Various Steps Of Purification And Their Contribution

By Scott Rodgers

Seven simple steps can make water potable, these steps are- Preliminary Treatment, Coagulation, Flocculation, Clarification, Softening and Stabilization, Filtration, Fluoridation and Disinfection. Here we will focus on brief description of all these steps.

Preliminary treatment includes physical, chemical and mechanical treatment of water. In this process, water passes through a screen to eliminate solid particles like rocks, sticks, leaves etc. After that some chemicals are added in water that stops the growth of algae and at last pre-sedimentation is used to remove sand, grit from water.

Second step is coagulation, which uses chemicals like alum to make suspended particles heavy and settles them down in the water tank. You can remove all the microbes, silt and other suspended particles from water using this method.

During the flocculation stage, the heavy floc separates and settles to the bottom of the water in large basin. The water is finally drained through screens once again, with the finer mesh on the screens separating out the majority of the floc particles.

Clarification is also known as Sedimentation. It allows water to sit in a large basin long enough for the removal of small particles left out by flocculation filtering. As the water sits undisturbed, these particles slowly begin to settle at the bottom of the basin. The particles settle into the sludge of sediment and allow water to be drained above the sludge line. The sediment is then scraped from the bottom of the basin.

When water is too hard, it forms scale and causes a variety of problems in pipes. Hard water also causes laundry and washing problems because it reduces the effectiveness of soaps and detergents. On the other hand, when water is too soft, it causes corrosion in pipes. Softening and stabilization stage helps to maintain a desirable balance between hardness and softness. This is accomplished by removing undesirable minerals from hard water and adding required minerals to soft water.

Next is filtration, this stage removes all the fine particles that are not removed before. The water is allowed to pass through very fine membrane which does not allow any of the particles to go through it. It removes all the microorganisms and tiny particles from water, providing you extremely clean water.

In fluoridation, fluoride (F-) is added to water to reduce tooth decay. It is an effective, economical process approved by many public health groups. Fluoride is fed into the water system in dry powder form or as solution. During disinfection, disease-causing organisms are destroyed or disabled. Chlorine is the most common, effective and economical disinfectant used. Finished water is then stored in holding tanks.

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