Iodination of Drinking Water

Content

Water iodination technologies have been known for quite a long time. They have been used in living and travel conditions for disinfection of drinking water. Just a drop or two of tincture of iodine make water of questionable quality drinkable. This method is indispensable in situations when water of poor quality is supplied.

Another purpose of water iodization is related to enrichment of drinking water with iodine as an essential microelement vitally important for human health. This purpose can hardly be achieved by dosing iodine tincture by drops, as the final concentration will be uncontrollable. Currently various iodine-containing supplements are commercially available for industrial iodination of drinking water, beverages, and food products. The best-known iodine-enriched product is, of course, iodized salt. However, the intake of iodine from salt varies strongly depending on the individual propensity to salt. In this respect, iodized drinking water is certainly more effective.

Why Enrich Drinking Water with Iodine?

The problem of iodine deficiency affects more than a billion people on Earth. This problem is not limited to the negative effect of the lack of iodine on the condition and functioning of the thyroid gland. From the utero stage of development, iodine deficiency increases the risk of underdevelopment of brain, of mental disorders, of bad learning. In other words, iodine deficiency determines the risk of defective development of human intellect.

Using methods of drinking water iodination to overcome iodine deficiency appears to be very promising. One of the major advantages of this method is that no risk of an overdose is present. Of course, if a moderate and safe concentration of this element is maintained in drinking water.At present a concentration within 40-60 mcg/l is considered optimal and compatible with other methods of iodine deficiency prevention (such as iodized salt). The maximum concentration limit of iodine in bottled drinking water in Russia is set at 125 mcg/l.

In pure oxidant-free water the iodide ion is stable, and its content remains unaltered for a long time (within the shelf life of bottled drinking water). If oxidants such as residual ozone are likely to occur in water, then supplements based on iodate ion (e.g., KIO₃ solution) can be used for iodination.

We produce iodine-containing Severyanka^® supplements as concentrated water solutions of iodine-containing compounds (iodides and iodates), as well as that of molecular (crystalline) iodine. The choice of a specific iodination method should be made upon consultation with experts basing on a detailed chemical analysis of water and explicit estimation of the water treatment methods used.

Process of Drinking Water Iodination

Enrichment of drinking water with iodine is in most cases technologically realized by dosing a liquid iodine-containing supplement into the flow of water using a high-precision dosing pump. An alternative method is realized by manual addition of a measured portion of the supplement into a water tank with known volume of water.

The main requirement that must be met by an iodination method is strict observation of the recommended iodine dose, as the optimum range of its concentration is rather narrow. And, of course, usage of certified high-quality supplements is a guarantee of a successful iodination process.