Micah Jezel B.

Mazon
1

WATER TREATMENT AND PROCESSES
Water treatment is a system to make water acceptable for a desired usage, such as drinking water, industrial
utilisation, etc. The water treatment process is to remove or reduce contaminates in the water to meet the
required levels. In the case of drinking water, it should be potable and palatable. Potable means water is healthy
for human consumption (i.e., safe) without harmful microorganisms and organic/inorganic compounds that could
cause adverse physiological effects. Palatable refers to water that is free from turbidity , colour, odour and
objectionable taste. Natural water usual y contains various chemical and biological constituents.

Treatment Processes

The water treatment processes include the following:
Screen: coarse screens are firstly used to remove large solids such as tree branches and rubbish (about 100mm
spacing). Finer screens are then used to remove fine solids or algae before other treatments.
Storage reservoir: for surface water sources during high flows with heavy silt load, it is useful to store raw water in
a storage reservoir to improve water quality before further treatment.
Adsorption: this is a physical process to remove soluble molecules by the attachment to the absorbent surface.
Adsorbents have very large surface areas available for adsorption. The most widely used adsorbent is activated
carbon and others (activated alumina, clay colloids, hydroxides, etc.) Adsorption is used to remove algae, reduce
colour, odour and organic matters. Carbon (from peat, coal, etc.) is activated by high temperature or chemicals
(acid, strong base or a salt). Activated carbon is used either as a powder added to water or as granules packed as a
filter.
Coagulation and flocculation: this is used to remove particles and a portion of dissolved organic matter. A
coagulant is a chemical to reduce the repulsive forces among particles so that the attractive forces are able to
gather particles together. The most commonly used coagulant is alum. Selection of coagulants is influenced by
coagulant type, particle type and concentration, water temperature and pH, cost and availability , etc. Too little
coagulant is insufficient to neutralise the negative charge in the particles and too much coagulant would turn
negatively charged particles to positive, which are unable to destabilise the particles. Jar Test is used to work out
the correct coagulant and its proper dosage for the tested raw water. Coagulant is dispersed into the water stream
by rapid mixing sy stems (pumped, stirred tank or in-line static mixer). After the coagulation, flocculation is used to
aggregate the destabilised particles in order to form larger particles (i.e., floc), and is carried out via a flocculation
system (vertical shaft turbine, horizontal shaft paddle wheel or hydraulic system).
Hardness removal: water with high mineral content is called hard water. Water hardness is usual y measured by
the total concentration of calcium and magnesium. Hard water is general y not harmful to human health (in
contrary , hard water may provide dietary calcium and magnesium and reduce the solubility of potentially toxic
metal ions such as lead and copper). With hard water, soap solutions form a white precipitate instead of lather,
which makes the solution less effective in washing dishes and clothes. Hard water can be softened by ion exchange
and precipitation methods.
Sedimentation and filtration: large particles from coagulation and flocculation are removed by sedimentation and
filtration. Sedimentation is the process in which the majority of the particles (include flocs) settle by gravity and
are then removed. Filtration is used to remove small particles and pathogens. Two types of filtration include
granular filtration and membrane filtration. Backwashing is regularly used to flush captured particles away from
the filter.
Disinfection: disinfection is used to control the numbers of pathogens in water (bacteria and viruses) to reduce the
risk of infection to an acceptable level instead of sterilisation (to kill all forms of microbial life). There are two
activities which include primary disinfection (inactivation of microorganisms) and secondary disinfection (keeping a
disinfectant residual in the treated water). Generally disinfectants are classified as oxidising agents (e.g., chlorine
and ozone) and physical agents (heat or UV radiation). Ozone is powerful and expensive but with no residual action
for secondary disinfection to protect the water during distribution. Chlorination is less powerful but cheaper with a
lasting residual effect (the most commonly used approach). UV radiation is widely used for small water treatment
plants and individual households. It has no residual action so it must be used close to the point of use.