Water treatment

Water treatment is any process that improves water quality to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. It consists of several mechanical and chemical processes that remove water contaminants. The processes remove contaminants and undesirable components. It can also reduce their concentration, making the water fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from drinking and irrigation.

Water treatment optimises most water-based industrial processes, so operating costs and risks are reduced. Poor treatment processes allow water to interact with the surfaces of pipes and vessels. Steam boilers can scale up or corrode. These deposits will mean more fuel is needed to heat the same amount of water.

The contaminants can be solid or dissolved and include metals, minerals, organic substances, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Basic processes include coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and lastly, disinfection of water.

Water treatment technologies are used to treat water intended for drinking, recycling or water discharges to be released into the environment. They can also be employed to prevent corrosion, scaling and bacterial development in various industrial processes. Water is a precious resource and water regulations are very stringent.