Copper is a naturally occurring metal in the earth’s mantle. Copper, known for its red-gold color and malleability, may be found in water, soil, rocks, plants, and animals all over the planet. Humans and other living species require adequate copper to exist, making it vital. However, excessive copper consumption might be harmful to your health. So you might be thinking about how to remove copper from drinking water? Keep on reading to know all about regarding your queries.
The Connection Between Copper and Human Health
Copper is an essential vitamin necessary to human health in small doses. Menkes syndrome is a health condition that causes certain people to be copper deficient due to poor absorption of the intestines.
However, high copper concentrations in drinking water can induce vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and liver and kidney disorders. Children as young as one year are susceptible to the adverse effects of copper.
Wilson’s illness is a medical ailment that causes some people to have difficulties maintaining correct copper levels in their bodies.
How Does Copper Get Into Water?
Copper enters drinking water due to corrosion in copper pipes, faucets, and pipework. When water flows through copper pipes, the copper is taken off the pipes and dissolved in the water.
Acidic or soft water, persistent chlorine, and hot water contribute to corrosion and enable more copper into the water supply. Furthermore, as water remains in copper pipes for an extended time, the copper degrades and gets saturated in the water.
Copper wasn’t the only metallic pollutant that may enter your water supply via domestic or municipal plumbing. Lead (a significantly more harmful pollutant) and iron can also enter water systems through plumbing because lead and iron pipework corrode.
Furthermore, suppose you’ve got a well. In that case, copper can enter your drinking water by poisoning the groundwater supply, but this isn’t as prevalent as pipe corrosion. Copper contamination of a well’s groundwater supply may occur due to mining, farming, industrial, and municipal activity.
Copper, for example, is used in agricultural insecticides and to prevent algae in water reservoirs. It may discharge and seep into the groundwater below.
How To Remove Copper From Drinking Water – Strategies
When ingested in moderation, copper can deliver various health advantages to our bodies by preventing the development of specific syndromes and diseases. On the other hand, higher levels of copper might cause kidney and liver difficulties, migraines, stomach cramps, nausea, and other health concerns.
Copper consumption in high amounts can be hazardous to newborns. There are several methods for getting rid of copper in the drinking water. Ion exchange filtration, distillation, and reverse osmosis are examples of these processes.
This part will go through each of these strategies in depth for How To Remove Copper From Drinking Water.
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Distillation
Distillation is the process of removing dissolved particles from water. You can easily find small distillation systems for your kitchen. Distillation may be a costly operation since the distillation systems boil water throughout the process. Furthermore, it is inefficient since it can only create a tiny amount of water during the day.
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Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is the process of pushing water through a membrane. When water runs over this membrane, it doesn’t allow any ions to pass through, allowing you to drink pure water.
Reverse osmosis filters are also available in various small forms and sizes. A reverse osmosis system may get installed near the kitchen sink.
Reverse osmosis systems are not always efficient, but they are also inexpensive, producing over 100 gallons of water each day.
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Ion Exchange Filtration
Resins get used in the ion exchange filtering process for How To Remove Copper From Drinking Water. The filter cartridges include this process. To assure that these filters perform correctly, they must get replaced regularly.
Furthermore, bleach treatment does not remove copper from water. It would be preferable to use the methods for extracting copper from the water outlined above because they are incredibly successful.
Side Effects Of Drinking Water With Copper
Copper is essential for maintaining nerve cells and the immune system, red blood cell production, and collagen absorption. In contrast, too much copper can affect the liver and kidneys, causing nausea, sickness, diarrhea, and stomach pains. Children under the age of one year and the old are especially vulnerable to its harmful effects.
Copper levels in the water should be less than 2mg/L for health reasons, and levels above 3mg/L will produce an unpleasant odor.
How To Test Copper In Water?
The copper concentration of water may get seen with the naked eye. Low copper levels in water can cause green/blue stains on taps, pipes, vanities, showers, or restrooms.
This water still seems safe to drink and does not generally taste harsh or metallic. Copper levels in drinking water can leave a metallic or intense bitter taste. This water may be unsafe to drink. Therefore, contact the drinking water source or have it professionally tested.
How To Prevent Copper Getting Into Water?
You may lower the danger of copper in the water by cleaning the system and drinking and cooking with cold water. Run a faucet for around 30 seconds, then use it to flush the water.
It is especially crucial if a tap has not got used in six hours. Since copper is more prone to dissolve in standing water sitting in pipes for an extended time, it gets advised to consume and cooked with cold water.
Hot water absorbs copper more rapidly than cold water, resulting in increased copper concentrations in the water supply.
So, How To Remove Copper From Drinking Water – Final Thought
To recap, copper occurs naturally and is a metal that gets utilized to manufacture a variety of items accessible on the market. Plumbing tools and electrical wiring are examples of these items. When water runs via plumbing systems, copper may enter your drinking water.
It is important to remember that while a specific amount of copper is beneficial to our health, too much copper may be harmful. Copper may get removed via Reverse Osmosis, Distillation, and other successful techniques. So, how to remove copper from drinking water? You know the answer to this question now.
