Understanding Catalytic Carbon Filters and Their Role in Water Treatment

Water filtration is necessary for maintaining safe water quality conditions, especially for homeowners with private wells. Unlike municipal water, which is regulated by EPA standards, well water is not subject to the same oversight. It’s up to homeowners to ensure their water is potable. Catalytic carbon filters are an effective solution for well water because they reduce a wide range of impurities with minimal maintenance. When combined with other filtration technologies, these filters can be tailored to address the specific needs of your well water system, ensuring cleaner, healthier water throughout your home. 

What Is a Catalytic Carbon Water Filter? 

Catalytic carbon is a kind of activated carbon treated to enhance reactivity with certain contaminants. This process involves exposing the carbon to high-temperature gases, which modify the carbon’s surface and enable it to accelerate chemical reactions without undergoing permanent chemical changes. Catalytic carbon filters also use a process called adsorption;  contaminants adhere to the surface of the carbon media, effectively reducing impurities without compromising the water flow rate. This differs from absorption, where substances are taken up internally by another material and distributed throughout its volume. In adsorption, the contaminants stick to the surface; in absorption, they are fully integrated into the absorbing material.   

What Does Catalytic Carbon Remove From Water?

Catalytic carbon filters are highly effective at capturing a variety of common well water contaminants, including: 

• Iron and manganese: Iron and manganese are particularly common in well water because they occur naturally in underground aquifers. Though iron and manganese are largely safe, excess manganese can be potentially harmful to young children or elderly adults. The main concerns with these impurities are stains on clothing and fixtures and clogged pipes. Catalytic carbon can oxidize and reduce these contaminants, especially when used alongside AIO filters.
• Hydrogen sulfide: Known for its distinct rotten egg odor, hydrogen sulfide is a regular well-water problem. Catalytic filters effectively reduce this contaminant, providing better-tasting and smelling water while helping prevent pipe corrosion.
• Chlorine and chloramines: Chlorine is routinely used as a disinfectant in municipal water systems. Though it’s not typically found in well water, chlorine can be added to wells if homeowners choose to disinfect their well water through shock chlorination. Chloramines, which are formed when chlorine combines with ammonia, are also far more common in city water. However, chloramines may form in well water following shock chlorination if ammonia from organic material is present. Catalytic carbon is highly effective in removing both chlorine and chloramines, helping improve water taste and smell.
• Trihalomethanes (THMs): THMs are a byproduct of chlorine disinfection, so they are far more likely to end up in city water supplies than well water. However, if a well is shock-chlorinated, THMs could form when chlorine reacts with organic matter. It’s also possible that THMs can leach into groundwater from an array of sources, including industrial runoff, landfill sites, or contamination from nearby municipal sources.
• Pesticides and herbicides: These chemicals often pollute groundwater due to their widespread use in agriculture and lawn care. Catalytic carbon filters are excellent at adsorbing these harmful chemicals and reducing their presence.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Chemicals like benzene, toluene, and xylene are just a few of the hundreds of VOCs deemed harmful to human health. These industrial and household chemicals often end up in water sources due to industrial runoff or improper disposal. Catalytic carbon is highly effective at reducing VOC levels in water, helping reduce the risk of long-term health problems.
• Tannins: These organic compounds occur naturally in water when decaying vegetation decomposes and leaches into water supplies, especially in shallow wells and swampy areas. Catalytic carbon media reduces tannins, improving water appearance and taste. 

 

Catalytic Carbon Filter Maintenance

Over time, catalytic carbon media accumulates things like sediment, organic material, and contaminants, which can clog the filter and significantly reduce its performance. Backwashing helps prevent this buildup. This process involves reversing the flow of water through the filter to flush out trapped particles and restore the filter’s adsorption capacity. Backwashing also limits channeling, a phenomenon where flowing water creates paths in the carbon media, resulting in water bypassing much of the media’s surface area. By redistributing the carbon bed, backwashing ensures even filtration throughout the filter’s lifespan. Kind Water’s Backwashing Carbon Filter is designed specifically for well water users, providing periodic backwashing to extend the filter’s life and reduce the need for filter replacements. With proper care, catalytic carbon filters can last for several years, making them a cost-effective solution for long-term water purification. Learn more about Kind Water’s Backwashing Carbon Filter   

Catalytic Carbon Filters vs Other Filtration Options

Like other whole house water filters, catalytic carbon filters like those featured in Kind Water well products treat all incoming water, ensuring that every tap in the home has access to high-quality water. Many well owners have alternative options like fridge and pitcher filters or under-sink carbon block filters. While these options do reduce contaminant levels in water, they are often less effective, require frequent filter or cartridge replacements, have limited filtration capacity, slower flow rates, and don’t offer the same comprehensive filtration as a whole house system.   

Backwashing Carbon Filter

Combining Catalytic Carbon Filters with Other Treatments

For optimal filter performance and improved water quality, catalytic carbon filters like Kind Water’s Backwashing Carbon Filter can be paired with other filtration and softening systems. 

• AIO filters: Air induction oxidation (AIO) filters are often necessary to treat wells dealing with iron and manganese. Without first oxidizing iron and manganese, the dissolved metals would simply pass over filter media. Oxidization changes these contaminants into a solid form, allowing them to become trapped in media pores. While catalytic carbon is capable of oxidizing metals like iron and manganese, the material needs at least 4.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen in water to facilitate this process. AIO filters inject oxygen into the water, ensuring the catalytic carbon filter has enough oxygen to properly filter these contaminants. 

  Shop Kind Water’s Whole House Iron Filter With Backwashing Carbon Filter

• Water softeners: Hard water is a familiar issue for both well and city water users. Well owners in particular are likely to experience hard water since their water is sourced from groundwater supplies, which are rich in hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium. Catalytic carbon filters are not designed to treat dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium. This is where salt-based and salt-free water softeners come in. Salt-based softeners use a process called ion exchange to swap hard water minerals for sodium, effectively eliminating water hardness. These require salt refills and periodic regeneration cycles. Salt-free softeners use Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC) cartridges to physically alter hard water mineral structure to prevent the minerals from forming scale. These systems don’t remove calcium and magnesium but do keep the minerals from sticking to surfaces. 

  Shop Kind Water’s Whole House Water Filter Salt-Based Softener Combo  Shop Kind Water’s Whole House Water Filter Salt-Free Softener Combo