“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water”. The quote validates how precious water is, for lives to sustain. Even though almost 70 percent of the world is covered by water, freshwater amounts to only 2.5 percent of it. Out of the 2.5 percent, only 1 percent is easily accessible.
Water pollution
Water pollution is a major environmental issue, the effects of which are catastrophic. According to studies, 1.8 million human beings died in the year 2015 from polluted water. On an average of 1 billion people fall sick every year as a result of unsafe water.
Disease-causing bacteria and viruses present in water is a major concern that results in sickness and sometimes death. Diseases that include cholera, giardia and typhoid can be life threatening. Accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities and runoff from farms and urban areas will result in dangerous pathogens in waterways.
Human beings are not the only ones that get affected from water pollution, aquatic animals also do. Polluted water kills organisms such as fish, crabs, birds, sea gulls and dolphins that reside in these water bodies. It causes serious threat to food chain as well.
Tiny animals devour pollutants such as lead and cadmium present in water and when fish and shellfish consume these small animals, it disrupts the food chain, at higher levels as well.
Treatment Methods
There are a number of treatment plants available, that are effective, budget-friendly and robust. These include;
The chemicals present in wastewater is complex, hence traditional treatment methods may not be sufficient to remove them. Moreover, the methods depend on various factors such as processing efficiency, energy requirement, engineering expertise and economic benefit and infrastructure.
Advanced treatment processes the like of Ozonation, and chlorination can control human pathogens to a great extent. Yet another low-cost, environmental friendly and sustainable treatment technology is semiconductor photo catalytic process, which helps in eliminating persistent organic compounds, arsenic metal ions and microorganisms from the water.
A widely used treatment plan is absorption, which has gained the term ‘biosorption’ in the recent years, since biomaterials are used as adsorbent for contaminated water treatment. Magnetic adsorbent technology that separates pollutants in water has garnered attention in the recent years. Magnetic adsorbents are an effective solution for metallic and dye pollutants.
When we know the challenges that water pollution can cause to human beings and environment, the best solution is to take precautions and avoid it. But this is not as easy as it sounds. Preserving our natural resources is the responsibility of each and every one of us. But not many realize its importance and take them for granted. Ensuring that the polluted water gets treated is the least we can do.
“The process of letting air into the wastewater in order to allow aerobic biodegradation of the organic materials” is aeration. It is usually the first process done in a treatment plant. This process lets air and water to be in close contact which helps in removing the dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and also oxidizes dissolved metals like iron, hydrogen sulphide, and other volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).
The membrane bioreactor technology helps in performing the critical solid-liquid separation function. The process makes use of membrane filtration equipment such as low-pressure microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with a biological treatment method. The vacuum (gravity-driven) and pressure-driven systems are the two types used in MBR.
The process of moving bed bioreactor attains good results of disposal with low energy consumption. It is used to remove organic substances, nitrification and denitrification. The MBBR system has an activated sludge aeration system where the sludge is collected in a recycled plastic carrier. The carriers have large internal space for an optimal contact with water, air and bacteria.
The bacteria grow in the surface of the carriers and breaks down the organic matter from the wastewater. The aeration system helps in keeping the bacteria active in the carriers.
The basic process of an SBR is by bubbling oxygen into the wastewater to reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The reduction of BOD and COD makes it suitable to use on land. The SBR process is divided into five periods: Fill, React, Settle, Draw, and Idle. The fill and react periods may differ according to the aeration and mixing procedures. The SBR has several configurations but the basic process remains the same.
This is a cost-effective method that is mainly used in residential and commercial complexes. The SAFF technology has three stages, primary, secondary treatment and final settlement/clarification. The SAFF process reduces the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and also the suspended solids (SS) which is powerful enough to contaminate river and seawater. The process improves the “effluent discharge quality”.
Having mentioned some of the types of sewage treatment methods, it is clear that these treatments are indeed effective and will make the water reusable. It may not be suitable for drinking but can be definitely used for other purposes. Wastewater treatment is no more a luxury but a necessity. It will soon become mandatory as we move forward to live in this world.
Emvees Wastewater Treatment LLC is dedicated in offering quality services to our clients and we thrive to provide water for the needy. We understand the significance of water in the current era and the future and we make use of the best of our ability to treat it.
