Lead Removal in Drinking Water
Why Lead Removal Matters
Lead is rarely found in natural water sources. Instead, it can enter drinking water through aging pipes, brass fixtures, or lead-based solder as water passes through plumbing systems.*1
Although lead concentrations are typically low, minimizing unnecessary exposure is widely recommended, especially for children and other sensitive populations. To protect public health, many countries have established strict regulations and guideline values for lead in drinking water.*2
Growing Demand for Lead Reduction
Demand for lead reduction technologies continues to grow worldwide, driven by several key trends:
- Growing consumer awareness of drinking water safety
- Concerns about aging water infrastructure
- Increasing demand for high-performance water filtration products and systems
As consumers and manufacturers place greater emphasis on water quality, effective lead reduction has become an increasingly important feature in modern water filtration solutions. NSF/ANSI 53 is widely recognized as one of the leading certification standards for evaluating lead reduction performance.
Designed for Reliable Lead Reduction
Our filtration technology incorporates functional media designed to reduce dissolved heavy metals, including lead, enabling effective treatment of ionic contaminants in drinking water. Under defined test conditions, filters with specified dimensions demonstrate reliable lead reduction performance at high flow rates.
| Target Substance | Challenge Water Conc. | Maximum Effluent Conc. | UNITIKA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Chlorine | 2.0mg/L | 1.0mg/L (50%) | 300L (90%) | ||
| Chlorinated hydrocarbon (Trichloroethylene) | 0.300mg/L | 0.005mg/L | 300L (93%) | ||
| Pb2+ (Lead) | 0.15mg/L | 0.005mg/L (97%) | pH6.5 | 300L (99%) | |
| Cd2+ (Cadmium) | 0.030mg/L | 0.005mg/L (84%) | pH6.5 | 300L (99%) | |
| pH8.5 | 300L (99%) | ||||
| Hg2+ (Mercury) | 0.006mg/L | 0.002mg/L (67%) | pH6.5 | 300L (96%) | |
| pH8.5 | 300L (80%) | ||||
| Cu2+ (Copper) | 3.0mg/L | 1.3mg/L (57%) | pH6.5 | 300L (80%) | |
* Based on UNITIKA's internal testing. The stated reduction percentages are derived from individual tests conducted for each contaminant.
* Data shown is for pitcher-type water filtration applications.
By combining this media with Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF), our solution enables the simultaneous removal of multiple contaminants—including chlorine, organic compounds, and heavy metals—within a single filter. This multi-functional capability allows system manufacturers to simplify system design while maintaining high treatment performance.
In addition to its advanced adsorption performance, our filter—benefiting from our proprietary manufacturing process—is engineered to achieve low pressure drop.
Compared with conventional carbon block filters, UNITIKA’s ACF-based filter significantly reduces flow resistance, delivering high performance even in compact filter configurations. This low pressure drop also supports gravity-fed filtration systems, expanding design flexibility across a wide range of applications—from compact residential units to larger-scale water purification systems.
- Sources
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- *1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water."
- *2World Health Organization (WHO), "Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality."