What Are Greensand Filters and How Do They Work?

When we hear about going green, the first impression of our mind is something eco-friendly, which does not rely upon excessive carbon usage in the atmosphere.

That is exactly what green sand filter water treatment technology is all about. It uses greensand filters for water treatment.

Greensand Filters

Glauconite is a greenish black/greenish blue mineral which is formed under water. It was found out in the 1900s that glauconite possesses properties of chemical exchange. This meant that could be used in the water treatment industry, in addition to certain compounds, who would allow some entities to pass while blocking certain entities.

These days, green sand filters are extensively used in water treatment industry where glauconite is used with Manganese dioxide. This coating of manganese dioxide helps in oxidation of manganese and iron (present in water) when these compounds of these elements, present in water come across greensand filters.

To clean greensand filters, you need potassium permanganate – a purple colored powder which makes greensand filters, good as new!

Working of Green Sand Filters Water Treatment

Hard water has rich quantities of dissolved iron and manganese. When these elements are exposed to air, they exhibit rusting properties, which stain your clothes and spoil your pipes.

The greensand filter oxidizes the dissolved metallic compounds. Now, as water passes through the filter medium, these metallic elements start solidifying, in the form of precipitates. These solid compounds are settled in the filter bed, while you receive soft water as output.

After each day, iron filter backwashes the precipitated compounds to drains and during each backwash cycle, KMnO4, automatically cleanses the greensand filter.

Greensand and Greensand Plus Filter

The difference between both filters lies in substrate formation. Greensand filter use a glauconite core while greensand plus filter has a silica core with the infused coating.

Also, greensand plus filter does not require potassium permanganate instead, it relies on one feed of chlorine.

Certain Conditions

The catch is that these types of filters need certain conditions for their optimal working. The water in which they are required to function should have a pH in the range of 6.7 – 8.8.

If the pH of water is less than 6.8, the water is recommended to either, a soda ash feeder or a neutralizer filter. In addition, the water should neither contain tannins nor oils.

Greensand Filter & Compounds of Sulfur

Compounds of sulfur are notorious for their smells. One such compound is H2S – Hydrogen Sulfide, which gives bad odor in water.

By using high quality water filtration system, you can remove up to 5 PPM of hydrogen sulfide from the water. However, there are reported cases of odor in which water feels smelly after it has entered the plumbing unit.

One such case is of decaying anode rods of water heaters. Even if water lacks hydrogen sulfide, you will feel order because of worn out anode rods. In any case, it is important to know the root cause of odor before implementing any kind of change.

Call a professional service of water softener installers if you feel any confusion about green sand filters water treatment and their application in treating hard water of your homes and of your workplace.