Professor Kazuhiro Kubo of Gifu University and TKS Co., Ltd. have clarified that hard water can be easily softened to moderate hardness by atomization.
Hard water is defined as water with a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) concentration of 120 mg/L or higher.Due to its characteristics, the use of hard water in daily life causes various problems, such as an increased risk of prostate cancer due to excessive intake of calcium and an increase in the amount of precipitate (CaCO3) deposited in pipes.In hard water regions such as Europe, North America, and Asia, water softening treatment is often performed, but the existing softening technology requires special equipment, and drainage is also a problem, so it cannot be said to be simple.A simpler softening technique has been desired.
In this study, we investigated whether the precipitation of CaCO2 could be accelerated by volatilizing supersaturated carbon dioxide (CO3) in hard water by atomizing hard water and maximizing the gas-liquid interface area. An experiment was conducted under the hypothesis that softening can be realized.As a result, we found that when hard water was sprayed into the air, white precipitates and fine bubbles were formed in the water, and the calcium ion (Ca2+) concentration and electrical conductivity decreased.This is due to the expansion of the gas-liquid interface area due to the atomization of hard water and the generation of a large number of fine bubbles. is believed to have precipitated.In addition, when the collected water was allowed to stand after the atomization treatment, the white precipitate further increased and the Ca2+ concentration decreased with the passage of time.It is said that the higher the hardness of the hard water and the longer the atomization treatment time, the more remarkable these phenomena were. It was almost within the recommended range of the guideline.
The softening technology developed in this research can easily soften hard water to an appropriate hardness, so it is expected to be highly versatile, and it is expected that there will be a large demand in the world.In the future, the company plans to proceed with the development of products that apply this technology.
Paper information:[Food Science and Technology Research] Hard water can be softened by atomization
