Iron removal systems
If the water you pour from the tap in your home looks rusty or
has reddish-brown particles that settle to the bottom, you
likely have high levels of iron in your water. The nuisance of
high iron concentrate often goes beyond just leaving orange,
black, or gray stains on your fixtures and clothing. It can
often leave a metallic smell and taste in your water and
promotes the growth of Iron Reducing Bacteria which is extremely
troublesome.
Water that is high in iron often also has elevated levels of
manganese, hydrogen sulfide (often known simply as sulfur), and
arsenic. A good water filter can usually remove the iron and
also remove or sharply reduce many other contaminants as well. A
backwashing whole house iron water filter is one of the most
common ways of treating water that’s high in this metal, and the
right filter can be very effective.
Oxidation iron removal systems
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Chlorine Based Iron Removal Systems
Chlorine is a great disinfectant but is not a good oxidizer, thus the contact time in the retention tank. Be prepared to clean out the bottom of the retention tank periodically. Additionally, with cold well water, chlorine frequently crystallizes at the injection point, and it plugs shut. You will need to become an expert at cleaning the injection fitting. Overall, if your iron is not over 8 ppm, chlorine injection can be an economical method of removing iron from your well water. We recommend to pass it through birm or greensand to remove the oxidized iron.
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Birm and Greensand filtration
A bed of greensand is comprised of manganese oxide coated resin pellets or beads which provides both an oxidizing environment and filtering capacity. Oxygen is released from the manganese oxide coating to oxidize the dissolved iron in the raw water passing through the bed. The oxidized iron particles are trapped in the resin bed until removed during the backwash cycle when the manganese oxide coating is regenerated with chlorine or potassium permanganate.
The iron particles must be flushed out during the backwash cycle so that the resin bed does not become clogged. Greensand systems do not require high dissolved oxygen content but work best when the water pH is above 7.5. These systems are popular when a large volume of water is needed and the iron is not over ten to twelve ppm.
