The quantity and quality of water

The quantity and quality of water

The quantity and quality of water will be a critical limiting factor towards attaining sustainable development across the globe. Water is a basic need that is needed for the survival of all living things (Gürsoy & Atun, 2019). The limitation in the supply of this essential compound depicts that sustainability will not be achievable in the future. Human beings are facing significant water challenges linked to the quality of it that is needed for consumption. As such, water treatment and purification plants have been established, which focus on improving the quality of the consumed water by human beings.

Chemical, biotic, and physical processes are vital in ensuring that the quality of water that is availed to individuals in society is purified for their primary consumption. The chemical and physical processes are controlled by biological factors (Hawkins, Race & Potter, 2015). In the treatment of water, different chemicals are used, which include chlorine dioxide, algicide, soda ash, and chlorine, muriatic acid. There is also the use of coagulants, filter cleaners, clarifiers, and flocculants. These chemicals are used in different water treatment methods, which utilize four basic processes that include cooling water treatment, boiler water treatment, effluent wastewater treatment, and water purification (Fujimoto et al., 2014). During the procedure, several substances are removed from water that includes algae, bacteria, fungi, viruses, solids, and minerals.

Water purification entails the removal of the undesired biological contaminants, inorganic and organic materials, as well as chemical compounds. The process of water purification involves deionization and distillation (Gürsoy & Atun, 2019). Deionization depicts the removal of the ion via the extraction of the salts that are dissolved while distillation relates to liquid conversion to vapor so that it can condense back to the liquid form. The purification focuses on ensuring that clean water is provided, which is fit for human consumption in society.

Industrial plants are established that utilize advanced chemical procedures and techniques to purify the water. These include the membrane systems, ultraviolet irradiation, evaporation, ion exchange, electro-deionization, and ozone treatment (Hawkins, Race & Potter, 2015). The selected technique for use in industrial water treatment is dependent on the quality of the raw water. Each of these techniques also utilizes different chemicals, which are related to their functionality in the removal of the foreign bodies and particles in water to make it safe for domestic and industrial use (Ostroumov, 2017).

Communities rely on natural water sources that include surface or groundwater in lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and aquifers. These necessitate water purification to ensure that all the people can access clean water (Fujimoto et al., 2014). Chemistry enhances the process of water purification by providing that the unwanted parties and molecules in the water are removed successfully. As such, chemistry supports the use of desalination technologies, which enhance the removal of minerals and salts from the seawater to produce water, which is suitable for domestic and drinking purposes. Such chemicals are also utilized in reverse osmosis, electro-dialysis, freeze-thaw, multistage flash distillation, and vacuum distillation to enhance the purification of the saltwater (Hawkins, Race & Potter, 2015). The processes involve high consumption of energy and are more expensive as compared to the conventional methods of freshwater treatment.

In treating water, the first procedure that is involved in a screening where the considerable debris that includes trash and sticks are eliminated. The screening is suitable for surface water from rivers and lakes (Gürsoy & Atun, 2019). Chemicals are added in the pretreatment to control bacteria growth in tanks and pipes. The step involves the use of sand filtration, which eliminates suspended solids. Sodium carbonate (soda ash), which is a high mineral content, is added during the preconditioning to support the pretreatment process. Sodium carbonate forces the calcium carbonate from the water. Such supports the change of the hard water to soft water.

The final step is water purification involves pre-chlorination, which entails the addition of chlorine to the raw water, which is anticipated to contain a high content of organic matter. The chlorine reacts with the organic matter to generate the disinfection by-products that include bromated, chlorite, haloacetic acids, and trihalomethanes (Fujimoto et al., 2014). However, chlorine is considered a toxic gas, which makes some treatment plants to opt to use hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet radiation, or ozone as a means of disinfection as compared to using chlorine. There are other approaches where chemistry is involved in the purification of water, which are fluoridation and ion exchange (Ostroumov, 2017). Fluoridation is conducted to ensure that tooth decay is prevented. Ion exchange entails the removal of the metal ions, which are present in the substances that are dissolved.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the critical need for the supply of clean water in society has triggered agencies and organizations to embrace chemical processes, which support the purification of water in the community. However, the capacity and the size of the water purification systems vary, ranging from commercial to domestic units. All these systems use different chemical compounds for the purification of water. The chemicals that are used enhance the treatment of water for distribution to the pumps, pipers, storage tanks, booster stations, and other appurtenances