Types of water treatment

Water treatment technology

To learn about the types of water treatment, we must first know the purpose of the water treatment process. That is, improving the quality of the water used. It depends on the quality of the water supply.

In all types of water treatment, the most important step is to cleanse the water of any microorganisms present in the water. With chlorine or chlorine dioxide, although chlorine can affect human health.

In some cases of water treatment, We can use other methods such as ozone treatment and ultraviolet radiation.

Water treatment based on its source

If the water source is surface water such as a river or lake, the most important problem is the particulate matter.

Various methods of removing particulate matter include the addition of coagulants and the use of membranes.

If the water comes from groundwater via mountain springs, the water quality is usually good, and in most cases, only we need to disinfect it.

Water treatment technology must provide the ability to deal with a number of potential hazards arising from the movement of water from its source to the tap.

These contaminants likely include formations of naturally occurring sulfur, zinc, and arsenic.

We can contaminate groundwater from fertilizers, septic tanks, mine drainage, or naturally occurring minerals.

Therefore, it is necessary to treate the water as these contaminants may lead to the risk of disease.

Different types of water treatment

One of the biggest pests of the age is that drinking water sources are exposed to pollution, and require appropriate treatment to remove disease-causing agents. Public drinking water systems use multiple means of water treatment to provide safe drinking water for their communities.

The most common water treatment steps that community water systems use primarily to treat surface water include:

Coagulation and flocculation

Coagulation and flocculation are often the first stages of water purification or water treatment.

Positively charged chemicals are added to the water.

The positive charge of these chemicals neutralizes the negative charge of dirt and other dissolved particles in the water.

When this happens, the particles attach to the chemicals and form larger particles, called clumps.

Sedimentation wastewater treatment

During sedimentation, the mass settles to the bottom of the water supply, due to its weight. Sedimentation is the process of depositing the masses and dirt to the bottom, and it can be used in groundwater treatment methods.

Purification

The filtration process is a type of water treatment. Once the mass settles at the bottom of the water supply, the clear water at the top will pass through filters of different compositions (sand, gravel, charcoal) and different pore sizes, in order to remove dissolved particles, such as dust, parasites, bacteria, viruses and other substances. chemical.

Cleansing

Disinfection is a stage in the treatment of wastewater or any type of water. After the water has been filtered, a disinfectant (for example, chlorine and chloramine) can be added to kill any remaining parasites, bacteria, and viruses, and to protect the water from germs when it is carried into homes or any building in the city.

Methods of treating polluted water at home

Although the Environmental Protection Agency regulates and sets standards for public drinking water, many people use a home water treatment unit to:

Remove identified contaminants.

Take extra precautions if a family member has a weak immune system.

Improve the taste of drinking water.

The most common types of home water treatment systems consist of:

Filtration systems

A water filter is a device that removes impurities from water by means of a physical or chemical barrier or a biological process.

Water purifiers

A water purifier is a device that reduces the hardness or hardness of water and softens the water.

Water softeners typically use sodium or potassium ions to replace calcium and magnesium ions, the ions that create water hardness.

Distillation systems

Distillation is a process in which impure water is boiled and steam collected and condensed in a separate vessel, leaving behind many solid contaminants.

Water disinfection or chemical treatment systems

Disinfection is a physical or chemical process in which inactivates or kills disease-causing microorganisms.

Examples of chemical disinfectants are chlorine and ozone.

Examples of physical disinfectants include ultraviolet rays, electronic radiation, and heat.

Sewage water treatment stages

After we know the types of water treatment, we must realize that water is one of the most valuable resources on the planet, which makes the process of treating polluted wastewater one of the most important operations today, whether it is black water or gray water.

More on gray processing units here.

Wastewater passes through many stages to become potable again, and these stages include:

Primary treatment

Before wastewater reaches primary treatment, it routes the water through collection systems and is treated with odor-neutralizing chemicals.

The wastewater then passes through a sifter, where large items, such as bottle caps and plastics, are removed.

The water can then go to primary treatment, where the macrobiotic solids are separated from the wastewater.

Industrial water treatment systems will pour wastewater into large tanks to allow solids to settle on the surface of the tank.

Large skimmers remove this solid waste and later pump it out of the tanks for further processing.

Secondary treatment

In secondary treatment, the goal is to further decompose the wastewater.

Starting with the pneumatic treatment system, the water equipment pumps air into large aeration tanks.

These tanks mix wastewater with a small amount of solid waste, to promote the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms that will consume the remaining organic matter.

This entire process produces large particles and deposits at the bottom of the aeration tanks.

The wastewater then typically passes through this system for a period of three to six hours.

Tertiary treatment

The third stage of treatment is where remove wastewater impurities from the water.

During this stage, we remove 99% of the impurities, making the water close to the quality of drinking water.

At this point, sewage facilities need special equipment and automated chemical feed stations to effectively disinfect water.

You can read more here.

Industrial water treatment

After we know the types of water treatment, we should know that an industrial water treatment system treats water so that it is more suitable for a particular use, whether for consumption or manufacture, however, each system will vary according to the needs of the facility and many of the technologies that make up these systems can be similar In general, some of the most demanding industrial water treatment systems typically include:

• Raw water.
• Boiler feed water.
• Cooling tower water treatment systems.

We choose the technologies and the order they appear in each water treatment system will vary depending on the contaminants, but it is possible to narrow down what you might see in the four common industrial treatment systems.