[MAY THEMATIC REPORT]-WASTE WATER TREATMENT PART 2. (ECO-TECHNOLOGY)by Baraka E Urio | 13-05-2023 00:17 |
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 Waste water can be regarded as unsafe water, whether it is polluted or otherwise. But this definition is not clear because water can be regarded as polluted, let's say with organic components, i.e., food wastes, but these organic wastes are used by aquatic organisms as the source of food, hence the pollutant is regarded as an advantage on the other side, so the pollutant can have a negative effect on one side while having a positive effect on the other side. In the first part of the report, we discussed how waste water treatment plants act as water cleaners and thus are an eco-technology that is used to reduce water pollution. In this report, we will discuss water purification technology. Most bottling industries (for human consumption) have technologies that are used to purify water to an acceptable quality for human consumption. The source of water for purification can be rivers, wells (underground water), or government facilities. After receiving water from their sources, let's say river water can't be consumed by humans due to its high organic contents; inorganic contents may even have a bad smell. Microbiological contamination that can be unsafe for human consumption Most water bottling industries have the following installed systems for ensuring water purification: 1. SAND FILTRATION SYSTEM This system uses sand gravels of different sizes for filtration; sand filters are mainly for filtering sand and other large organic and inorganic particles. 2. CARBON FILTRATION SYSTEM This system uses carbon filters with carbon block filters. Carbon filters are mainly used for filtering organic particles that managed to pass through sand filters, and they also filter out bad aromas or smells of water from their source (ensuring water is odorless). 3. ION EXCHANGER SYSTEM This system is composed of inorganic chemicals that remove dissolved ionic contaminants from the water. The ion exchange process that¡¯s used in this system can help with water softening, which removes magnesium and calcium ions from hard water. (Exchanging Ca and Mg with Na ions, which initiates the water softening exchange process.) To best understand how the ion exchange system works, it¡¯s important to know that there are two different types of ions, which include anions and cations. Anions are negatively charged ions, while cations are positively charged ions. The ion exchange process (cation exchange process) will take place between a liquid and a solid. While the liquid is always water, the solid can be either zeolite or a resin material with a high accumulation of Na ions. (It is recharged with HCl or NaOH after a period of time.) During the cation exchange process, any positively charged ions that touch the resin will be exchanged with other positively charged ions that are found on the surface of the resin. These ions will usually be sodium ions. As for the anion exchange process, the same type of swap will occur, which will result in healthier, negatively charged ions being placed in the water. Contaminants like fluoride and nitrate are replaced with chloride. 4. REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane (synthetic lining) to filter out unwanted molecules and large particles, such as contaminants and sediments like chlorine, salt, and dirt, from drinking water. In addition to removing contaminants and sediments, reverse osmosis can also remove microorganisms, which you certainly do not want to drink. It gets water clean down to a molecular level, leaving only pure water behind. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome the osmotic pressure and push the water from a high concentration of contaminants to a low concentration of contaminants. This means it¡¯s being forced in reverse, and the contaminated water is trying to move into the pure water, but because it must pass through a filter first, the contaminants get trapped and only the pure water passes through, resulting in the cleanest possible drinking water. 5. UV Treatment System A UV treatment system uses ultra-violet radiation or light to kill and reduce the microbial load in water to make it safe for consumption. UV light is part of natural sunlight. It cannot be seen, as UV light is between visible light and x-rays. When UV light enters a microorganism, its energy will damage the microorganism¡¯s cellular function so that it will not be able to function, causing deterioration. This is the only way used for microbial treatment at most water purification plants. Water purification plants are highly important all over the world. In Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, we have a number of water purification industries, such as the Bellaview fresh fruit processing industry, which involves water purification and packing. All in all, these water purification plants save a lot on water purification and recycling.
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