WATER FAQS

What is water purification?

Water purification generally means freeing water from any kind of impurity it
contains, such as contaminants or micro organisms.
Water purification is not a very one-sided process; the purification process contains
many steps. The steps that need to be progressed depend on the kind of impurities
that are found in the water. This can differ very much for different types of water.

In which ways is polluted water treated?

Settling

Before the purification process begins some contaminants, such as oil, can be settled
in a settling tank. They can then be removed easily, after they have reached the
bottom of the tank.

Removal of dangerous microorganisms

Often polluted water has to be freed from microorganisms. The water is than
disinfected, usually by means of chlorination.

Removal of dissolved solids

Microorganisms are not only a threat to water; they can also be an advantage when
it comes to water purification processes. They can convert harmful contaminants to
harmless substances. This biological purification process usually takes a long time
and it is only used for water that is polluted with contaminants that the
microorganisms, usually bacteria, can convert.

Physical/ chemical techniques

When treatment by microorganisms is not an option we often use different treatment

techniques, called physical/ chemical treatment techniques. Chemical treatment
often deals with the addition of certain chemicals, in order to make sure that the
contaminants change structure and can then be removed more easily. Fertilizers
such as nitrates are removed this way. Removal of contaminants can also be done
through more difficult specific chemical processes. It takes a lot of education to fully
understand these purification steps. Physical treatment usually deals with purification
steps such as filtration.
Water pollution treatment process

More detailed descriptions of water purification steps are available here

How can bacteria be removed from water?

Bacteria and other microorganisms are removed from water through disinfection.
This means that certain substances are added to kill the bacteria, these are called
biocides. Sometimes disinfection can also be done with UV-light.

What is aerobic water treatment?

When bacteria are used for water purification there are two sorts of transfer; one of
these is aerobic transfer. This means, that bacteria that are oxygen dependent are
converting the contaminants in the water. Aerobic bacteria can only convert
compounds when plenty of oxygen is present, because they need it to perform any
kind of chemical conversion. Usually the products they convert the contaminants to
are carbon dioxide and water.

What is anaerobic water treatment?

When bacteria are used for water purification there are two sorts of conversion; one
of these is anaerobic transfer. This means, that bacteria that are NOT oxygen
dependent are converting the contaminants in the water. Anaerobic bacteria can only
convert when oxygen levels are low, because they use other sorts of substances to
perform chemical conversion. Anaerobic bacteria do not just develop carbon dioxide
and water during conversion, but also methane gas. This can be used to keep the
machinery that supports the purification going. The anaerobic conversion of a
substance requires more steps than aerobic conversion, but the final result is often
less satisfactory. After anaerobic conversion usually aerobic bacteria (bacteria that
do use oxygen) still need to finish the process, because the water is not clean
enough yet.
How are fertilizers removed from water?

Fertilizers such as phosphate are removed through addition of another chemical,

usually iron. The substances than become solid precipitates, that can be filtered
from the water.

The removal of ammonium and nitrates is a little bit more complicated; it is a

purification process that takes both aerobic and anaerobic conversion to remove
them.
In the aerobic conversion stage there are two bacterial species involved.
Nitrosomonas bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite and Nitrobacter bacteria that
convert nitrite to nitrate after that.
Although nitrate does not represent a direct health threat to most fish, high levels
are still undesirable. Apart from encouraging abnormal extensive algal growth, it is
now believed that high nitrate levels are implicated in some fish diseases. This
means that the process cannot be stopped here.
The anaerobic bacteria take over; they convert nitrate to atmospheric nitrogen gas.
This process only occurs in the absence of oxygen. The first stage is the reverse of
the nitrification process, it converts nitrate back to nitrite. The second stage of
denitrification converts nitrite to nitrogen gas (N 2). This gas can be freely released
into the atmosphere without causing environmental damage.

What is microbiology?

Microbiology is the scientific field that is occupied with the study of microscopic
organisms, commonly known as microorganisms.

What are microorganisms?

All living creatures consist of cells. Cells are very small basic units of life. They are
the smallest structures capable of basic life processes, such as taking in nutrients
and expelling waste. Cells can only be made visible by microscopes.
Microorganisms are organisms that usually consist of one single cell. Because of this,
they are often referred to as "single-celled organisms". They are so small, that
humans cannot visualize them. We can only see them through microscopes, by which
the cells are greatly enlarged.

At first, microorganisms were not seen as a separate kind. Microorganisms that

carried out photosynthesis (see carbon cycle) were classified in the plant kingdom,
and microorganisms that ingested food were placed in the animal kingdom. However,
in the 19th century, scientists had identified a wide variety of microorganisms with
diverse cell structures, very specific internal structures, and specific reproductive
patterns that made them realize these organisms did not belong to the plant or
animal kingdom.

What kinds of microorganisms are there?

Microorganisms are divided up by their cell characteristics, in the same way as plants
and animals. There are two kinds of (micr) organisms. The first kind is the eukaryotic
organism (protista). Most organisms are eukaryotic, which basically means that the
cells they consist of contain nucleuses and other internal parts, surrounded by
membranes. The second kind of microorganisms is the prokaryotic organism
(monera). Prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a membrane, but they contain no
nucleus or other internal parts (organelles), contrary to eukaryotic cells.

Monera and protists

The monera are bacteria and cyanobacteria. They are single-celled prokaryotic
microrganisms, as was mentioned earlier. Bacteria are very important for other
organisms, because they break down organic matter. During this process nutrients
are formed, which are reused by plants and animals. Some of the bacteria that live
on earth can cause disease, but most of them are quite useful as they aid animals in
the decomposition of food in their bodies. Bacteria differ from other types of cells in
the fact that they do not have a nucleus. With plants and animals this is where the
DNA (genetic information) can be found. With bacteria the genetic material floats
within the cell. They reproduce by first copying their DNA and than performing cell
division. Bacteria also lack membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria, the
cell structures involved in energy metabolism.
Bacterial cells are so small that scientists measure them in units called micrometers
(µm), a millionth of a meter. An average bacterium is about one micrometer long.
Bacteria know several different kinds of subdivisions, such as spherical (coccus) and
rod-shaped (bacillus) bacteria.

Spherical bacteria Rod-shaped bacteria

The protists are single-celled eukaryotic microorganisms, as mentioned earlier.

Examples are amoebas, diatoms, algae and protozoa. These can be a danger to
human and animal health, as certain protists can cause diseases, such as malaria
and sleeping sickness. There are a wide variety of protists, and they inhabit many
different environments; fresh water, seawater, soils, and the intestinal tracts of
animals, where they perform crucial digestive processes.
Many species of protists can produce their own nutrients by the process of
photosynthesis and many protists can also move around on their own accord.
Protists vary greatly in size and shape; the green alga Nanochlorum is only 0.01 mm
long, but giant kelps can grow to 65 m or more in length.

Which microorganisms in water cause diseases?

Sometimes microorganisms that cause health effects can be found in drinking water.
However, as drinking water is thoroughly disinfected today, disease caused by
microorganisms is rarely caused by drinking water.
People that swim in swimming pools will find that the water they swim in is
disinfected with either chlorine, ozone, UV or chlorine dioxide. But there are people
that swim outside in surface water every year. These are the people that are most
susceptible to bacterial infections and infections caused by other microorganisms,
because microorganisms often enter surface water through industrial discharge and
animal excrements. When you are an outside swimmer, you always have to be
careful and read the signs placed by the waterside, because the water you are
swimming in may be infected, for example with botulism.
There are various bacteria and protozoa that can cause disease when they are
present in surface water.

Bacteria are not only known to cause disease when they enter a human body
through food, surface water may also be an important source of bacterial infection.
In this table you can see various bacteria that can be found in surface water, and the
diseases they cause when swallowed in large amounts, along with the symptoms.

Bacteria Disease/ infection Symptoms

Aeromonas
Campylobacter jejuni
Escherichia coli
Plesiomonas shigelloides
Salmonella
Streptococcus
Vibrio El Tor (freshwater)
Enteritis
Campilobacteriose
Urinary tract infections,
neonatal meningitis,
intestinal disease
Plesiomonas-infection
Typhoid fever
Salmonellosis
(Gastro) intestinal disease
(Light form of) Cholera
Very thin, blood- and
mucus-containing diarrhoea
Flue, diarrhoea, head- and
stomachaches, fever,
cramps and nausea
Watery diarrhoea,
headaches, fever, homiletic
uraemia, kidney damage
Nausea, stomachaches and
watery diarrhoea,
sometimes fevers,
headaches and vomiting
Fevers
Sickness, intestinal cramps,
vomiting, diarrhoea and
sometimes light fevers
Stomachaches, diarrhoea
and fevers, sometimes
vomiting
Heavy diarrhoea

Protozoa can accumulate in certain body parts, after they have penetrated a human
body. The accumulations are called cysts.
Because of their parasitic nature, protozoa can cause various diseases. In this table
you can see various protozoa that can be found in surface water, and the diseases
they cause when swallowed in large amounts, along with the symptoms.

Microorganism Disease Symptoms

Amoeba Amoebic Severe diarrhoea, headache, abdominal pain,
dysentery chills, fever; if not treated can cause liver
abscess, bowel perforation and death
Cryptosporidium Cryptosporidiosis Feeling of sickness, watery diarrhoea,
parvum vomiting, lack of appetite
Giardia Giardiasis Diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, flatulence,
 belching, fatigue
Toxoplasm Toxoplasmosis Flu, swelling of lymph glands
gondii With pregnant women subtle abortion and
brain infections

How do we eliminate harmful microorganisms from water?

To eliminate harmful microorganisms from water we tend to use disinfectants.

Examples of disinfectants are chlorine, UV, ozone (O3) and chlorine dioxide
(ClO2). There are several different advantages and disadvantages to the various
disinfection techniques, as shown on our disinfection page. Chemicals that are
harmful to certain types of microorganisms are often used to eliminate them. These
chemicals are known as biocides, because they are mortal to microorganisms.

How can microorganisms be made useful during water treatment?

Microorganisms can be used to decompose contaminants in wastewater. This kind of

water treatment is called biological water treatment. During biological water
treatment microorganisms break down organic matter, nitrates and phosphates. This
is a brief explanation of how these biological water treatment processes work.

Removal of organic matter

Biological water purification is performed to lower the organic load of dissolved

organic compounds. Microorganisms, mainly bacteria, do the decomposition of these
compounds. There are two main categories of biological treatment: aerobic
treatment and anaerobic treatment. Aerobic water treatment means decomposition
of organic matter by bacteria that need oxygen during the decomposition process.
Anaerobic water treatment means decomposition of organic matter by
microorganisms that do not use oxygen.
In aerobic systems the water is aerated with compressed air (in some cases merely
oxygen), whereas anaerobic systems run under oxygen free conditions.

Removal of ammonium and nitrates

The removal of ammonium and nitrates is quite complex. It is a water treatment

process that takes both aerobic and anaerobic conversion to remove the
contaminants.
In the aerobic conversion stage there are two bacterial species involved. Firstly,
Nitrosomonas bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite. Secondly, Nitrobacter bacteria
convert nitrite to nitrate. These two processes together are commonly known as the
nitrification process.

After that, the anaerobic bacteria take over. These bacteria convert nitrate to
atmospheric nitrogen gas. This process is called denitrification. Denitrification is
accomplished with many anaerobic bacteria, such as Achromobacter, Bacillus and
Pseudomonas. The first stage of denitrification is the reverse of the nitrification
process, it converts nitrate back to nitrite. The second stage of denitrification
converts nitrite to nitrogen gas (N2). This gas can be freely released into the
atmosphere without causing environmental damage.
Removal of phosphates

Phosphates can be removed from wastewater by an aerobic (oxygen-dependent)

bacterium, called Acinetobacter. This bacterium accumulates polyphosphates in the
cell tissues.

The Acinetobacter can take up a higher amount of phosphates than it needs for its
cell synthesis. The extra amounts of phosphates are stored in the cells as
polyphosphates.

The storage of polyphosphates causes the Acinetobacter to be able to temporarily

survive anaerobic circumstances. When the Acinetobacter resides in an anaerobic
zone in the wastewater, it takes up fatty acids to store them as spare substances.
During this process, polyphosphates are decomposed for energy supply, causing
phosphates to be released into the aerobic zone. When the Acinetobacter enters the
aerobic zone it takes up phosphates and stores them as polyphosphates in the cell
tissues. This causes the phosphate content of the wastewater to decrease.