Module3

• Specifications for potable water – Steps

involved in treatment of water for municipal
supply – Disinfection of water by chlorination,
ozonisation and UV treatment; Reverse
osmosis & its significance; Types of
Membranes – Ultrafiltration, Nanofiltration
(example. ZnO)
 Module3

Treatment of Municipal Water

How much water is in the
world?
Drinking water or Municipal water
Treatment Plants
 Municipal Treatment

Source water screening Aeration

Sterilization Sedimentation
and Filtration with
Disinfection coagulation

Storage and
Distribution
 Sterilization- Removal of micro-organisms
Process by which harmful bacteria are destroyed to make the water safe for
drinking

• 1.By boiling water for 10-15 min.

Disadvantage
changes the taste of water, it is impractical for larger treatment plants

• 2.By adding bleaching powder

– About 1kg of bleaching powder per 1000 kiloliters of water is mixed
– Produces hypochlorous acid (powerful germicide)
CaOCl2 + H2O Ca(OH)2 + Cl2
Cl2 + H2O HCl + HOCl
Germs + HOCl Germs are killed

Disadvantage
Introduces Calcium in water, thereby making it more hard
excess of it gives a bad taste and smell to treated water
• 3.By Chlorination
– Chlorine either gas or in concentrated solution form produces
hypochlorous acid, which is a powerful germicide

Cl2 + H2O HCl + HOCl

Germs + HOCl Germs are killed

• Factors affecting efficiency of chlorine

– Number of micro-organism destroyed by chlorine per unit time is
proportional to the number of micro-organism alive.
– The rate of reaction with enzymes increases with temperature
– pH values between 5-6.5,
– less contact time is enough

• Advantages
– (i) Effective and economical (ii) used low as well as high temp (iii) most
ideal
• Disadvantages
– (i) should not exceed 0.1 – 0.2 ppm (ii) less effective in higher pH values
(iii) excess chlorine produces unpleasant taste and odour.
 Break point chlorination or free-residual
chlorination

Involves addition of sufficient amount of chlorine to oxidize organic matters,

reducing substances, free ammonia leaving behind free chlorine to kill bacteria.

The addition of chlorine at the dip or break is called break-point chlorination

• 4.Chloramine (ClNH2) (2:1)
Cl2 + NH3 ClNH2 + HCl
(Chloroamine)

ClNH2 + H2O HOCl + NH3

(Disinfectant)

• Disinfection by ozone
3O2 2O3 (unstable)

O3 O2 + [O]
Nascent oxygen

Disadvantages: Expensive
UV treatment
 DISINFECTION WATERBORNE MICROORGANISMS

Microorganisms in drinking and waste water

represent a risk to Public Health.

Bacteria Viruses Protozoa

(E.coli) (Hepatitis, Polio) (Giardia) (Cryptosporidium)

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 UV DISINFECTION HOW DOES IT WORK?

UV light at the 254 nm

wavelength penetrates the
cell wall of the
microorganism.
UV Energy
The microorganism is
“inactivated” and rendered
unable to reproduce or Cell Wall
infect.

Cytoplasmic DNA
Membrane Nucleic Acid

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