What Is KDF and How Does It Work?

If you have been searching for a new water filter in the past few days, you may have come across the terms “KDF”, “KDF 55” or “KDF 85”.

KDF is an exciting type of water filtration media which can remove a wide variety of contaminants including heavy metals, chlorine, chlorinated hydrocarbons, chloramines, and calcium carbonate.

KDF is also naturally resistant to bacteria and algae, which helps to ensure that your water filter remains hygienic. 

Contents

What is KDF?
KDF55
KDF85
KDF-F & KDF-C
The Most Popular KDF Water Filters in Australia
Wrapping Up

What is KDF?

KDF stands for kinetic degradation fluxion and is a type of media that consists of granules made from high-purity copper-zinc.

These granules are designed to produce a redox reaction to greatly reduce many common water impurities. The redox process uses electrochemical oxidation-reduction to change impurities into harmless elements.

Positively charged substances are attracted to the copper component whilst the negatively charged substances are attracted to the zinc.

The use of KDF for this redox process was discovered over 30 years ago and has been certified by NSF international (NSF Standard 61).

As there are no chemical additive in KDF media it is safe for use in both whole house and drinking water applications.

KDF is most often used to reduce water contaminants such as heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide and chlorine.

KDF has the added benefit of being bacterio-static meaning it is resistant to the development of bacteria making it the perfect media for water filtration.

There are a variety of KDF medias such as KDF 55, KDF 85, KDF-F (Fines) and KDF-C (Coarse Mesh) which we will discuss in more detail below.

KDF55

KDF55 (copper + zinc) is designed to reduce up to 99% of heavy metals including mercury, water-soluble lead, chromium and nickel.

Certified by NSF to NSF/ANSI Standard 42, KDF55 is guaranteed to reduce chlorine and bad tastes/odours among other impurities found in your water. When exposed to KDF55 “Free” chlorine is broken down through the redox process into safe, water-soluble chloride.

It is important to note that KDF55 reduces “free” chlorine and hydrogen sulfide but does not reduce chlorine that has been combined with other contaminants in the water. For this reason, you will commonly find KDF55 paired with a number of different GAC carbons.

KDF55 will also help to control the buildup of algae, fungi, bacteria and scale.

KDF85

KDF85 (iron + hydrogen sulfide) is specifically designed to reduce iron and hydrogen sulfide from water. It can also be effectively used to control scale, bacteria build up and algae even in hot water supplies. KDF85 is certified NSF/ANSI Standard 42.

KDF-F and KDF-C

KDF-F and KDF-C are variations of the KDF55 and KDF85 media, with KDF-F being fine media and KDF-C being course mesh media. Both are designed for use in specific circumstances. For example, the finer consistency of KDF-F allows for better integration into carbon block filters whilst KDF-C is more suited for use in granular carbon filters.

The Most Popular KDF Water Filters in Australia

The effectiveness of KDF has led to many filter manufacturers incorporating it in their products. It can also be purchased as a raw material which can be combined with other medias in refillable water filters. Some of the most popular KDF water filters amongst Australian consumers are:

AP1025KDF/GAC
1025KDF/GAC
BestWF
BestHC
AIC-K

AP1025KDF/GAC and 1025KDF/GAC

Both these filters contain KDF and Carbon. The differences can be found in their sediment pads, the the type of carbon and the amount of KDF they contain.

The AP1025KDF/GAC contains 200 grams of KDF55 media in addition to silver impregnated GAC carbon media and a 10 micron sediment pad on the inlet and outlet of the filter, whereas the 1025KDF/GAC contains 350 grams of KDF55 in addition to GAC carbon and a 5 micron sediment pads.

BEST WF and BEST HC

The Best WF and Best HC are inline 1 Micron carbon filters that contain KDF55 media and GAC granular activated carbon. These are widely used among caravaners and campers and can be used to reduce dirt, rust, algae, chemicals, chlorine, heavy metals and bad tastes and odours.

Both filters contain 230g of KDFF media. The Best HC is larger in size and therefore has an increased capacity of 7570L compared to that of the Best WF’s 5678L.

The KDF55 reduces active chlorine and inhibits Bacteria growth which also extends the life of the filter and helps reduce scale build-up. This filter can come with a variety of fitting making it ideal in many applications.

AIC-K

The Aqua Pro AIC-K is another popular inline filter that contains KDF55. This filter contains 5 micron sediment pads, KDF55 and GAC carbon. These filters have ¼” female threaded inlet but can be purchased with a variety of fittings making them popular for use across a variety of applications.

Wrapping Up

KDF media is a copper and zinc blend that uses a redox process to effectively reduce heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, chlorinated hydrocarbons, chloramines, and calcium carbonate. It is most effective when paired with either Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) or Catalytic Carbon (ORC). 

KDF can be used across most areas of water filtration including whole house, under the sink, caravans, showers and more. 

If you would like to learn more, give our friendly team a call on 02 6646 8565 or email us at sales@clarencewaterfilters.com.au.

Categorised in: Contaminants

This post was written by Paul