Chemistry: The Purification of Water

This issue was becoming so bad that businesses would donate or pay to have better sewer systems because the water they used to cook/boil food was polluted and not healthy for people to digest.

Water Pollution: Clean drinking water is becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political issue as the human population fights for this resource. One of the options suggested is using the process of desalinization. Industrial development is filling our rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human health.

Water: a necessary facet to all living things. For animals, water can be a home or a drink. As for humans, the uses of water are endless. Not only do we use water as a beverage or washing clothes or dishes, but we also use water for toilets, various kinds of plumbing and other things that aren’t as easily identifiable. As of 2005, this 70% of our Earth has been manipulated and used for thermoelectric power (41.5%), irrigation (37%), domestic affairs (8.5%), public supply (5.4%), industry (5%) and aquaculture (2.6%).1 The importance of water is infinite, not only to our way of life, but also our lives. We need to drink water to ensure the health of individual cells of the body, lubricate joints, moisten mucous membranes of the organs and many other vital bodily functions.2 Not only do we expect the availability of water, but it is highly important to humans and all living things. Although it is such an integral part of our Earth, one may ask about some of its properties and characteristics.

The basis of this experiment was to test how different contaminates effect ground water when absorbed. The results were surprising as that I felt any additives would immediately change the entire break up and color of the water. What was most surprising to me was that filtering vinegar through ground water it came out relatively clean. I also believed that when filtered all of the water would have large traces of dirt, but that was not the case with the vinegar. This means that there are still viable ways to filter and purify water.

One of the biggest challenges of polluted third world countries is the lack of suitable drinking water. However, a woman named Theresa Dankovich created a water purification system called The Drinkable Book. The book has 25 pages of silver nanoparticles which releases silver ions that neutralize disease. The pages were tested in five different countries, and reportedly eliminated almost all of the bacteria.

Water is a natural renewable resource on earth that not many people have access to. Many people that do have access to water do not have access to clean water. Water purification can be expensive in the United States and many countries cannot afford to use that process. It is important to find new inexpensive ways to purify water to help people in those countries get cleaner water, which in turn improves health.

Abstract: The main objective of this lab was to determine how to effectively measure and compare bacteria in different water sources, specifically in this lab by using Coleman Drinking Water Purification Tablets. The tablets did not eliminate bacteria to the level found in tap water, however they were still very effective at eliminating bacteria. The tablets as a result can be trusted by the user to remove any unnecessary health risk when drinking water from an untreated source.

All around the world, countries are fighting to keep their drinking water clean. Whether it’s streams, rivers, or lakes, countries have taken great measures to maintain high quality drinking water for both human consumption and animal consumption. Countries must first understand the sources of the polltion, then determine the best methods to eliminate the pollution. Clean drinking water is a valuable resource and a the key to human survival. Plants and animals also depend on water for their growth, so all water must be kept clean. The major contributors to water pollution can be classified in three categories, industrial, agricultural and municipal.

The sewer system would collect water from baths, latrines (a public pay toilet), palaces, fountain, and other urban runoff (Hasan). From here, the sewers would flow through town to either the nearest river or to out onto fields for irrigating and fertilizing soil (Wikander 176, 655). However not every Roman citizen could afford the cost of a bath or bathroom in their house, so they would be forced to either use a latrine or a chamber pot (Hasan). A latrine was a public pay toilet and a chamber pot was a pot where bodily excretions went (Hasan). The chamber pot became a problem as most people became too lazy to properly empty them, so they dumped the chamber pot out of the window. With this problem rising, the Romans decided to use an open sewer system as well with the regular sewer system (Wikander 168). The open sewer system is exactly how it sounds, it’s an open sewer where sewage runs through town to the nearest disposal sight. This helped with the disposal of the chamber buckets. Later an emperor named Vespasian came up with the idea to collect all the urine (Hasan). Vespasian had discovered that the ammonia in urine had cleaning properties, so he collected the urine to wash clothes

If you don’t have city sewage you probably have a septic system. A septic system is a system that treats removes and disposes of water. Usually this water is from homes and businesses. Septic systems are responsible for the removal of water waste. If it is working properly it will safely remove filtered water out of harms way and back into the aquifer. If a septic system is not working properly it can be dangerous it may cause the near by water table to overflow causing flooding and water contamination. If this occurs people often must resort to an alternative septic system.

Joseph Bazalgette built London’s current sewage system in the 1960’s and, at the time of construction, they stopped the spread of Cholera which was rapidly spreading amongst Londoners at the time. The system also brought an end to the Great Stink of London. (BBC History, 2016)

Honors Question: To get clean water, I will take water from a nearby lake or stream, and put it inside a water canteen put aside full of sand and or soil/gravel. This will filter the water of any particles floating inside, which ends up with clean water. I can also make an attempt to distill the water by put the contaminated water in the canteen, and lighting a match to try to boil the water. Once that is done, I can use a straw to channel the evaporated water into another canteen, and wait for it to

Water is a critical source that is utilized by most living things on Earth to support it ways of live. The usage of water ranges from basic household needs to agricultural purposes. Water is one of the resources on the Earth that is becoming more and more scarce and the water available for usage is being further contaminated by pollution causing sickness and death.(World Health Organization).Countries are experiencing droughts affecting the water supply needed to maintain irrigation, thermoelectric power, and public supply. The definition of water pollution is the result of when too many toxic materials are present, in which negatively impact the water to be unsafe for its intended purpose, which may be drinking to industrial processes

Incredible water shortage in the Middle East region has compelled countries to reuse this water for many purposes. Treated wastewater can be used in agriculture, industry, recharging aquifers (Middle East Water Shortage). This method leads to conservation of traditional sources of water which further can be used “for meeting the demand for higher-quality water such as that for drinking, or for high value-added industrial and agricultural uses.” Also the climate fickleness’ influence will lessen by means of reuse. But there are few problems connected with leading treatment into usage. One of them are health and environmental risks (Baroudy 2005, 25-35). Purified in such way water contains bacteria, viruses and parasites (Middle East Water Shortage). Use of treated water can cause different infectious and gastrointestinal diseases. According to Baroudy even contact with this water sometimes can cause allergies and other dermatological illnesses (2005, 25-35). Another problem is that this water has some biological and chemical matter dissolved in it, which can obstruct soil pores. Clogged soil has less ability for leaking which leads to bad irrigation efficiencies (Middle East Water Shortage). But, of course, some standards with the purpose to limit these effects were elaborated. Toughening standards require financial investments (Baroudy 2005, 25-35). Process of waste treatment requires special equipment and construction of special water treatment

Clean water supply is essential in establishing and maintaining a healthy community. There are two sources of water supply which are the surface water and ground water. Most natural waters are not suitable for consumption as it is contaminated by pathogens and also natural chemicals and minerals. In addition, as a city grew, wastes from human activities contaminate most of the water supplies. Water treatment plays an important role to properly treat a contaminated source of water supply in order to protect the health of consumers. Water treatment process is defined as a process of eliminating pollutants from untreated water to produce a biologically and chemically risk-free water, which is both potable and palatable for human consumption