Originally Posted by
hilltowner
Aqua Mira is entirely different from iodine. It is a two-part system that produces chlorine dioxide.
Yes, it is. But you have to love marketing. The MSDS for Part A says that the solution contains "stabilized chlorine dioxide" which is kind of a weasely way of a water solution of a salt. I know how to make chlorine dioxide but I'd rather not tell people how to do it since chlorine dioxide can be quite hazardous in high concentrations and it is very easy to make.
Originally Posted by
hilltowner
However, it is not the same as sodium hypochlorite which is the main ingredient in bleach and which is also used to purify water, imparting that "chlorine" taste. Aqua Mira treated water has no residual taste as is the case with chlorine and iodine based systems.
Chlorine dioxide also imparts a "chlorine" taste. Gaseous chlorine has been replaced in most places to treat drinking water but it can still leave that "chlorine" taste. I wouldn't use sodium hyprochlorite...aka household bleach...to sanitize water.
Originally Posted by
hilltowner
If you read their literature they only claim to purify "potable" drinking water which is a bit disconcerting. I'm not sure exactly why they aren't claiming to disinfect water but one study that was done seems to support the idea that the treatment is effective against a wide-range of water borne pathogens and is better than iodine and filters at eliminating the risk of ingesting something bad.
There is a reason that their literature says that it can only be used for "purifying" (really sanitizing) potable water. Chlorine dioxide is an aggressive, but indiscriminate, oxidant. It will oxidize important parts of organisms which kill them but if there is plant material present in the water as could occur if you have unfiltered stream water, the chlorine dioxide will also oxidize parts of that plant material as well. Most of the oxidant would be wasted on the plants, which don't need sterilization, and not on the organism which can cause you harm.
For municipal water treatment, chlorine dioxide is used as a polishing step to kill anything that gets through the filtration system. It's too expensive to use upstream of the filters. The same is true for backcountry uses. The Aqua Mira would be useful for places where the water quality is doubtful but you would still need to remove most of the organic material before use...and that means filtering the water beforehand. Since the filter removes most of the organisms to begin with, I'm not sure the use of the chemical treatment isn't just a bit of OCD treatment.
Originally Posted by
hilltowner
See here:
Aqua Mira FAQs and here:
Efficacy of Water Treatments study I have used it successfully (at least I haven't yet gotten any intestinal parasites) for the last 10 years backpacking and touring (and drinking from streams and lakes in Maine, Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario while doing so).
AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! Marketers! Damned marketers! Stupid, damned marketers! Comments like these drive chemist crazy!
2. Why is AQUAMIRA considered a breakthrough in water treatment technology? Chlorine dioxide is a proven water treatment that has been used in hundreds of U.S. and European city water treatment plants for over 50 years. AQUAMIRA represents a breakthrough in technology that allows stabilized chlorine dioxide to be made available to consumers.
Aquamira isn't a "breakthrough" in technology nor does it use "stabilized chlorine dioxide". It's a relatively simple chemical reaction that has been know for a very long time. But the comment that really, really, really chaps my hide is this absolutely stupid comment
3. Is there chlorine in chlorine dioxide?
No, there is no chlorine in chlorine dioxide. Although chlorine dioxide has the word chlorine in its name, the two chemicals have completely different chemical structures. The additional oxygen atom radically changes the molecule and creates completely different chemical behaviors and byproducts. Their differences are as profound as those between hydrogen, the explosive gas, and hydrogen combined with oxygen, which creates dihydrogen oxide—commonly called water.
Yes, chlorine
gas and gaseous chlorine
dioxide are two different chemicals but both have the element "chlorine" in them. Chlorine dioxide will decompose...quite violently and unexpectedly in a slow speed explosion front called a "puff"...into chlorine gas and water in the right conditions. You can't even compress chlorine dioxide into a gas cylinder because that makes it even more unstable.
As for this claim
4. How safe is AQUAMIRA?
Water treated with AQUAMIRA is safe to drink on a regular basis when treated as directed. Other water treatment chemicals may create foul tastes and odors, and discolor water. Some chemicals, like iodine, chlorine, and other halogens, create potentially harmful by-products.
Chlorine dioxide can form many of the same potentially harmful by-products. It is an oxidant that contains chlorine which can react with organic molecules to form halogenated compounds. It's mostly safe in low concentrations but the chemistry is still much the same as other forms of chlorine salts and compounds.