WASTE WATER TREATMENT

water treatment for purification and human consumption

When is waste water treatment necessary?

( waste water treatment ) The main function of water treatment is to make water drinkable or clean for the population, whether for industrial use or consumption.

In a world where water is an increasingly scarce resource, water treatment has become a priority for all human beings, so it can be reused for the task that has been required.

Fresh water in the world only represents 2.5% and of that amount only 0.4% is water for human consumption.

Water treatment is necessary when using water from a source that is unsafe for drinking, use, and human use or consumption.

Water treatment can remove bacteria, viruses, chemicals and other contaminants that may pose a health risk or are unwanted in a process water for municipal or industrial use. Additionally, water treatment can improve its taste, smell, and appearance.

Some situations where it is necessary to treat water, such as water that is outside a water quality standard for a specific use, the use of well water or rainwater, and emergency situations where the drinking water supply has been affected.

Importance of water treatment

Water is also known as the vital liquid and it is no wonder, because without it it is impossible for us to live.

Because of this, taking care of it and treating it well is essential if we want to keep it for eternity.

Although access to it is a fundamental human right, a significant portion of the global population struggles to get it.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 3 out of every 10 people in the world lack the availability of drinking water available at home.

Most common water treatments

Drinking water treatment:

This process is by which water is treated so that it can be consumed by humans without being harmful.

The use of this water is for drinking, for preparing food or for sanitary services, showers and at an industrial level, for processes.

Making water drinkable involves removing any substance that is toxic to people, such as chromium, lead or zinc. Additionally, any viruses that might be present in the water are removed.

Stages:

1 Disinfection

This method aims to eliminate pathogenic organisms found in water. In many cases, water can contain viruses, bacteria and protozoa.

To ensure the microbiological integrity of the water in the distribution network, it is necessary to add a disinfectant agent such as free chlorine or chlorine dioxide.

2 Filtration

Reducing the amount of suspended material in water or any other liquid is the process of filtering.

The task of this process can be performed by a filter element or mesh that retains solid particles while allowing fluid to pass through.

There are different types of filtration such as the following:

Physical filtration with deep bed

Multimedia physical filtration

Disc leakage

3 Purification of organic and inorganic contaminants

Purification eliminates what is unwanted, therefore, this process seeks to purify the water, eliminates minerals, salts, organic matter, metals, etc.

Most purifiers use activated carbon to adsorb contaminants, other types of purifiers are UV lamps, ion exchange resins and reverse osmosis for demineralization or tertiary treatment, among others.

4 Final disinfection

This type of disinfection means the extraction, elimination and deactivation of pathogenic microorganisms existing in the water.

This seeks to put an end to their reproduction and growth.

For this the most used methods are:

Ozone disinfection

UV light disinfection

Water treatment for industrial production lines or washing machines

Sewage treatment:

This type of treatment is used for water that will be used in industrial processes or production of goods.

Water is contaminated due to our daily activities and this makes it impossible to be used in activities such as agriculture, which is why it is important to properly treat it for reuse and return to the ecosystem.

It is a WWTP plant dedicated to wastewater treatment, its main objective is to collect water from residential or industrial areas.

Eliminate contaminants and then return to the water cycle to be used in irrigation, services or by direct reuse.

Among the various substances to be treated are waste, oil, sand, various filterable solids, compounds containing nitrates, ammonia and phosphates, among others.

1 Physical water treatments

These are methods that apply physical separation, usually of solids. These methods often depend on the physical properties of the contaminants, such as viscosity, particle size, buoyancy, etc.

Among them we can find sieving, sedimentation, separation and filtration of solids.

2 Chemical water treatments

These methods depend on the chemical nature of the contaminant or reagent that is introduced into the water.

We can highlight the reduction of iron and oxygen, the elimination of phosphates and nitrates, coagulation, electrochemistry, oxidation, ion exchange and more.

3 Biological water treatment

Biological processes are used in these processes, so they are intended for the elimination of colloidal contaminants.

They are microorganisms that act on a suspended substance, converting it into a settleable solid.

These include anaerobic biodegradation, bacterial filters, activated sludge, and aerated lakes, among other aerobic and anaerobic processes.

waste water treatment

Water desalination:

This process consists of treating seawater and turning it into drinking water to supply those communities that have difficulties accessing fresh water.

There are various ways to minimize salt levels in water, but the most widely used process is reverse osmosis

It leads the market with 60% more implementation compared to the rest of the methods.

Other processes to desalinate water are distillation, freezing, hydrate formation, flash evaporation and electrodialysis.

Water treatment can prevent the following diseases:

• Illnesses like diarrhea brought on by consuming toxins.
• Dengue or malaria
• Legionellosis which can be caused by microorganisms found in aerosols.