Pentair has launched its Hybrid Deionization (Hybrid DI) system with Pentair's CrossCharge technology, an electronic water purification system that the firm said offers the benefits of a reverse osmosis (RO) system and those of a water softener without requiring salt.
The new technology uses capacitive electrodes to remove hardness and purify water without employing salt. The core of the system is Voltea's patented "stack" configuration of electrodes combined with ion-selective membranes. The treatment sequence begins with the purification step.
This occurs as untreated water flows through the cell where ions are drawn through the membranes and absorbed in the charged electrodes, producing high quality treated water. The electrodes automatically regenerate when the system reverses its polarity. This drives the ions out of the electrodes and flushes them from the stack. The polarity is then reset to normal to start purification again.
The CrossCharge technology within Pentair's Hybrid DI system was developed through a partnership with the Dutch firm Voltea. The company has licensed the technology exclusively to Pentair in residential and light commercial applications for point-of-entry products.
Pentair said the technology continuously assesses the inlet and treated water quality, controls the power supplied to the stack, and adjusts operating cycles and system flows to continuously optimize performance. The controller includes self-diagnostics and auto clean cycles. It also features a full-color touch screen user interface with animated "User" displays that are intuitive for the everyday user/homeowner and interactive "Technical" screens for system.
Alok Maskara, president of Pentair's Residential Filtration business, said: "Since it treats water without salt, there is no net increase in discharged total dissolved solids. It also produces 90% less waste water than a conventional whole house reverse osmosis system."
