Water Ionizer One

A water ionizer (also known as an alkaline ionizer) is a home appliance which raises the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis, to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline water. The alkaline stream of the treated water is called alkaline water. The second stream second stream is seen as waste and is flushed into the sink.

Proponents claim that consumption of alkaline water results in a variety of health benefits, making it similar to the alternative health practice of alkaline diets.

The Water Ionizer One from Meditech Europe is a very nice looking machine with all the specifications that belong to a high class ionizer.

Specifications:

Despite being described as 'water ionizers' the machines are designed to work as water electrolyser. This is an electrochemicalprocess in which water is split to form hydrogen and oxygen by an electric current. The overall chemical reaction is shown below:

2 H₂O(l) → 2 H₂(g) + O₂(g)

During this process, the water near the anode is acidic while the water near the cathode is alkaline.

2 H₂O + 2e^– → H₂ + 2 OH^– (at the cathode)

2 H₂O → 4e⁻ + O₂ + 4 H⁺ (at the anode)

Water ionizers work by simply siphoning off the water near the cathode. Water siphoned off the cathode side contains increased levels of hydroxide (OH⁻) and would be expected to have a higher pH (i.e. be more alkaline), whereas water siphoned off near the anode would have increased levels of H⁺ making it acidic. The acidic water is claimed to be useful for household disinfecting.

The effectiveness of the process is debatable because electrolysis requires significant amounts of time and power; hence, the amount of hydroxide that could be generated in a fast moving stream of water such as a running tap would be minimal at best. Additionally, the process of reversing the reaction requires much less energy, so if the area between the alkaline and acidic water is at least semi-permeable, the water will undergo another reaction that just leaves neutral water. The second reaction is shown below:

H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O