Theoretical Foundations of GRANDER Water Revitalization Scientifically Proven

An interdisciplinary research cooperation encompassing several university-affiliated research institutions, realized in the framework of WETSUS – European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, produced a breakthrough in the understanding of magnetic water treatment (MWT) based on the principles of water physics.

The ‘Applied Water Physics’ research group at WETSUS succeeded in verifying the mechanisms at work in magnetic water treatment using a magnetic water core rod provided by IPF and GRANDER. Their findings have been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Members of the ‘Applied Water Physics’ research group presented the results obtained in the research project [1] at the Water Symposium 4.0 held in Kitzbühel this September.

A wealth of research has shown the effects of the magnetic or electromagnetic treatment of water in the past 40 years, as has been documented by more than a hundred papers and reports on this topic. [2]

For many years, the scientific community was skeptical when it came to the claim that magnetic fields influence the structure and morphology of the crystallization of calcium carbonate in hard water. This was mainly due to the fact that no plausible mechanism was known that could explain the persisting effect of magnetic fields even after the water was no longer exposed to them. For this reason, the application of this principle was controversial, not only with regard to GRANDER water revitalization.

Summary of research findings:

The findings of the ‘Applied Water Physics’ research group at WETSUS have been published:

Martina Sammer, Cees Kamp, Astrid H. Paulitsch-Fuchs, Adam D. Wexler, Cees J. N. Buisman, Elmar C. Fuchs; Strong Gradients in Weak Magnetic Fields Induce DOLLOP Formation in Tap Water, Water 2016, 8, 79. [1]

In their project, the researchers set out to prove the theory on the mechanism of magnetic water treatment proposed by Coey, which is based on the gradient of the field used instead of its absolute force.

The ‘Applied Water Physics’ research group at WETSUS succeeded in verifying the mechanisms at work in magnetic water treatment using a magnetic water core rod provided by IPF and GRANDER. Their findings have been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Coey’s hypothesis [5] holds that protons located on the surface of calcium carbonate nanoparticles (dynamically ordered liquid-like oxyanion polymers or ‘DOLLOPs’) contained in tap water change their spin state under certain conditions, which are caused by magnetic gradients. As a result, these particles experience accelerated growth. An increase in nm-sized particles following the treatment using the magnetic water core rod provided by IPF and GRANDER could be directly verified through laser scattering. The increase of DOLLOPs in the water reduced the number of free ions in the water (which are required for this growth), an effect that was checked and confirmed through impedance spectroscopy. [1]

The values measured in this study were interpreted as an increased formation of nm-sized pre-nucleation clusters (DOLLOPs) based on the hypothesis informing the study design. It was found that Coey’s theory is applicable also to very weak magnetic fields provided that they contain strong gradients. [1]

Research-related inquiries:
Roman-Alexander Fochler, MA
Telephone: +43 676 613 2880
E-mail: communications@grander.com

Sources:
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/3/79/pdf

Strong Gradients in Weak Magnetic Fields Induce DOLLOP Formation in Tap Water

Martina Sammer, Cees Kamp, Astrid H. Paulitsch-Fuchs, Adam D. Wexler, Cees J. N. Buisman, Elmar C. Fuchs;
Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, MA Leeuwarden

Received: 21 January 2016; Accepted: 23 February 2016;
published: 3 March 2016 in Tap Water, Water 2016, 8, 79.

[2] Selection of twenty scientific papers on this topic:

       [2.1] Josh, K.M.; Kamat, P.V. Effect of magnetic field on the physical properties of water. J. Ind. Chem. Soc. 1966, 43,620–622.

       [2.2] Duffy, E.A. Investigation of Magnetic Water Treatment Devices. Ph.D. Thesis, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA, 1977.

       [2.3] Lin, I.; Yotvat, J. Exposure of irrigation and drinking water to a magnetic field with controlled power and direction. J. Mag. Magn. Mat. 1990, 83, 525–526.

       [2.4] Higashitani, K.; Kage, A.; Katumura, S.; Imai, K.; Hatade, S. Effects of a magnetic field on the formation of CaCO3 particles. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 1993, 156, 90–95.

       [2.5] Gehr, R.; Zhai, Z.A.; Finch, J.A.; Rao, S.R. Reduction of soluble mineral concentrations in CaSO4 saturated water using a magnetic field. Water Res. 1995, 29, 933–940.

       [2.6] Baker, J.S.; Judd, S.J. Magnetic amelioration of scale formation. Water Res. 1996, 30, 247–260.

       [2.7] Pach, L.; Duncan, S.; Roy, R.; Komarneni, S. Effects of a magnetic field on the precipitation of calcium carbonate. J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 1996, 15, 613–615.

       [2.8] Wang, Y.; Babchin, A.J.; Chernyi, L.T.; Chow, R.S.; Sawatzky, R.P. Rapid onset of calcium carbonate crystallization under the influence of a magnetic field. Water Res. 1997, 31, 346–350.

       [2.9] Parsons, S.A.;Wang, B.L.; Judd, S.J.; Stephenson, T. Magnetic treatment of calcium carbonate scale-effect of pH control. Water Res. 1997, 31, 339–342.

       [2.10] Barrett, R.A.; Parsons, S.A. The influence of magnetic fields on calcium carbonate precipitation. Water Res. 1998, 32, 609–612.

       [2.11] Colic, M.; Morse, D. The elusive mechanism of the magnetic 'memory'of water. Colloid Surface A 1999, 154, 167–174.

       [2.12] Goldsworthy, A.; Whitney, H.; Morris, E. Biological effects of physically conditioned water. Water Res. 1999, 33, 1618–1626.

       [2.13] Coey, J.M.D.; Cass, S. Magnetic water treatment. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 2000, 209, 71–74.

       [2.14] Hołysz, L.; Chibowski, E.; Szcze´s, A. Influence of impurity ions and magnetic field on the properties of freshly precipitated calcium carbonate. Water. Res. 2003, 37, 3351–3360.

       [2.15] Kobe, S.; Draži´c, G.; McGuiness, P.J.; Meden, T.; Sarantopolou, E.; Kollia, Z.; Sefalas, A.C. Control over nanocrystalization in turbulent flow in the presence of magnetic fields. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2003, 23, 811–815.

       [2.16] Knez, S.; Pohar, C. The magnetic field influence on the polymorph composition of CaCO3 precipitated from carbonized aqueous solutions. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2005, 281, 377–388.

       [2.17] Fathia, A.; Mohamed, T.; Claude, G.; Maurin, G.; Mohamed, B.A. Effect of a magnetic water treatment on homogeneous and heterogeneous precipitation of calcium carbonate. Water Res. 2006, 40, 1941–1950.

       [2.18] Li, J.; Liu, J.; Yang, T.; Xiao, C. Quantitative study of the effect of electromagnetic field on scale deposition on nanofiltration membranes via UTDR. Water Res. 2007, 41, 4595–4610.

       [2.19] Katsir, Y.; Miller, L.; Aharanov, Y.; Jacob, E.B. The effect of rf-irradiation on electrochemical deposition and its stabilization by nanoparticle doping. J. Electrochem. Soc. 2007, 154, 249–259.

       [2.20] Hołysz, L.; Szcze´s, A.; Chibowski, E. Effects of a static magnetic field on water and electrolyte solutions. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2007, 316, 996–1002.

[3] List of participating universities: https://www.wetsus.nl/research/research-institutes

[4] Wetsus – European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology
https://www.wetsus.nl/
[5] Coey, J. M. D. (2012). Magnetic water treatment – how might it work? Philosophical Magazine, 92(31), 3857–3865.