Facts At Your Fingertips

Water Treatment Technologies

Department Editor: Scott Jenkins

R
emoving contaminants from TABLE 1. MAJOR CATEGORIES OF WATER CONTAMINANTS
water is a critical operation Class Examples
in the chemical process in- Suspended solids Clay, dirt, silt, dust, insoluble metal oxides and hydroxides, colloidal materials
dustries (CPI). The goal of treatment Dissolved organic compounds Synthetic organic compounds, trihalomethanes, humic and fulvic acids
processes is to reduce the relevant Dissolved ionic compounds Heavy metals, silica, arsenic, nitrates, chlorides, carbonates
contaminants to the extent required Microorganisms Bacteria, viruses, protozoan cysts, fungi, algae, molds, yeast
Gases Hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, radon
by the application. This column pro-
vides information on major categories TABLE 2. USES OF WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES
of contaminants and on pretreatment, Water treatment Class of contaminants
primary treatment and posttreatment technology Suspended Dissolved Dissolved Microbes Gases
technologies (Tables 1 and 2). solids organics ionics
Bed filtration Very effective NA NA NA NA
Cartridge filtration Very effective NA NA NA NA
Pretreatment Bag filtration Very effective NA NA NA NA
Pretreatment technologies protect Precoat filtration Very effective Partially effective NA NA NA
primary treatment equipment from Activated carbon NR Very effective NA NA Partly effective
fouling and chemical degradation. Micro-filtration Very effective NA NA Partly effective NA
Bed filters. Bed filters contain a po- Ultra-filtration NR Very effective NA Effective NA
rous bed of inert, uniformly sized par- Nano-filtration NR Very effective Effective Very effective NA
ticles, such as coal and sand. Typical Reverse osmosis NR Very effective Very effective Very effective NA
Distillation NR Partially effective Very effective Very effective NA
bed filters can remove suspended
Electro-dialysis NA NA Effective NA NA
solids down to 10 microns. Electrodeionization NA NR Effective NR NA
Cartridge filters. Cartridge filters are Ion exchange NR NA Very effective NA NA
thick-walled tubes constructed of Ozonation NA Partially effective Partly effective Very effective NA
synthetic polymers. In string-wound Chlorine NA NA NA Effective NA
constructions, the material is wound UV radiation NA Partially effective NA Effective NA
around the core in a pattern that cre- NR = not recommended; NA = not applicable
ates a tortuous path through which ter solution flows parallel to a semi- exchange resins adsorb anionic con-
the water must flow. Other construc- permeable membrane while under taminants and replace with OH– ions.
tions use nonwoven materials. pressure, so that some of the water is Electrodialysis. An electrochemical
Bag filters. Bag filters usually consist forced through the membrane to cre- membrane separation process where
of bags created of nonwoven fabrics, ate a clean permeate stream. Turbu- ions are transferred through a pair of
supported in housings. lent flow minimizes accumulation of ion-exchange membranes under and
Adsorptive filters. Activated carbon particulate matter on the membrane electric potential difference.
filters are available in either bed or and allows continuous operation. Electrodeionization. This technique
cartridge configurations. The highly Oxidation methods. Advanced oxi- combines electrodialysis and mixed-
porous material can remove dissolved dation technologies remove dissolved bed ion exchange.
gases, volatile hydrocarbons and dis- organic compounds and microbes Bioremediation. Bacteria metabo-
solved organic compounds. by using strong oxidants to break lize organic materials (for more, see
Precoat filters. In precoat filters, dia- organic covalent bonds. Ultraviolet Chem. Eng., Sept. 2015, pp. 56–61).
tomaceous earth is introduced into (UV)radiation uses light at ~254 nm
the water stream to coat a fine cloth wavelength to inactivate bacteria and Posttreatment
or screen with the filter medium. other microbes. Ozonation uses O3 Posttreatment technologies keep
Chemical pretreatment. These to inactivate microbes and oxidize water at a certain quality level during
techniques remove dissolved salts contaminants, such as Fe, H2S and storage and distribution.
that can precipitate out of solution Mn. H2O2 treatment can also destroy Polishing. Polishing removes trace
and interfere with downstream pri- organic compounds in water, and contaminants that enter the water
mary treatment technologies or to ag- breaks down into oxygen and water. during storage and distribution.
gregate solids to make them easier to Distillation. Distillation leaves behind Disinfection. Chemical disinfectants
separate by settling or filtration. nonvolatile contaminants. It removes are typically oxidizing agents, such as
suspended solids and dissolved salts, chlorine. In water, chlorine forms hy-
Primary treatment but has high energy costs. pochlorite ions, which inactivate most
Primary water-treatment technologies Ion exchange. Ion-exchange resins pathogenic microbes. Irradiation with
are designed to bring the water sup- can be used to remove ionic contami- UV radiation is another technique. n
ply to a desired quality level. nants by adsorption. Cation resins
Membrane technologies. In mem- adsorb cationic contaminants and Editor’s note. This column was adapted from: Cartwright,
brane treatment techniques, bulk wa- exchange them for H+, while anion P., Process Water Treatment – Challenges and Solutions,
Chem. Eng., March 2006, pp. 50–56..
32 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2015