Water
water that is safe to drink
number of dissolved substances must be low
pH between 6.5 to 8.5
Contains no microorganisms
bodies of water exposed at their surface
Lakes
Rivers
Reservoirs
In the U.K. it comes from rain
Easy to access
Refills itself very easily
With too much sun exposure, water can easily dry up
Water stored underground
Aquifers - permeable rock stored underground which traps water
Using a wire mesh, pour water through to filter out large matter
Next pass water through a bed of sand and gravel to filter out smaller matter
Sterilise water to kill any microorganisms and bacteria
Bubble through chlorine
Expose to ozone
Expose to ultraviolet light
Same process as simple distillation but with much larger quantities of water
Overall idea is too collect water vapour and condense to form pure distilled water
Salty water is passed through a membrane
Only water molecules can pass through
filtering out all other matter
You are left with pure distilled water
Requires a lot of energy
This can be extremely impractical and expensive
Domestic
Industrial
Agricultural systems
House hold waste from: Showers, skinks, toilets
Water flushed down the drain travels through the sewers to sewage treatment plants
Nutrient run off from fields
Animal waste from plants
Factories that make and use chemicals
process is still easier than desalination thus some countries rely on waste water treatment to provide potable water
remove all large matter, typically by passing it through a mesh
Let the sewage set in a settlement tank to undergo sedimentation
You are left with both sludge and effluent which can be separated into two separate tanks
Aerobic - pump oxygen into tank containing the effluent so matter is broken down by aerobic digestion until water is safe enough to be released back into the environment
Anaerobic - keeping the tank containing sludge sealed to prevent contact with oxygen thus matter is broken down by anaerobic digestion. In the process methane is produced which can be burned as an energy source while the remnants can be used as a fertiliser seeing as they are rich in nutrients
adding chemicals
ultraviolet radiation
water that is safe to drink
number of dissolved substances must be low
pH between 6.5 to 8.5
Contains no microorganisms
bodies of water exposed at their surface
Lakes
Rivers
Reservoirs
In the U.K. it comes from rain
Easy to access
Refills itself very easily
With too much sun exposure, water can easily dry up
Water stored underground
Aquifers - permeable rock stored underground which traps water
Using a wire mesh, pour water through to filter out large matter
Next pass water through a bed of sand and gravel to filter out smaller matter
Sterilise water to kill any microorganisms and bacteria
Bubble through chlorine
Expose to ozone
Expose to ultraviolet light
Same process as simple distillation but with much larger quantities of water
Overall idea is too collect water vapour and condense to form pure distilled water
Salty water is passed through a membrane
Only water molecules can pass through
filtering out all other matter
You are left with pure distilled water
Requires a lot of energy
This can be extremely impractical and expensive
Domestic
Industrial
Agricultural systems
House hold waste from: Showers, skinks, toilets
Water flushed down the drain travels through the sewers to sewage treatment plants
Nutrient run off from fields
Animal waste from plants
Factories that make and use chemicals
process is still easier than desalination thus some countries rely on waste water treatment to provide potable water
remove all large matter, typically by passing it through a mesh
Let the sewage set in a settlement tank to undergo sedimentation
You are left with both sludge and effluent which can be separated into two separate tanks
Aerobic - pump oxygen into tank containing the effluent so matter is broken down by aerobic digestion until water is safe enough to be released back into the environment
Anaerobic - keeping the tank containing sludge sealed to prevent contact with oxygen thus matter is broken down by anaerobic digestion. In the process methane is produced which can be burned as an energy source while the remnants can be used as a fertiliser seeing as they are rich in nutrients
adding chemicals
ultraviolet radiation
