Glossary Terms

March 22, 2017

automatic water softener (or automatic filter)

A water softener (or filter) that is equipped with a clock timer which automatically initiates the backwash and/or the regeneration process at preset intervals of time.
March 22, 2017

attrition

In water treatment, the process in which solids are worn down or ground down by friction, often between particles of the same material. Filter media and […]
March 22, 2017

atom

The smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination.
March 22, 2017

artesian (aquifer or well)

Water held under pressure in porous rock or soil confined by impermeable geologic formations. An artesian well is free flowing.
March 22, 2017

aquifer

A natural water-bearing geological formation which is found below the surface of the earth.
March 22, 2017

anode

The positive pole of an electrolytic system; also the metal which goes into solution in a galvanic cell. Sacrificial anodes made of metals such as magnesium, […]
March 22, 2017

anion exchange

An ion exchange process in which anions in solution are exchanged for other anions from an ion exchanger. In demineralization, for example, bicarbonate, chloride and sulfate […]
March 22, 2017

anion

An ion with a negative charge. An anion [such as chloride (Cl–), nitrate (NO3–), bicarbonate (HCO3–), or sulfate (SO42-] may result from the dissociation of salt, […]
March 22, 2017

angstrom unit

A unit of length equal to one ten-billionth of a meter.