Water treatment is not a mystery - It is a process involving many different aspects of the physical and chemical sciences. The expertise is in the application of specific water treatment technologies to deal with different contaminants in order to produce a desired result. What matters most is:
- The filtration system includes the right treatment technologies to deal with contaminants that will affect both your espresso equipment and beverage quality.
- The system performance is balanced; this means that each of the different treatment claims, i.e. chlorine reduction and scale inhibition, will deliver consistent performance based on the stated capacity (in gallons) of the system.
- The system will perform at the required flow rate.
- The system capacity is proportional to the actual water usage of the equipment between recommended filter change intervals.
Whether your decision to purchase a water filtration system is driven by the desire to improve quality and increase customer satisfaction or to protect your equipment against expensive service calls and downtime, the outcome is the same: a more successful and profitable business.
Become Knowledgeable - Have your water tested to determine the likely impact water contaminants will have on your equipment and your product. Learn about these contaminants and investigate the treatment options available. Make sure the system you choose is the best for your application and will deliver the results you expect. The bottom line is: if you don't understand what filtration does, and how it will protect you and your business, it's tough to make the best choice.
It's all about quality and consistency The quality and grind of the beans, uniformity of the pack, the temperature and pressure, and the timing of the shot are all variables that must be controlled to create excellent espresso. If excellence is your goal, it is imperative that you control the variable that makes up 98% of espresso water.
The following info rmation describes how these contaminants impact espresso equipment and beverage quality, and how OptiPure Water Filtration deals effectively with each of them.
Particulates (dirt, sediment, rust)
Suspended particulate matter in water is detrimental to the condition and performance of espresso equipment, and to the quality and consistency of espresso beverages. Particulates in water cause added wear on parts; and can clog solenoids, valves and group heads. Fine silt, dirt, rust and other debris settle as sediment in the boiler and can be a catalyst for scale build-up. Particulate matter can also affect the taste, texture and aroma of espresso.
OptiPure filtration systems filter out suspended particulate matter down to 0.5 micron in size. To get an idea how small this is, one micron is equivalent to .000001 meter, a human hair is about 90 microns thick and the smallest speck you can see is about 40 microns. These tiny particles of dirt, sediment, rust and other debris are trapped in the filter media. A particulate filter works a lot like a net. It will trap and hold the objects larger than the holes in the net, until it is full. It is important to understand that the life of a particulate filter is not based upon a predetermined number of gallons capacity. Its life is a function of dirt load capacity. Particulate filters must be replaced on a routine basis or the filter will load and eventually plug.
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OptiPure filtration systems utilize gradient density-depth filtration. This means that water flowing through the filter passes through nearly all of media that traps particulates within its entire depth (about 20,000 microns deep). The larger dirt particles are trapped in the outer layers of the filter. As the gradient becomes progressively denser, smaller particles are trapped in the deeper layers of the filter. This filtration technology provides exceptional dirt load capacity, and allows excellent flow with minimal pressure drop between recommended filter change intervals.
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Chlorine / Taste & Odor
Most municipal water utilities use chlorine to kill pathogenic organisms and to provide a residual concentration throughout the distribution system. This residual (free) chlorine presents two problems for espresso equipment and beverage quality. First, it imparts an unpleasant taste and odor. And second, free chlorine can cause pitting and corrosion in boilers, heat exchangers, group heads and other wetted surfaces which increases maintenance costs and reduces equipment life.
Activated carbon is the best technology for reducing chlorine and unpleasant tastes & odors. Different types of activated carbon used for chlorine and taste & odor reduction include granular activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). The effectiveness and capacity of a carbon filter is based upon the amount of surface area available in the carbon media. Powdered activated carbon has the greatest surface area of all the forms. A ball of PAC the size of a pea has a surface area equivalent to half a football field.
The primary factors that affect an activated carbon filter's ability to reduce chlorine and take out off tastes and odors are:
- The type and form of carbon used.
- The available activated carbon surface area within the media.
- The amount of time water flowing through media is in contact with the activated carbon.
The media structure of the OptiPure cartridge is entirely composed of fibers coated with powdered activated carbon (PAC). Thousands of these carbon saturated fibers make up the entire depth of the activated carbon cartridges used in the OptiPure filtration systems designed for espresso applications. The high mass of powdered activated carbon, along with the gradient-depth structure of these cartridges, provides tremendous surface area and contact time as water flows through.
NSF International is an independent, world recognized laboratory that tests and certifies water filtration systems under their Drinking Water Treatment Unit Certification Program. OptiPure's activated carbon chlorine reduction media contributes to the exceptional performance and capacity of OptiPure NSF Certified Systems .
Espresso quality and consistency is crucial to your success.
Filtering out particulate contaminants and reducing chlorine, taste & odor is always beneficial and is recommended for all espresso applications.
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