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Commercial Water Filter Media
Commercial water filtration uses several distinct technologies, each removing different contaminants through different mechanisms. Selecting the right media requires understanding what contaminants are present, at what concentrations, and what the downstream application requires.
GAC and activated carbon
Granular activated carbon (GAC) removes chlorine, chloramines, VOCs, disinfection byproducts, hydrogen sulfide at low concentrations, and taste/odor compounds through adsorption. Standard in food service and hospitality applications and as RO pre-treatment. Carbon block provides higher contaminant reduction than loose GAC media at lower flow rates.
Sediment filtration
Sediment filters remove particulates — sand, silt, rust, and suspended solids — through mechanical filtration. Typically the first stage in any multi-stage system. Rated by micron size; 5-micron filtration is standard for RO pre-treatment, 50-micron for gross sediment removal. Sediment filters do not remove dissolved contaminants.
RO membranes
Thin-film composite (TFC) RO membranes remove dissolved solids, heavy metals, nitrates, PFAS, hardness minerals, and a broad spectrum of ionic contaminants. Rated by gallons per day (GPD) production and rejection percentage. Commercial membranes range from 200 GPD for point-of-use applications to multi-thousand GPD for whole-facility systems.
Specialty media
Specific applications require specialty filtration media:
- Greensand / Birm — Catalytic media for iron and manganese oxidation and removal
- KDF — Kinetic degradation fluxion media for heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, and chlorine at higher temperatures than carbon
- Calcite / neutralizing media — Raises pH of acidic water by dissolving calcium carbonate into the water stream
- Activated alumina — Fluoride and arsenic removal through adsorption