AMTech Aqua Miljø ApS produces an apparatus for removing calcite (limescale) coatings in water pipes.
The equipment is based on the transmission of electromagnetic impulses that convert calcite crystals into soluble aragonite lime crystals.
A characterization of various physical parameters of water is made to determine which parameter the AMtech apparatus has the most influence on. The project will be finalized with a report summing up the observed effects.
The operation principle of the AMtech apparatus is not fully understood but it is suspected that the apparatus changes the properties of the water through electro-magnetic induction and/or acoustic signals.
A characterization of the following physical parameters of water is made: Conductivity, Density, Surface Tension, particle charge, residual solids and microscopic analysis of calcite crystals from water samples (XPS). To detect a molecular change of the water, a series of spectroscopic analysis is made, infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Surface enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (with 780nm laser).
A recent discovery demonstrates that liquid water consists of two phases with a 20% difference in density [1] and can occur in an ortho and para hydrogen state. We hypothesize that the AMtech apparatus might be able to influence the distribution of these water properties and in turn change the solubility and crystal structure of calcite crystals in water.
The project is funded by the VIS innovation fund.
[1] Maxima in the Thermodynamic Response and Correlation Functions of Deeply Supercooled Water by Kyung Hwan Kim and Alexander Späh et al: Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8269
[2] Observation of different reactivities of para- and ortho-water towards trapped diazenylium ions. Ardita Kilaj, Hong Gao, Daniel Rösch, Uxia Rivero, Jochen Küpper, Stefan Willitsch
Related projects:
WBP - Water Bridging Programme