Do not compare

Disruptor™ – a unique filtration technology that is not directly comparable to any other filtration technology. It removes more impurities from water than any other mechanical filter, while adding nothing to water and retaining the necessary minerals in it.

Origin in NASA

Water is becoming an increasingly rare commodity on earth, but it has always been “priceless” in space. Although, water in space has its price and it’s really high – a single gallon of water put into Earth’s orbit costs more than $ 83,000.

Despite NASA’s innovations that allow astronauts to obtain drinking water from their own urine and sweat and which one day can extract water from underground glaciers on Mars, the availability of water in space is unlikely to exceed its need. Therefore, water recycling and purification methods are among NASA’s main concerns. The Argonide (USA) and Ahlstrom-Munksjö (Finland) companies researching in the field of nanomaterials have developed a unique filter medium, revolutionizing water purification – Disruptor ™. Until recently, it was used exclusively by NASA and was released for commercial use only a few years ago. Disruptor™ filter medium is produced in the USA.

Technology

The basis of the Disruptor™ filter medium are nanoalumina fibers made of boehmite material with a diameter of about 2 nanometers (for comparison, a sheet of paper is 100,000 nanometers thick). The surface area of ​​the fibers is 500m2 per gram.

Nanoalumina fibers with trapped bacterial cells

Fibers with a crystalline structure produce a positive electric charge when water is flowing through them. Most impurities have a negative electric charge and are therefore attracted and inactivated by nanoalumina. This process is called electroadsorption. Thanks to this property, a single layer of medium, although having a pore size of about 2 microns, is able to remove more than 99.9% of the particles. The pore size of the filter medium, in relation to the particles it eliminates, means that the Disruptor ™ reaches the grain of the filter medium: high flow (low pressure drop) and at the same time high ability to retain impurities.

The filtration capacity of the Disruptor is enhanced by a layer of powdered activated carbon (to remove odors and aftertaste in water) and also by a layer of antimicrobial disinfectant silver (to prevent the growth of bacteria in filter).

What does Disruptor remove from water?

Disruptor™ is a really unique filtration technology that, like carbon filters, reduces chlorine, removes odors from water and improves its taste. In addition, it removes pathogens and other contaminants from water such as bacteria, viruses, cysts, parasites, endotoxins, drug residues, heavy metals (lead, iron, copper).

Disruptor™ retains minerals in water and therefore it is not necessary to mineralize the filtered water as in reverse osmosis. Disruptor ™ does not remove nitrates or soluble salts from water and is not suitable for seawater filtration.

Dirt trapping by the filter

Upper part of the filter before use

Upper part of the filter during use

Upper part of the filter at the end of service cycle

Other advantages of the Disruptor™ filtration technology

In addition to the high filtration capacity, an important advantage of the Disruptor is the ability to filter not only under pressure but also without water pressure, the so-called gravity filtration method. This allows it to be used in filter kettles or tourist bottles..

Electricity saving. Removing viruses from water usually requires the use of ultrafiltration (UF) or reverse osmosis (RO), which are filtration methods that often require electrical energy to obtain high water pressure. Disruptor ™ does not need electricity for its operation due to its high flow rate and high ability to retain dirt. This also eliminates maintenance activities and minimizes space requirements for the filtration equipment.

Water saving. Membrane filtration technologies (UF, RO) must constantly wash the filtration membrane because it gets clogged quickly. This creates a quantity of wastewater, which is discharged into the sewer system. You will spend an average of four liters of wastewater per one liter of filtered water. Disruptor ™ is one of the sustainable technologies because it works without producing waste and thus saves water and the environment.

Quell and Disruptor™

All Quell filter devices use the Disruptor™ technology to provide you with the cleanest possible water wherever you need it.