Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment


Drinking water can be unclean if it is not treated. It can be colored differently and can have an uncomfortable odor to it. While it is important to treat water, methods of water treatment can be expensive. One of the newer methods of treatment that doesn’t have to be especially complicated wallet and can be effective is reverse osmosis water treatment. It helps to reduce the amounts of substances that are found in water that can make its taste differently and can cause odors, thus making the water healthier after reverse osmosis water treatment.

Reverse osmosis water treatment uses a system that helps to get rid of solid particles that can form scale over time in a water system. These particles that can form scale come from various different elements, including sodium, nitrate and sulfate. With these removed through reverse osmosis water treatment it will be helpful to make the water easier to drink.

The carbon filter in reverse osmosis water treatment methods is used to reduce compounds. These compounds include those that are soluble organic, and these compounds include pesticides and chloroform. These compounds are not needed in water, so reverse osmosis water treatment is needed to take care of these.

Reverse osmosis water treatment is used to help filter water. It makes water move into a permeable membrane that features small openings. These openings are small enough so that only water molecules can get through the membrane. Larger compounds that are retrieved are then screened, and electric currents are used to get rid of the unwanted compounds and chemicals in water.

Not only does reverse osmosis water treatment work, but it is also easy to use. A particle filler is needed to help with gathering solid particles out of water, and a permeable membrane component is needed to get rid of contaminants in the water, and it is used to keep the contaminants from passing into the water. A storage tank is needed so that treated water can be stored in it, and a post-filter is needed for residues to be removed after treatment occurs. The delivery tap is the last part of a reverse osmosis water treatment plan, as it is used to get the water in the storage tank to the consumer.

It can cost a good amount of money to create a reverse osmosis water treatment system, but it can be effective. An assembly kit of a reverse osmosis water treatment system can cost a few hundred dollars, but it can also cost up to three thousand dollars based on how effective it is. The membrane will also need to be replaced on a regular basis. The membrane can cost a few hundred dollars, and the filter cartridges cost around fifty dollars each.

In short, reverse osmosis water treatment is a method of water treatment that can help to improve water in the home. However, it is important to know that it should only be used in the home, as it can be especially expensive and impractical to use it in a larger setting.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Water Treatment Chemicals


There are many different kinds of bacteria that can get into water. It is important to be able to get rid of the bacteria so that the water can be safer to drink and use. With the right water treatment chemicals bacteria can be eliminated from water pipes in the home. This helps to get rid of the dangerous things that can get in the way.


Many different water treatment chemicals are available today on the market. They are all different, and they serve various different purposes. These water treatment chemicals can control the ph level of the water, they can kill off microorganisms and can oxidize water.


Chlorine is the first of the water treatment chemicals to consider. Chlorine can be used in both the home and in commercial and industrial settings, thus making it very versatile. It is even required to be used by water utility groups so that they can be safe before moving through water pipes to other peoples’ homes.


Swimming pools use chlorine to help clean the water for swimming. Many businesses like hotels and water parks use tons of chlorine over the course of a year in order to help protect the water. This is especially important to use, since the water can’t just be replaced all at once.


Hydrogen peroxide is another of the water treatment chemicals that is used often today. The hydrogen in this compound is used to help oxidize water. When the water is oxidized there will be a significantly lower amount of contaminants in the water, and most of the time they can all be eliminated. Hydrogen peroxide is known to be effective in doing this, and it is well proven to be one of the safest water treatment chemicals on the market.


Potassium permanganate is used to help remove magnesium and iron from water. This helps to make water more pleasant tasting, and it also removes odor from water. However, unlike other water treatment chemicals this one is intended to be used in water that is at a deep surface with a lower level of oxygen in it. This helps to get the water to be oxidized, and it also reduces rust stains.


Hydrogen chloride and natrium hydroxide are two water treatment chemicals that work together to help balance the ph level of water. The ph level should be balanced because if it is not the water will not be safe. Hydrogen chloride is used when the ph level is acidic, and natrium hydroxide is used when the ph level is basic. These two water treatment chemicals are important for getting the ph level in water right.


These water treatment chemicals can be especially useful, but it is important to be sure to use all water treatment chemicals safety and in the right manner. Do not use too much of them, as it can be dangerous. With the right method of treatment water treatment chemicals can be effective.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Unilever Says New Milkshake Helps Control Appetite


GENEVA (Reuters) - A new weight loss drink that tastes like a milkshake significantly reduces appetite and could soon join Unilever's $400 million Slim-Fast weight-loss brand, the company's researchers said on Wednesday.

A study showed that the drink, which works by trapping gas in foods to make people feel full, worked even better than the company's Slim-Fast weight-loss drink, they said.

The researchers, who presented their findings at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity, said the company has patented the technology.

"The technology is now available for the brand to use in future formats," said David Mela, a Unilever nutritionist who worked on the study. "The food maintains the bulk, much of which is air that helps you maintain that full feeling."

Obesity is a big problem and big business. About 400 million people are classified as obese, putting them at higher risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart diseases, according to the World Health Organization.

This has in part spurred companies like Unilever, Kraft Foods, General Mills, Sara Lee and others to turn to healthier products with a whole range of so-called health and wellness foods.

"If you look at western populations, a (large number) of adults are overweight," said Gert Meijer, an executive at Unilever's research and development division. "In terms of the amount of people who might be interested in this product, it could be huge."

In the Unilever study, the researchers tested their milkshake on 24 volunteers who were given either the new drink or a serving of regular Slim-Fast at breakfast.

People who had the milkshake reported that they were significantly fuller when asked at different intervals over a four-hour time period. The researchers found that a half-sized serving of the milkshake also suppressed hunger.

"We are clearly talking about hours," said Sergei Melnikov, a physical chemist who helped develop the technology. "It is an effect that lasts for an hour or two or longer."

The milkshake is designed to trap gas in the food after consumption, preventing it from dissolving in the mouth as happens with foods like whipped cream, and cutting appetite.

To do this the team engineered the fats, proteins and fibers in the food until reaching the right mix to trap the gas -- a technology that might appear in other Unilever foods, the researchers said.

"I would say this is not limited to liquids," Melnikov said. "It could be used in other food forms."


Read also on Health Benefits from Vegetables and Fruits

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Fat Kids Found To Have Arteries of 45-Year-Olds


NEW ORLEANS – Obese children as young as 10 had the arteries of 45-year-olds and other heart abnormalities that greatly raise their risk of heart disease, say doctors who used ultrasound tests to take a peek inside.

"As the old saying goes, you're as old as your arteries are," said Dr. Geetha Raghuveer of Children's Hospital in Kansas City, who led one of the studies. "This is a wake-up call."

The studies were reported Tuesday at an American Heart Association conference.

About a third of American children are overweight and one-fifth are obese. Many parents think that "baby fat" will melt away as kids get older. But research increasingly shows that fat kids become fat adults, with higher risks for many health problems.

"Obesity is not benign in children and adolescents," said Dr. Robert Eckel, a former heart association president and cardiologist at the University of Colorado-Denver. It is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended cholesterol-lowering drugs for some kids, he noted.

Raghuveer wanted to see if early signs of damage could be documented. She and colleagues used painless ultrasound tests to measure the thickness of the wall of a major neck artery in 70 children, ages 10 to 16. Almost all had abnormal cholesterol and many were obese.

No one knows how thick a 10-year-old's artery should be, since they're not regularly checked for signs of heart disease, so researchers used tables for 45-year-olds, who often do get such exams.

The kids' "vascular age" was about 30 years older than their actual age, she found.

A separate study tied childhood obesity to abnormal enlargement of the left atrium, one of the chambers of the heart. Enlargement is a known risk factor for heart disease, stroke and heart rhythm problems.

Julian Ayer, a researcher at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney Australia, did ultrasound exams on 991 seemingly healthy children ages 5 to 15. He saw a clear link between rising weight and size of the left atrium.

A third study by Dr. Walter Abhayaratna of Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, also used ultrasound tests and found impairment in the heart's ability to relax between beats in children who were overweight or obese.

The study involved the first 150 children participating in a larger community-based study.

Earlier research he helped conduct found more rigid arteries in such children — a possible sign of plaque deposits starting to form.

"Even at this young age of 10, you can have children who have got arterial stiffness who are comparable to 30- and 40-year-olds," he said.

Dr. Michael Schloss, a New York University heart disease prevention specialist, said the evidence shows obesity is more than a cosmetic issue for children.

"If you've seen what's on the menu for most school lunches, these findings are no surprise," he said. "The time has come to seriously deal with the issue of childhood obesity and physical inactivity on a governmental and parental level."