Question: Does anyone know how to remove Fe ions from water?
Keywords: ions, iron, waterfiltration
Comments
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@Mick yes this is about my pool. We have a leak through a power box (dangerous!) and we tested it to see if it came from our pool. In this case it did and my Dad was wondering how to remove the Fe ions from the water that has leaked into the boxes we have put there. In total it has filled 20 foam boxes!!!!’
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This reminds me of helping people with computer problems over the phone – you never know exactly what they are seeing, doing or thinking 🙂
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Probably still require more info, as you allude to Peter. You might be able to rely on oxidation and precipitation of iron, which happens best at a pH above neutral. Adjust with sodium carbonate to get an alkaline pH if necessary. The water could then be decanted off. How will this water be disposed of? You might not need to go to elaborate lengths. You could rely in evaporation, then basically combine the boxes into one and continue the evaporation. Then throw that one box away.
louiepop
Wine makers use potassium cyanide to do that, but I am not sure I would want to drink water treated that way.
One way would be using an electric current – Fe ions are positive and would be attracted to the negative electrode.
For human consumption, small amounts of Fe ions are good for you (although they do not taste good).
Another way would be to treat the water with a chemical like potassium phosphate, because iron phosphate is insoluble and would precipitate out.
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@peters got some good ideas and he stole my thunder with the electric plates or electrochemical methods. It really all depends on from what type of water, how much you want to remover and what is the water to be used for afterwards.
If you’re looking at drinking water, the game is a little more complex.
If you’re cleaning the pool, then you’d want to make sure you apply a method that isn’t overly toxic or lingering, and electrocuting the pool may cause harm to people in floaties 🙂 The best option may be to dispose of the water completely.
If you can provide more information about your situation, I can provide something more suitable.
Thanks for the Q Dad@luoiepop 🙂
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@louiepop: Is this still about your pool, like you were asking in CHAT last week?
Hmmm – I think DJ and Mick will be the best people to help you! 🙂
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I’d say through an ion exchange process (water softener). Water can also be distilled, which leaves minerals behind. Depends how much water you want to treat and what the end purpose of the water is. As Peter mentioned, iron phosphate is an insoluble salt and so is iron ferrocyanide, which is one way of removing iron from wine (but you need a way of removing the precipitate through filtering, for example). In wine they use potassium ferrocyanide to form insoluble salts, but it’s important that none remains in wine, and there are ways to make sure this is the case.
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