preview

Water Purification

Decent Essays
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
…show more content…
At the Home Environment Center, our carbon filters are "back washed" on an automatic cycle every 72 hours. Maintenance and filter replacements are carried out by trained personnel in accordance with a predetermined schedule.
Step 3: Sediment Filter
The next step in the purification process is a simple paper sediment filter. The sediment filter acts as a trap for relatively large particles which may be present in the water-- things like dirt, sand, or grit. It's necessary to remove these large particles very early in the process to prevent fouling and clogging of the more sensitive equipment used at later stages. Our initial sediment filter is rated at 20 microns (a micron is one-millionth of a meter of 1/25000th of an inch). This rating means that this filter will stop 99.97% of all particles with a diameter of 20 microns or more. Of interest is the fact that the human eye can only see particles that are 25 microns in diameter and larger.
Step 4: Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is the centerpiece of the Home Environment Center water purification process. Many people have heard about the process of osmosis. Osmosis is a naturally occurring process whereby water passes across a membrane due to a pressure differential between one side of membrane and the other. As osmosis takes place, the concentration of dissolved material on each side of
Get Access