This paper discusses the mechanism for magnetic water treatment, which has been used practically for over a century but is still not completely understood. Modified crystallization and agglomeration, which produce a less tenacious scale, retain this property for hours following treatment. It is considered to be a result of magnetically modified hydration and Lorentz force effects of magnetic devices. In treated water, as a complex solution/dispersion system, they affect the kinetics of processes at solution/solid interfaces. Which effect prevails depends on the treatment regime and water composition.

A B S T R AC TMagnetic water treatment (MWT), an alternative solution for scale control, is discussed with emphasis on the construction of the magnetic devices and the mechanism of MWT infl uence on the scale formation. Two applications in high-temperature and high-pH conditions are presented. The treatment noticeably reduced the scale thickness on the heating spiral and removed preciously precipitated scale from hot tap-water outlet pipe; on the walls in the zone with heated alkaline water, instead of hard scale, only thin, brittle coating was formed. The morphology analyses showed the acceleration of aragonite nucleation and raised formation of fi ne suspended particles.

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