The use of copper and silver as biocides can be traced back to well before the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that the Egyptians, during the time of the pyramids, may also have used these metals to combat microorganisms.
In more recent times, early settlers moving across the United States of America used silver coins to preserve milk and drinking water. Similarly, seafarers used silver coins to protect their fresh water supplies as they traversed the oceans in their sailing vessels.
Of modern day times, silver ionisation was used on the “Apollo” space programme to disinfect the water on the space craft.
Bion Systems has taken these age-old concepts and brought them into our current era.
Using modern technology, the practice of adding elements to disinfect water has advanced to unprecedented levels with the advent of our AccuionTM copper silver ionisation technology.
To work effectively as a biocide, copper and silver must be introduced into the water in very small particles, known as ions.
All microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and algae have an exterior envelope called the cell wall or cell membrane. Put simply, the cell membrane is essential to the integrity and function of a microorganism and has an electrical charge on it. In the case of Legionella and many other pathogens, this electrical charge is negative (-).
The electrical charge on a particle will repel the same charge and attract the opposite charge, just like poles of a magnet. The ionisation process adds copper and silver ions to the water which are positively charged. The ions are naturally attracted to the negatively charged cell membrane.
When the ions make contact with the cell membrane they electrically bond to the membrane. The ions then permeate it and begin to disrupt the cell’s essential functions.
Copper is known to be very effective against certain microorganisms such as algae, however some bacteria and viruses can resist the attack and continue their life cycle. This is why silver is also added to the water during ionisation. In the case of many bacteria, including Legionella, the copper and silver ions have a synergistic effect to disrupt the cells’ membrane and metabolism to the point where the cell dies.
Once the microorganism dies it looses negative charge. This releases the copper and silver ions and allows them to continue to move randomly through the water. As they are still attracted to negatively charged microorganisms, they will continue their work safely and effectively as a biocide.
Think of Copper and Silver as superheroes within the water distribution system, as soon as they have busted up and cleaned one of the villian’s hide outs, they move on to the next and the next until all the pipes are clean and safe again.
