Water before cleaning and water after cleaning. Comparison of drinking water before and after cleaning

An ancient proverb says: we are what we eat and drink. That's life. Here you can not argue, because our body is almost seventy-five percent - it's water. Without water, a person can live no more than a week, and in the desert will die from dehydration in two hours. The quality of drinking natural affects the state of the human body. And the way we live depends on a lot, but first of all, what kind of water we drink and on which we prepare our food.

Quality of life issue

Comparisons of drinking water before and after treatment in water supply networks are not encouraging in many respects, and sometimes they are frightening. And in many respects it depends on its quality in the reservoirs of a specific locality and external conditions. That is, an ecological analysis of the terrain is needed: how close to the source are the large industrial cities. And for underground sources, the answer to the question of water quality is analysis and purification of water from the well. How to purify water, that is, which method of purification is most effective in a particular area, will prompt biochemical analysis from the well before cleaning.

The reports of many international organizations dealing with water quality issues show horrifying figures. More than eighty countries in the world are experiencing problems related to its shortage. And half of these countries are on the verge of a water crisis. There is an acute issue of quantity, not to mention the quality of water. Water is a universal solvent. Therefore, obsolete technologies of water treatment and subsequent purification at industrial water treatment plants do not eliminate the problems of the presence in the water of a harmful and dangerous amount of mineral (iron, manganese, copper, mercury, aluminum, etc.) and organic substances (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, ). Virological, bacteriological studies in many countries show that, according to these parameters, norms are not observed everywhere. Additional cleaning is necessary at home, because there is a threat of diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, protozoa and other microorganisms. The cheapest method of disinfection, chlorination, if it does not go according to the rules, leads to the fact that the water forms an incompatible with the health of the amount of carcinogenic chlorine compounds. Add here environmental problems and problems of worn-out water systems of old industrial cities, and it becomes clear how relevant the problem is. Water before cleaning and water after cleaning are not always so different in quality.

Industrial scales of cleaning

Natural water from the river (the city was always erected near natural reservoirs) falls into the water intake. It is very important to its location, the fence is conducted upstream from all residential buildings and enterprises of the city, in the so-called sanitary zone. After the intake, the water enters the settling tanks, where the pre-cleaning stage begins. Depending on the quality of the water before treatment and the water after treatment, the reagents are used in the settler or not. To enlarge (coagulate) the suspended particles in water, iron or aluminum salts are introduced. From the harmful impurities that are glued together, they are disposed of at the filter station using netted washed filters made of water-neutral materials or stainless steel. Subtle filtering for drinking water is then carried out using cartridge filters that capture particles from 5 μm. Water after filter cleaning Is subjected to control on the stiffness, iron-content for further cleaning.

A special stage of treatment is disinfection

Drinking water from a faucet in a large industrial city, although it causes complaints, but still mostly to taste. But non-observance of sanitary and hygienic norms is a matter of jurisdiction. At a large state enterprise there are emergency situations, but this must immediately notify consumers. In addition, what kind of water after cleaning Industrial approach to the consumer, still largely depends on the quality of pipes in the systems of cities, our homes and apartments. Therefore, the final stage of disinfection occupies a special place in the purification cycle. The most common and cheap method of disinfection is chlorination. But in connection with the increase in the norms for chlorine-containing substances, this method does not improve the quality of the water at the outlet. Comparison of drinking water before and after cleaning Chlorination Sometimes sharply raises the question of how to turn this disinfected water into a drinking water.

Disinfection by ozonation

After disinfection with chlorine in water, organochlorine compounds are found that do not lose their toxicity even after settling tap water at home. There are problems of shortage of chlorine reagents. These problems are deprived of the method of decontamination at treatment facilities using ozone treatment plants. In many cases, ozonization is used even during the preparation for cleaning. This method is more effective and safe. Ozone in sufficient quantities can be obtained directly at the site where it is used. Ozonation can be used in combination with other oxidants, chlorine, as well as with ultrasonic treatment and ultraviolet irradiation. A positive effect in the fight against bacteria gives an ozone concentration of 0.4 ml per liter in just four minutes. When ozonizing, drinking water after cleaning Does not have extraneous flavors and foreign smells. Drinking water is transparent without disturbing its natural properties. Excess ozone is converted to oxygen, without deteriorating the taste of water. The reason that the method of disinfection with ozone is used less often than chlorination is, most likely, that the properties of aqueous ozone solutions and how water before cleaning and water after cleaning affect the human body are not so thoroughly studied.

Alternative methods of disinfection

What kind of disinfection method to choose is determined taking into account the costs, productivity and, of course, the necessary volumes of drinking water. Probably the oldest method is the action of ions of noble metals (silver) on water molecules . It is clear that this method can not be used on an industrial scale. Even more rare, due to the insecurity of the method, is disinfection by radioactive irradiation. But plants for the treatment of drinking water with ultraviolet irradiation are increasingly being used in domestic wastewater treatment plants.

Excess iron in water

In a number of areas, when drinking water is extracted from underground or land-based sources, water after cleaning with a filter remains transparent for a time, but then turns yellow. This is the first sign of excess iron in it. In addition, such water has a specific glandular taste. Ignoring this problem is dangerous for human health and quality of life, since such water leads to spoilage of household appliances using such a liquid.

There are no universal methods of purification from iron. For water extracted from land-based sources, use a reagent method using the same chlorine or ozone, less often - potassium permanganate or sodium hydrochloride. And for water extracted from underground sources, methods using reagents and reagents, such as aeration, are suitable. Aeration is the intensive injection of air to saturate with oxygen. At home, a method is used to run water with excess iron through filters with special materials to remove oxidized and dissolved iron. Bad taste of water after the water purification filter almost completely disappears.

Rigid water

Resting somewhere, you hear: what kind of water is soft - you can not wash soap. But there is a problem of increased rigidity. Suffice it to recall the spoiled kettle and the tasteless tea or coffee on such water, and it is clear that this worsens the quality of a person's life. Excessive content of water-soluble salts makes water hard. This stiffness is temporary, eliminated by boiling. But the salts of strong acids, sulphates and chlorides form a stiffness that does not change during boiling. It is constant. In such cases, reagent cleaning methods are used or more expensive - freezing, distillation, electrodialysis. In domestic conditions, filters built on reverse osmosis are used to purify hard groundwater. Water before cleaning and water after cleaning Reverse osmosis in the analysis gives impressive results.

Reverse osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a deep, to ninety-five percent, purification. The separation of all substances contained in water is carried out on the basis of the use of semipermeable membranes. The membranes are made of modern porous materials. There are polyamide, cellulose acetate, etc. The pores of such membranes have a size of only one thousandth of a micron, through which only water molecules pass. All impurities, including microorganisms, settle on the membrane. If there is a question about how to purify tap water, this is the most high-quality, reliable, environmentally safe method that allows to improve the natural properties of water after its purification.

Carbon filters. Enrichment of water with minerals

Filters working on the use of sorbing properties of activated carbon are used in the final stages of post-treatment, when it is necessary to eliminate insignificant deviations in color, smell or taste. For the same purposes, natural minerals are used: mountain quartz, silicon, schungite. Enriched with these minerals, water is similar in taste to that of spring water.

New technologies of water treatment

The latest research in the use of nanotechnology in the purification of drinking water gives impressive results. Investigations of the properties of quartz microparticles coated with a nanometer layer of hydrocarbon substances showed their ability to attract (electrostatic attraction) to themselves pathogens and biological molecules. Simply, the nanoparticles are placed in contaminated water, and then the nanopowder formed is removed by filtration.

Many countries are now working on the creation of nanofiltration devices. Appear cleaning plants catalytic and electrochemical methods. Chemical methods of cleaning at the atomic level are constantly being improved.