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Water and You
Ion Exchange and Water Ionization: Fact and Fiction
In recent decades, consumers seeking water treatment have
been literally bombarded with a variety of treatment methods from hundreds of
companies, all promising the very safest, healthiest water on Earth. Two of
these treatment methods, ion exchange and ionization, are commonly
misunderstood and mistaken for one another. Ion exchange and ionization differ
dramatically in the way they operate, and each method offers a different water
result. While both methods promise improved, healthier water, the facts and
fictions of the processes are often hard to separate. Only with close
scientific examination of the processes are the true capabilities and unproven
promises revealed.
Ionization
Throughout the past 15 years, proponents and producers of
water ionizers have been particularly ambitious in their promises to deliver
water that will not only taste good but also provide the miraculous healing
solution to nearly all of the body’s ailments. Transplants from Japan and
Korea, water ionizers are expensive, electric machines that claim to produce
ionized, alkaline water through the process of electrolysis.
While the companies touting water ionizers make fantastic
claims about the effects of ionized water on the body, there is in fact very
little scientific data available to back up these assertions.
In the ionization process, water is broken down into
positive and negative ions when an electric current is passed through it. A
water ionizer generally contains a pair of oppositely charged electrodes to
accomplish this task. As the water encounters the electrodes, positive ions
acquire electrons while negative ions donate electrons. The end result is a
collection of H+ and OH- ions in the water. If the water were to remain this
way, it would be more alkaline than pure water and require less energy for the
body to digest; this is the reason ionizer manufacturers claim their water is
healthier. However, it is the nature of water for the positively and negatively
charged ions to quickly find one another and combine to form H2O molecules,
thus reversing the electrolysis. While some water may retain its alkalinity
until digestion, the bulk of the water will be digested in its original
non-ionic form.
In addition to the ineffectual nature of electrolysis on
water, there is also no scientific data to prove that ionizers remove any
chemical or biological contaminants.
While some water ionization companies may purport the
ability of their systems to remove chemical contaminants, it is not the
ionization process that is doing so. The device nearly always adds a carbon
filter element, and it is the carbon filter that is removing contaminants and
providing better-tasting water. The end result is filtered water processed through
an expensive machine that could have been achieved simply by sending the water
through a $100 carbon filter. While the flashy, electrical device may seem like
a miraculous panacea, in the end it is nothing more than over-priced and
ineffective.
Ion Exchange
Ion exchange has been used as a method of water treatment
for over a century. Once chemists discovered that normally neutral molecules
could separate and become ionic when dissolved in water, it was a simple
realization that one could attract and remove unwanted ionic particles from
that water. The ion exchange process has thus been utilized reliably for
decades to soften and/or filter undesirable contaminants from water.
Unlike ionization, ion exchangers are designed not to
separate and ionize water molecules, but to attract ionic compounds dissolved
in water.
Ion exchangers typically use a chemically charged filter
resin designed to attract either heavy metal ions or hard mineral ions in
water. In the filtration process, the ion exchange resin is generally made up
of a potassium-charged zeolite. The zeolite issues a double negative charge,
which holds two positively charged potassium ions for each receptor. As water
passes over the resin, positively charged lead, mercury, and other heavy metal
ions in the water are irresistibly attracted to the zeolite. The heavy metal
ions break their bond to the water and attach to the zeolite, which then
releases the two potassium ions into the water to maintain neutrality. The end
result is potassium-infused water that is free of heavy metals. The water
softening process is similar to the filtration process, but the ion exchange
resin generally holds sodium chloride ions to exchange for dissolved calcium,
iron, and manganese ions in the water.
The ion exchange process sounds similar to water ionization,
but it is comparable in name only. Ion exchange has been recognized for years
as one of the most effective and efficient means of removing heavy metals and
hard minerals from water while the scientific data needed to prove the benefits
of ionization is still lacking. Like many things in life, the miraculous nature
of ionization is simply too good to be true.
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