Water Softener System - How Does It Work?

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

One of the major nutrients that the human body needs on a regular basis is water. And not only is water one of the elements of nature but, as Leonardo da Vinci puts it, “Water is the driving force in nature.”

Every individual, whether it is in his office or in his home, needs access to safe and clean drinking water and yet water could have many problems such as: 

•  Various viruses and bacteria 

•  Hidden impurities 

•  Chemicals that have been added for purification 

•  Soluble and insoluble particulate matter 

•  Different tastes because of something known as hard water 

This is where the importance of water softener can be felt. So what is a water softener and how does it work? What is the process behind it? 

What is a Water Softener? 

A water softener is a device that helps to remove various kinds of components in the water, especially when it is hard water. By going through water softening process, such hard water gets converted into soft water that is good at many levels including: 

•  prolonging the life of pipes and tubes used in plumbing 

•  making water more safe because the metallic content has been removed and 

•  improving the lathering ability of soaps and detergents 

Why use Water Softening Process? 

Water is termed as hard water if it has minerals, metals and even particulate matter contained within it. Each country or region has a certain definition of what can constitute hard water. One of the universal measures that is used to denote hard water is something known as grains per gallon. If a sample of water has anywhere above 3.5 GPG or grains per gallon then it is denoted as hard water. The degree of hardness increases with a higher GPG count. 

Depending on your location, you will then need to go in for a water softener in order to enjoy healthier and softer water. 

How does a Water Softener Work? 

There may be several methods of water softening. But one of the most prevalent ones is something known as cation exchange. What this means is that when hard water is put through a water softener, then the device exchanges cations of calcium and magnesium which are commonly found in hot water; with cations from dissolved sodium chloride salt. 

The exchange process is conducted by either resin or plastic beads or something known as zeolites. The sodium ions are coated on this medium of exchange and when the hard water passes through this exchange it also triggers off a chemical reaction. As a result of this chemical reaction, the magnesium and calcium ions remain on the medium of exchange and the sodium ions take their place in the water. The resultant water that comes out of the water softener is soft. 

Most water softeners also use something known as flush back or recharge which allows the sodium solution to remain all charged up and ready for the next process of water softening. Other variations of water softeners include those that deliver descaling capabilities as well. So depending on how hard the water is in your location, you could go in for an appropriate water softener like WaterBoss.

(DISCLOSURE: This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and benefitted from personally. Thank you for your support!) 

*by andreascy*

UGGA : Ultra Portable Greenhouse Gas Analyser Fits In Small Case

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Portable gas analysers are nothing new, but Los Gatos Research reckons its latest instrument is the world’s first Greenhouse Gas Analyser to qualify for the label "ultra portable". 

Able to detect the three major greenhouse gases - CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), CH4 (Methane), and H2O (Water Vapour) to a claimed accuracy of parts per billion, the appropriately-named Ultra-portable Greenhouse Gas Analyser, or UGGA, is built into a rugged case small enough to be taken as aircraft carry-on luggage.

Los Gatos says that UGGA can simultaneously measure concentrations of CO2, CH4, and H2O, without suffering cross-sensitivity with other gases. The device consumes less than 70 watts, which the company says is less than a standard light bulb (but, as tungsten bulbs over 60W have already be come unavailable Europe, this isn’t necessarily a universal truth). 

The instrument works on the company’s proprietary Off-axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-Icos) technology, a cavity-enhanced laser absorption technique which it says is more precise and more rugged than competing technologies. Being a laser-based technique, the instrument automatically corrects CO2 and CH4 for water vapour dilution and spectroscopic effects. Both are reported as dry mole fractions, enabling accurate measurements without the need for sample drying. 

The choice of technology and the ruggedised case makes UGGA suitable for portable operation, and the package fits within US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines. Applications include compliance monitoring of industrial emissions and landfills, leak detection, air quality studies, soil flux studies, and other field operations where greenhouse gas emissions are to be monitored. 

*by andreascy*

Hybrid system : Produce Hydrogen from Sunlight and Water

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

An interesting twist on the Hydrogen production system using sunlight and water to react with copper and aluminium oxide that when heated to 200 Degrees Celsius and combined with “catalytic nanoparticles” initiate a chemical reaction to quickly release the stored hydrogen. The Hydrogen is then fed into a Fuel cell battery to provide a constant source of power to a household.

The idea basically being that all the hydrogen for one day can be created quickly from the chemical reaction and then temporarily stored in holding containers reliving the necessity to permanently store hydrogen which is a major obstacle for a Hydrogen based economy. 

If the demonstration system can confirm the suggested results from the preliminary modelling this would be a handy way to provide a constant source of energy to a household without having to worry about battery replacements every few years and could be built into every house. 

The hybrid device contains series of copper tubes coated with a thin layer of aluminum and aluminum oxide and partly filled with catalytic nanoparticles. A combination of water and methanol flows through the vacuum-sealed tubes. 

“This set-up allows up to 95% of the sunlight to be absorbed with very little being lost as heat to the surroundings,” Hotz said (Nico Hotz, Engineer on Duke University). “This is crucial because it permits us to achieve temperatures of well over 200 ºC within the tubes. By comparison, a standard solar collector can only heat water between 60 and 7 ºC.”. 

Once the evaporated liquid achieves a high enough temperature, tiny amounts of a catalyst are added. The combination of high temperature and catalysts produces hydrogen very efficiently, Hotz said. The hydrogen can be immediately directed to a fuel cell to provide electricity to a building during the day, or compressed and stored in a tank to provide power later.  Read more about this system on Solar Novus Today. 

Have you read this? 

Remaining as one of our most popular articles. Please leave your thoughts and share with others. Stay tuned!

*by andreascy*

New Super Cool H2O Discovery

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Besides vapor, ice and liquid, a fourth form of water may exist. Unlike the fictional ice-nine, which melted at 45.5 Celsius degrees, this new form of H2O likes it cold : about 47.7 C degrees below zero. Liquid water usually freezes into ice at 0 °C, but under the right conditions, like the high pressure at the bottom of the ocean, water stays liquid below 0 °C.

Water's fourth form, or phase, may be a liquid with some of the properties of both ice and regular liquid water. But laboratory equipment isn't sensitive enough to observe the rapid transformation from regular liquid water to the fourth form.

Researchers Pradeep Kumar and H. Eugene Stanley used a computer simulation to model the elusive liquid. They found that at about -47.7 °C, the local structure of water seems to become extremely ordered, like ice, while undergoing sharp but continuous structural changes and remaining liquid. Oddly, at this temperature the water also became more conductive of heat, the opposite of what happens with regular liquid water and ice, as anyone living in an igloo will tell you.

The strange behavior of water at low temperatures is what led Stanley and Kumar to believe that their results support the idea that water has a fourth phase. Eventhough an article written by Martin Chalpin says that : 

"There are sixteen or so crystalline phases.....and three amorphous (non-crystalline) phases."

This means calling this phase the fourth phase of water, is wrong.

They are different crystal structures, but they do fit the Gibbs definition of phases. they are phases just as much as the ice, liquid water, and water vapor which exist at 'ordinary' temperatures and pressures. They obey the Gibbs phase rule, phase diagrams which include these solid phases may be found in physical chemistry texts, e.g. the classic 'Physical Chemistry' by Walter J. Moore. 

If you liked this article feel free to share it with your social circles. Kindly comment below and let us know what do you think.

*by andreascy*