Water is considered one of the vital resources for human survival at any particular place. When polluted, it can leave devastating effects not only on the environment but on human health as well. A human can survive without food for some time however when it comes to consumption of water, the body can hardly go 3 to 4 days without it. This shows how much of a problem dehydration is and why is it a core necessity to provide clean drinking water. Water being the prime necessity should be available to every human being in the purest of quality, yet it is a horrific fact that nearly billions of people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water.
Microorganisms can be commonly found in raw water being taken from lakes, rivers, and groundwater. Where many of these microorganisms cannot be considered harmful to human health, there are some that may be the cause of diseases. The world undergo many water treatment processes in order to extract clean drinking water for people. The processes may vary slightly depending in the locations, but the basic principles are moreover the same.
Top types of Water treatment methods
Chlorination
One of the core enemies of water is the accumulation of pathogens. They can be transmitted through the drinking water distribution system, causing many waterborne diseases. Chlorination is one of the many processes that are currently being used for water treatment. It is a disinfection method that makes use of various types of chlorine for oxidation that would in return result in clean drinking water.
After the water reaches the treatment facility, Pre-Chlorination is applied almost immediately. In this process, the chlorine is usually added directly to the water. Chlorine eliminates any algae of aquatic life that may be present in the water that can cause issues in the later stages of treatment. It also removes any unwanted odor and prevents any biological growth throughout the treatment.
Verities within chlorine
The basic step carried out in water chlorination is the addition of chlorine in water however many other factors need to be considered to determine what type of chlorine might or might not be used. pH conditions and other storage options being one of them. The three most common types of chlorine being used specifically for water treatment are Chlorine gas, Sodium hypochlorite, and calcium hypochlorite.
Health Concerns
The fact that chlorine can be a great solution to water purity issues is undeniable and completely justified however it can be toxic for humans as well as other microorganisms. Chlorine gas needs to be handled carefully as it can causing acute health issues like an irritation to the eyes and overall respiratory system. With concentration being as low as 1000ppm, it can be fatal.
Although chlorination may have some drawbacks that can make you question its use but overall it is a very popular method that has been used for ages for water treatment. It effectively kills bacteria and other types of viruses. So regardless of the negative aspects, it continues to be one of the most popular, dependable and cost-effective method to obtain clean water.
Ozonation
This is a chemical water treatment technique that works by the infusion of Ozone into the contaminated water. Basically, ozonation is an oxidation process that involves the production of reactive oxygen species that then attack a wide range of harmful microorganisms. This method can be efficiently used for disinfection as well as the degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants. The production of ozone is done by subjecting Oxygen to a high electric voltage. The overall production requires a lot of energy thus is relatively costly than other methods.
Working
Ozone’s effectiveness comes into play due to the generation of extremely reactive oxygen species during the transformation of Ozone to Oxygen. Ozone directly attacks the surface of the microorganisms that destroy their cell walls thus causing the cells to lose their cytoplasm. This means that the cells can no longer be reactive themselves.
Cost
The overall cost of Ozonation mainly depends on the site of production, the capacity of the plant and the level of contamination in the water that is being treated. The production method can be carried out on the time of use however due to the high energy requirement it is considered a very costly method of water treatment but an effective one nonetheless.
Health concerns
When health is put into consideration, the major problem rises at the time of production rather than the end product that is the water being obtained. Not a lot is known about the effect of ozonation on human health as no cases have emerged from the consumption.
Sludge Drying
This method of water treatment involves several steps. During the wastewater treatment process, sludge is produced which contains nearly 97 to 99 percent water within. One way to extract clean water out of it is to use thickening. A gravity thickener is used to increase the dry and solid content of the sludge that would reduce the water content with the least energy input. Another process used is dewatering, which can be carried out using a filter press or by drying beds. Now comes sludge drying itself. This is a thermal process where thermal energy is provided to the sludge to evaporate the remaining water inside the sludge. Direct and indirect sludge drying are both being widely used by companies to extract clean drinking water.
Sedimentation
The basic concept of sedimentation is derived from another very common physical concept that is gravity. When the water has little or no movement, the suspended solids sink to the bottom of the container holding the liquid. That solid material that is accumulated at the bottom is known as sediment which is then removed by using sedimentation tanks of different types.
Filtration
Another very conventional water treatment method is filtration. In this particular method, the contaminated water is forcefully passed through porous media. These pores are of various sizes depending on the type of material that the water is highly polluted with.
Conclusion
Water being the fundamental need for humans needs to be widely and easily available to every human being throughout the world. It provides you nourishment, prevents many diseases, helps in getting rid of toxins within your body, and has a major role in food and agriculture production.
