Marshall, Ole Bob, Mike M., Ode, Everybody, As I've occasionally updated here, our project aim is to get lowest cost possible, household water treatment to the poor, large numbers vulnerable to the diarrheal illnesses. Please help me out with observations. As update, I'm still working away, toward a best practice for silver saturating ceramic water purifiers.
As I mentioned, for purifier saturation I'm beginning to lean away from the application of CS, ionic and oxides or the metal, since these forms of silver can be expensive and hard to procure from outside. Soon I should be getting out details on the use of silver chloride and silver nitrate in the purifier saturation and its use. The question is this: could there be some deleterious health effect associated with the use of silver nitrate and silver chloride, saturated in a ceramic water purifier? I do not wish to forget any problem area, so seeking observations. First indications show that silver chloride is a highly effective disinfectant when properly situated within a ceramic purifier. It's possible I'm missing some problem, but I do find it encouraging that the 1000oC of the firing the purifiers is far beyond the burnout of nitrates, at 500C. And for ultra small particles of silver chloride dispersed within the media, this is a relatively insoluble material. So far my only small concerns are the waste byproduct of processing, something like 100 mgs. of nitrate per candle. Then there's the business of managing the sodium chloride, perhaps 50 grams of salt that comes off. Perhaps this last I could recycle and reuse. As to the silver made by electrolysis, of which I wrote some months ago, I concluded that a quarter of this amount is ionic silver and the remainder the oxide or hydroxide. I am imagining that this concentrated silver, made by elecrolysis, would be very practical for the treatment of static surfaces. But now, needing higher concentration for our purifiers we're now looking at the chloride and the oxide. However, it should be understood that colloidals islver, as opposed to the other forms, should be uniquely suited to saturation of static surfaces............ Yesterday I did come across an EPA reference page: As to the possible toxicity due to the chlorides and nitrates of silver, as per use within a ceramic water purifier, there appear to be no specifics indicated in this EPA page. I don't know whether or not this addresses the issue of overcoming objection to the chlorides and nitrates. Or with respect to health and safety is there an issue of whether or not there is any further guideline on processing these materials. Sorry for being convuluted, exacerbated by my combining health and legal aspects. I have no real idea of what to expect, but would be happy for any helpful observations. All this is prelimary to finishing this phase of study, of course, then publishing results. Any helpful observations would be appreciated. The consequences of a missed step on my part could prove unhappy, not to say difficult. So long. Or should I say how long. Reid
