WATER NEWS
Watermatters has terminated business with Berkey Water Systems
March 14th, 2023Watermatters has been selling Berkeys since 2010. Berkey systems have been well loved by our customers for years. It is now time to end our relationship with Berkey due to ongoing ... More »
What is KDF?
KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) is an alloy of copper and zinc that is used in shower filters and some drinking water filters. It removes free chlorine from water by reversing the electrochemical process that originally produced the chlorine. Chlorine is created by separating chloride ions from sodium in a brine solution.
Because copper and zinc are dissimilar metals, a molecular tension is created between the two metals as water passes through the KDF media. This galvanic action produces a mild electrical charge enabling the chlorine to combine with a metal ion, in this case zinc. The result is the formation of soluble zinc chloride which is washed out of the filter and is harmless to humans. Free chlorine is extremely reactive and seeking to re-unite with another element. In the absence of an electrical charge it combines with organic matter.
An excess of turbidity in the incoming water can interfere with this galvanic action, lessening KDF’s ability to remove free chlorine. For this reason, the life of a KDF filter is related to the particulate level of the water it filters as well as than the number of gallons that pass through it.
KDF has bacteriostatic properties which means that it does not support the growth of bacteria. It is not capable of killing bacteria (bactericidal).
KDF does not remove organic contaminants such as pesticides, herbicides, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trihalomethanes. It can neutralize some heavy metals but not under conditions such as exist in a shower filter where there is insufficient media and a water flow rate that is too fast to provide adequate contact time.
KDF comes in granular and filament form.
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