Water is one of the important natural resources available on Earth. 71% of the Earth is covered with water of which 97% of water is saline and not fit for drinking. Therefore, it is necessary that we adopt such practices which benefit our overall health. Improvement in water quality is necessary for the survival and overall health of all living beings on earth. And for this, the practice of water treatment is of utmost importance.
Water treatment is a procedure aimed at converting disinfected water into a usable form for multiple purposes with minimal environmental impact, thereby balancing the water cycle.
Now, the water purification process is not an overnight task. It involves certain stages that it has to pass through in order to achieve the required results. The water treatment process passes through the following stages: –
1. Scrutinizing
Scrutinizing contaminated water is the primary step in water treatment that is finished to eradicate suspended particles like branches, leaves, sticks, etc. from the water. When water emanates from the surface, it contains huge suspended as well as drifting particles which can be sticks, branches, leaves, and so on; the screens are fixed at the entry of the water treatment plant to remove the suspended particles. Scrutinizing is possible by physically utilizing screens or by the utilization of screening machines. Chain-driven screens, constant belt screens, catenary screens, and responding rakes are the commonly utilized scrutinizing machines.
Types of Screens used in Scrutinizing water: –
Generally, two kinds of screens are used for scrutinizing which are mentioned below:
a. Bar Screen
The bar screen is also known as the coarse screen. They have a wide opening and are placed before the fine screen to eliminate large, drifting, and suspended materials. The coarse screen ranges from 6 to 150 mm (0.25 t0 6 in).
b. Fine Screen
The fine screen is used to get rid of modest, drifting, and suspending matter of size. The fine screen ranges under 6mm.
c. Micro Screen
It is the smallest kind of screen whose initial reaches from 10 to 35µm. These screens are generally low-speed drum screens.
2. Aeration
Aeration phases out smells and CO2. It also gets rid of metals like iron and manganese by precipitating them as hydroxides. Crude water is poured into a major air circulation tank and aerated by bubbling coagulated air through permeated pipes.
3. Coagulation and flocculation
After this, water from the storage tank is inclined into a coagulation tank, where chemicals like alum, lime, and others are blended in. While these chemicals are mixed in water, they
produce an Al (OH)3 precipitate. Suspended solids assimilate on the precipitate’s surface, causing the precipitate’s mass to steadily rise and subsequently settle.
Flocculation is a water treatment method where particles gather to make greater bunches, or flocs, which are piped out from the water. This cycle can work in a normal situation or with the help of chemical specialists. It is a fantastic strategy for wastewater treatment, stormwater treatment, and sanitization of drinking water.
4. Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the separation of suspended solids from a liquid by gravity. As solids and particles rupture from liquid suspension and settle, they become coarse. This cycle generally referred to as settling, is typically utilized in water and wastewater treatment.
5. Filtration
To gather separated water, there is a gathering tank at the lower part of the filtered bed. During filtering, a slimy layer (also known as a crucial layer) is applied to the filtered bed. Algae, diatoms, and microorganisms build up the crucial layer. Microorganisms in the crucial layer oxidize natural and different materials in the water during filtration. In case NH3 is available, for instance, it gets oxidized to nitrate. The vital layer does support microbial cell filtration. If the water has a rotten odor, resultant carbon can be added to the filter bed to eliminate the odor.
6. Chlorination
Chlorination is a general chemical sanitization process that includes adding a chlorine-based item (like sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, or family blanch) to water to eradicate microorganisms and diseases. Other compound sanitizers, like iodine and chlorine dioxide, can also act as a strong for cleaning water. Using or drinking water with limited quantities of chlorine, iodine, or chlorine dioxide doesn’t cause harmful impacts and provides relief against waterborne infectious outbreaks. Hence, making the drinking water treatment successful.
7. Disinfection
At last, disinfectants are utilized to sanitize filtered water. For instance, consider chlorination. Disinfectants devastate harmful microorganisms as well as other microorganisms in water. Following disinfection, the water is channeled into an above tank for home distribution.
Importance of water treatment plant: –
1. Safeguard our health
Various metals and harmful chemical substances present in the water are disastrous for the health of humans. These harmful substances enter the body causing various health problems like asthma, cholera, skin disorders, cancer, and even death. Thus, this will reduce the annual death rate of people.
2. Helps in restoring water
It is such an efficient process in which the water is redirected back to the cycle of nature.
3. Protect the environment
Introducing this treatment helps in maintaining groundwater and surface water.
4. No shortage of water
Purified water can be put to different uses like drinking, industrial use, agriculture, etc. This also solves the problem for domestic purposes by adopting domestic water treatment. Hence, countries that face the problem of water shortage will be benefitted from this process.
The Bottom Line
Before it is thrown to the public for use, water needs to go through every step for a healthy environment. UAE has been achieving heights in terms of water technology. Water purification is the need of an hour for every country as the climate conditions are changing at a faster pace. Introducing this method will also benefit the economy.
