technology is available in the form of pitchers and carafe-style filters. These use activated carbon and micron filtration to take out lead and chlorine. They are not cheap, and it’s one of those methods of water purification that forces you to replace the filters regularly. The cost works out to 25 cents per gallon.

For home use, the cutting edge of water purification technology is a combination of a multi-media block, granular carbon filters, sub-micron filtration, and ion exchange. The US EPA states that, when used together, these methods of water purification are the best water purification technology you can find. This system filters out THM’s, VOCs, and chlorine.

What makes them effective? A water purification technology called adsorption. Adsorption methods of water purification make use of chemical or physical bond, which affix the impurity to the outermost layer of the filter. In addition, lead is replaced with harmless potassium in a process called ion exchange. This also make the pH level healthier and balances out the mineral volumes.

Multi-media blocks have a sub-micron pore structure that filters out sediment and cysts like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. This configuration also prevents water from channeling around the filter media. No wastewater is created. No electricity is required. This is by far the best and most economical water purification technology for today’s busy homeowner. Per gallon, the cost is less than 10 cents.

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