Water Treatment: Rare Treatment Processes

WATER TREATMENT: RARE TREATMENT PROCESSES

The above treatment process are all designed to make drinking-water safe by the removal of microorganisms and suspended solids. However, drinking-water, particularly from groundwater sources, may also contain chemical contaminants which must be removed. Generally the removal of chemicals from water is more difficult and much more expensive than removing microbiological or physical contaminants. Basic filtration and coagulation techniques are not generally effective for the majority of chemicals.

As there are many different chemicals which could be dealt with, a few relevant examples will be provided. Iron can be a major constituent of both ground and surface waters (where it is commonly associated with bacteria and algae). Although iron does not represent any health risk, it causes problems of acceptability of the water as many consumers find the colour off-putting and because it stains clothes. The principal method of removing iron from water is through aeration or oxidation of the Fe2+ to the Fe3+ species. This is easily achieved by flowing the water over a simple cascade and followed by sedimentation. Note aeration is also used for waters known to be anoxic or oxygen deficient.

A variety of processes are used for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants including ion exchange and precipitation. For instance, fluoride may be removed through coagulation with lime or by ion exchange using calcinated burnt bone or activate alumina. Granulated activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used for pesticide removal through adsorption. This is expensive but unfortunately no other process appears to work effectively and therefore GAC remains the sole option.