Water Treatment Chemistry Topic

Water Treatment Methods
By
Engr. Muhammad Ishfaq Khan
Introduction
• people intuitively relate filth to disease,
• the transmission of disease by pathogenic organisms in polluted water
• the spread of cholera in London was found to be because of
contaminated water
• water pollution was viewed primarily as a threat to human health
because of the transmission of bacterial and viral water borne diseases
• There are other pollutant contaminates in water that are threat to
human as well as aquatic life
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION
• point source (all dry weather pollutants that enter watercourses through pipes
or channels)
• nonpoint source (agricultural runoff, construction sites, and other land
disturbances,)
• Oxygen demanding substances (discharged from milk processing plants,
breweries, or paper mills, decompose in the watercourse and can deplete the
water of dissolved oxygen)
• Sediments and suspended solids (inorganic material washed into a stream as a
result of land cultivation, construction, demolition, and mining operations;
Organic sediments can deplete the water of oxygen, creating anaerobic (without
oxygen) conditions creating unsightly conditions and cause unpleasant odors)
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION
• Nutrients, (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, rapid biological “aging”
of lakes, streams; Nitrogen tends to move with organic matter or is
leached from soils and moves with groundwater)
• Heat (caused by heated industrial effluents or from human alterations
of stream bank vegetation that increase the stream temperatures due
to solar radiation)
• Municipal wastewater often contains high concentrations of organic
carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and may contain pesticides, toxic
chemicals, salts, inorganic solids (e.g., silt), and pathogenic bacteria
and viruses
water treatment plant
• designed to remove odors, color, and turbidity as well as bacteria and
other contaminant
COAGULATION AND FLOCCULATION
• Naturally occurring silt particles suspended in water are difficult to remove
because :
• they are very small, often colloidal in size,
• possess negative charges,
• thus prevented from coming together to form large particles that could more
readily be settled out
• first that their charges be neutralized called coagulation, and
• second that the particles be encouraged to collide with each other building of
larger flocs from smaller particles is called flocculation
• Chemicals like alum (aluminum sulfate) are added to the water both to
neutralize the particles electrically and to aid in making them “sticky” so that
they can coalesce and form large particles called flocs
Settling
• flocs formed are separated from the water

• done in gravity settling tanks that allow the
heavier-than-water particles to settle to the
bottom
• Settling tanks are designed to approximate
uniform flow and to minimize turbulence.
• two critical elements of a settling tank are the
entrance and exit configurations
• accumulation of alum sludge at the bottom of the
tank is removed through a mud valve at the
bottom
• The water leaving a settling tank is essentially clear
• Polishing is performed with a rapid sand filter
filtration and backwashing
• Soil particles help filter the ground
water
• Water from the settling basins enters
the filter and seeps through the sand
and gravel bed, through a false floor,
and out into a clear well that stores the
finished water
• The rapid sand filter eventually
becomes clogged and must be cleaned
• It is backwashed through wash water
Chlorination
• kills the remaining microorganisms in the water
• fed in correct proportions to the water to obtain a desired level of
chlorine in the finished water
• chlorine kills pathogenic bacteria and thus disinfects the water
Hard Water
• the most common water quality problem
• More than 60 percent of the Earth’s water is ground water
• hard water is found in more than 85% of the country
• water travels through rocks and soil picking up minerals including calcium
and magnesium, ions which produce hard water
• interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and dishwashing
to bathing and personal grooming
• Bathing with soap in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap curd on the
skin.
• The film may prevent removal of dirt and bacteria.
• Clothes laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy
Water softening
• 1st 17 slides of the Lecture in pdf format
treatment of water for industrial purposes
• many uses of water in industry
• the used water also needs treatment to render it fit for re-use or disposal
• four main problem areas:
i. scaling, (salts in the water are caused to precipitate and form solid deposits)
ii. corrosion, (metal oxidises (as iron rusts, for example) and gradually the integrity
of the plant equipment is compromised)
iii. microbiological activity(in untreated cooling water of cooling towers, organic
nutrients and microbes are absorbed and create a sort of "microbial soup" if
not treated with biocides)
iv. disposal of residual wastewater
Techniques Employed in Industry for Water
Treatment
• Ion exchange Process for water treatment
Ion exchange Process for water treatment
• one or more undesirable contaminants are removed from water by exchange with
another non-objectionable, or less objectionable substance
• ion exchange resins consist of small, microporous beads that are insoluble in water
and organic solvents
• most widely used base-materials are polystyrene and polyacrylate.
• The diameter of the beads is in the range of 0.3 to 1.3 mm
• composed of around 50% water, which is dispersed in the gel-structured
compartments of the material
• monomer units of the polymer, so called “functional groups” are attached that
interact with water-soluble species, especially with ions
• The ion exchange occurs due to the resulting electrostatic forces
Reverse Osmosis process
• removes contaminants from water by using pressure to force water
molecules through semipermeable membrane
• separates molecules and ions from their solutions, and is used in the
production of potable, ultrapure and process water
• reverse osmosis drives a given solution through a semi-permeable
membrane designed to overcome its osmotic pressure.
• Under normal osmotic circumstances, the solution would travel from lower
saline concentration to high concentrations
• Polishing and demineralization of boiler feed water and pharmaceutical water
• The rehabilitation and recycling of process and municipal effluent
Ultraviolet Irradiation Technology
• primarily used in the water and wastewater treatment industry as a disinfection
process
• It capitalizes on the germicidal effect of UV light in the wavelength range of 250 to
270 nm
• The process is commonly designed such that water flows in a narrow region
around a series of UV lamps.
• The microorganisms in the water are inactivated through exposure to the UV light.
• The process is compact since the time of exposure (which translates into hydraulic
retention time) is commonly measured in seconds.
• The process works on the principle that UV energy disrupts the DNA of the
microorganisms and prevents it from reproducing.
Advanced Oxidation Technology
• a process that produces hydroxyl radicals (OH) for the oxidation of
organic and inorganic water impurities
• three main AOPs are :
• ozone,
• ozone with hydrogen peroxide addition,
• and UV irradiation with hydrogen peroxide addition
•
Biological Filtration
• the water treatment industry depends solely on physical and/or chemical
processes to meet water quality goals.
• Utilization of biological processes in water treatment has been frowned on by
the industry because of concern about the introduction of microorganisms to
water.
• However, this barrier has been broken by the introduction of biological filtration
as the most effective process for the production of biologically stable water.
• This was specifically driven by concern about the increase in the concentration
of biodegradable organic matter (BOM) as a result of ozonating natural waters.
• There is concern that higher BOM levels may result in increased potential for
biological regrowth in the distribution system.

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Water Treatment Methods

• flocs formed are separated from the water

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