WATER PURIFICATION

• Purpose - produce safe and wholesome water.

• Nature of treatment - depends on the quality of raw water
and desired standards of water quality.
• Groundwater from wells, springs generally do not require any
treatment other than simple disinfection.
• Surface water and river water tends to be turbid and polluted
therefore requires extensive treatment before it can used as a
drinking water.
The purification of water can be carried out in
(1) large scale
(2) small scale
Large purification of water - includes three
stages:
Storage
Filtration
Disinfection

Membrane processes
Small scale purification of water

1) Boiling
2) Chemical disinfection
3) Filtration
4) UV irradiation
5) Reverse osmosis
 1. Storage
• Water from rivers and other sources are stored before
treatment for an optimum period of 10-14 days but not
for longer.
• If stored for longer period, aquatic plants starts to grow
and produce bad smell and colour in the water.
• This simple storage results in natural purification of the
water and its Physical, chemical and biological/
bacteriological quality increases.
 Storage
Physical changes:
• Suspended particles up to 90% settles down in the first 24 h of
storage.
• Water becomes clearer (turbidity decreases) thereby it eases
filtration process.
Chemical changes:
• Oxidation of organic matter by microbes occurs.
• Decreases free ammonia and increase in nitrates occurs.
Biological changes:
• Most pathogenic microbes dies out.
• Total bacterial count decreases 90% in 5-7 days
 2. Filtration
It removes 98-99% microbes present in the water.
There are two types of filters used in large scale
purification of water.
1. Biological or slow sand filter.
2. Mechanical or rapid sand filter
 Biological or slow sand filter

• It was first used in Scotland in 1804 and is still being

used in many countries.
• The elements of a slow sand filter are
 Supernatant water
 Bed of graded sand
 Under drainage system
 Filter control valves
 Supernatant Water:
• Has to be maintained at constant level to a height or depth of
1.0-1.5 meter in the filter box so as to ensures downward flow
by contracting resistance offered by filter bed.
• This constant level also offers an additional waiting period of
3-12 h in the filter box allowing the impurities to undergo
further sedimentation, oxidation, and particle agglomeration.
 Sand bed
• Most important part of the filter and should be of height of 1.2 m.
• It consist of a bed of sand having 0.2 – 0.3 mm diameter.
• The sand should be clean, free from clay and organic matter.
• The sand bed is supported with graded gravels 30-40 cm.
• The sand bed presents large surface area, 1 cubic meter of sand provides
15,000 sq.m surface area.
• Here the water passes at a slow rate and it takes at least 2 h or more.
• The flow rate is 0.1 – 0.4 m3/h/m2 surface area.
• During this passage purification processes like mechanical straining,
sedimentation, adsorption, oxidation and bacterial action occurs upon the
impurities.
 Sand bed
• Vital layer known as Schmutzdecke / Zoogleal layer / Biological Layer is considered as
the heart of the slow sand filter.
• It is a slimy, gelatinous layer of 2 – 3 cms thickness when fully formed;
• it contains thread-like algae and other microscopic life forms like planktons, diatoms
and some bacteria.
• The period between laying of slow sand filter and the formation of vital layer is called
as ripening of biological filter.
• When the slow sand filter is newly laid it merely acts as a mechanical filter and the
water filtered through it, until vital layer is fully formed, should be run as waste.
During this period the filter control valves are opened only a little so as to aid in
formation of vital layer.
• The vital layer removes organic matter, holds back bacteria and oxidizes ammoniacal
nitrogen into nitrates by biological action. Helps in yielding water which is free from
organic matter and most bacteria ( 99.9 to 99.99%).
Under drainage system: It consists of porous / perforated pipes
for drainage of filtered water from the filter box. It also supports
the sand bed layer and supernatant water present in the filter
box.
Filter Box: It is an open rectangular Box of 2.5 to 4.0 meters
deep. It may be placed below the ground level. It contains all the
above mentioned layers of slow sand filters, viz., supernatant
water: 1 – 1.5 m, sand bed: 1.2 m, gravel support: 0.30 m, filter
bottom: 0.16 m.
Filter Control: It consists of valves to control the flow of water
and maintain a constant water head (supernatant water) in the
filter box. Venturimeter it measures the bed resistance in the
filter.
Filter Cleaning:
• During the process of filtration, the filter control valves are
slowly opened to maintain constant flow of water, when sand
bed gets clogged in the long run due to accumulation of
impurities over the vital layer, the flow of water is affected. In
this case, the valves may have to be kept fully open, to
maintain filtration rate.
• This point indicates, that the filter bed has to be cleaned and
it is carried out by scraping the top of the vital layer to 1-2 cm
depth. This process can be repeated, but after about 20 – 30
scrapings (usually takes years), when sand bed height is about
0.5 – 0.8 m, a new filter bed has to be laid.
 Advantages of slow sand filter

1) Simple to construct and operate.

2) Cheaper than Rapid Sand filters.
3) Very good quality water - Physically, Chemically and
Bacteriologically.
4) The total bacterial count in the water is reduced by
99.9 to 99.99% and the E. coli count is reduced by
99.0 to 99.9%.
Rapid sand Filter or
Mechanical Filter
First installed in 1885 in USA, there are two type of
rapid sand filters
(1) Gravity type e.g. Patersons filter and
(2) Pressure type e.g. Candys filter.
In rapid sand filter, water to be treated does not
require any initial storage period. the following steps
are involved purification of water by rapid sand filter.
1. Coagulation: Raw water is first treated with a chemical coagulant
like alum at the rate of 5 – 40 mg/lit water depending upon the
turbidity, color, temperature and pH of the water.
2. Rapid mixing: Carried out in the mixing chamber. Water
containing alum is subjected to rapid and violent mechanical
mixing to enable proper distribution of the alum.
3. Flocculation: Carried out in the flocculation chamber of the
treatment plant. Water is subjected to slow and gentle mechanical
stirring with rotors with number of paddles for about 30 min
(rotate at the rate of 2 -4 rpm) Formation of thick, floccules of
aluminium hydroxide with impurities and bacteria.
4. Sedimentation:
• The water containing flocculants is now led to sedimentation tank, where
it is detained /stored for about 2-6 h for settling down of the floccules
formed above.
• At least 95% of the floccules must settle down before the water is
admitted into the rapid sand filters.
(Regular cleaning sediment from the sedimentation tank has to be carried out, to avoid breeding of
molluscs and sponges in it)

5. Filtration:
• The partially cleared water is now filtered through rapid sand filter which
is composed of the following components.
Filter Bed
• Consists of supernatant
water: 1-1.5 m,
• sand of 0.4 - 0.7 mm in size:
1 m (2.5- 3 ft) depth,
• graded gravel: 30-40 cm and
• under drains to collect
filtered water.
Filter Bed
• The filtration rate here is 5-15 m3/m2/hr. Here those alum-floc which have
not settled in the sedimentation tank are held back forming a slimy layer
on the sand bed.
• Bacteria and other impurities are adsorbed, ammonia gets oxidized. The
filter bed soon becomes dirty and clogs the filter bed affecting its
efficiency.
• At this stage the filter bed has to be cleaned by Back Washing. If required
has to be done daily or weekly. It is carried out by reversing the flow of
water through the sand bed for about 15 min or till clear sand appears.
This dislodges the impurities and cleans the sand bed.
Advantages:
 No preliminary storage needed.
 Filter beds occupy less space compared to slow sand
filters.
 40-50 times faster filtration than slow sand filter.
 Washing is easy
Comparison of slow sand and rapid sand filters
3. Disinfection
 Ideal characters of disinfectant
 Capable of destroying pathogens within the contact time and
should not be influenced by the range of physical and chemical
properties of the water.
 Should not leave products of reaction which could be toxic or
impart colour.
 Easily available, economical, safe and permit accurate
application.
 Should leave residual concentration to deal with post
treatment contamination.
 Easily detectable by simple tests
 1. Chlorination
• Good oxidizing agent. it is the most commonly used
disinfectant in water treatment.
• Only as a supplement but not as a substitute to sand
filtration.
• It kills pathogenic bacteria but not spores, viruses (only at
higher dose). It also oxidizes iron, manganese and H 2S,
destroys some taste and odour producing constituents,
controls algae and slime in water.
• Action of Chlorine When chlorine is added to water it forms
hydrochloric (HCl) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl)
• The HCl is neutralized by the alkalinity of water and HOCl ionizes to
form hydrogen ions and hypochlorite ions
H2O + Cl2 → HCl + HOCl
HOCl → H + OCl
• The disinfecting action of chlorine is mainly due to hypochlorous acid
and to a small extent by hypochlorite ions (OCl).
• But the hypochlorous acid is 70 to 80 times potent than OCl.
• The disinfection action of chlorine is better at pH around 7, due to
predominance of hypochlorous acid, at pH 8.5, 90% HOCl is
converted to OCl.
 Principles of Chlorination

Mere addition of chlorine to water is

not chlorination

1.Free from turbidity – impedes

chlorination efficiency.
 Principles of Chlorination
2. Chlorine demand- Horrock’s apparatus.
Chlorine demand is the difference between the amount of
chlorine added to the water and the amount of residual chlorine
remaining at the end of a specific contact period (1 h) at a given
temperature and pH of the water.
It is the amount that is required to destroy all bacteria and to
oxidize all the organic matter and ammonical substances present
in water.
The point at which chlorine demand of water is met is called
Break Point chlorination.
 Principles of Chlorination

3. Contact period: presence of free residual chlorine

for a contact period of at-least 1 h is essential to kill
bacteria and viruses (not effective against spores,
cysts, ova).
 Principles of Chlorination

4. Minimum recommended concentration of

free residual chlorine is 0.5 mg/l for 1 h.
 Principles of Chlorination

5. The sum of chlorine demand of water plus free

residual chlorine of 0.5 mg/l constitutes the correct
dose of chlorine to be applied.
 Principles of Chlorination
Mere addition of chlorine to water is not chlorination
1. Free from turbidity – impedes chlorination efficiency.
2. Chlorine demand- Horrock’s apparatus. Chlorine demand is the difference between
the amount of chlorine added to the water and the amount of residual chlorine
remaining at the end of a specific contact period (1 h) at a given temperature and pH
of the water. It is the amount that is required to destroy all bacteria and to oxidize all
the organic matter and ammonical substances present in water.The point at which
chlorine demand of water is met is called Break Point chlorination.
3. Contact period: presence of free residual chlorine for a contact period of at-least 1 h
is essential to kill bacteria and viruses (not effective against spores, cysts, ova).
4. Minimum recommended concentration of free residual chlorine is 0.5 mg/l for 1 h.
5. The sum of chlorine demand of water plus free residual chlorine of 0.5 mg/l
constitutes the correct dose of chlorine to be applied.
Method of Chlorination Chlorine can be applied as
(1) Chlorine gas,
(2) Chloramine
(3) Perchloron.
 Break point chlorination
• Chlorine when added to water combines with ammonia and
chloramines which is less effective than free chlorine as a
disinfectant.
• If chlorine dose is increased, a reduction in the residual
chlorine level occurs in water. This fall on in residual chlorine
continues with further increase in chlorine dose.
• After a stage residual chlorine starts to increase, this point at
which residual chlorine appears when all combined chlorines
have been destroyed is the break point chlorination and the
required is called as break-point dosage.
 Super chlorination and removal:
• It is the addition of large dose of chlorine to water
followed by removal of excess chlorine after
disinfection by treating with sulphur dioxide (in large
scale) or with sodium thiosulphate.
• It is carried out for heavily polluted water whose
quality fluctuates greatly and during epidemics of
water borne diseases. Here the contact time 20 min.
 Other agents:
• Chlorination produces halogenated compounds some of which
are suspected as carcinogens.
• Therefore, chlorine alternatives are opted - bromine, bromine-
chloride, iodine, chlorine dioxide, Ozone.
• Ultraviolet treatment is used as a complimentary agent for
chlorination.
• Other than these acid sodium sulphate: 15 mg tab / 600 ml - 30
min contact time and copper sulphate: reduces algal growth -
solution sprayed over pond are also used.
 Ozonation
• Ozone is a powerful oxidant it oxidizes organic chemicals present in
water. It can also be used as a primary disinfectant.
• Produced by passing oxygen / air through a high voltage electric
field and is directly dosed into the water using porous diffusers in a
tank.
• It is applied at the rate of 0.2 – 1.5 mg /l to produce a residual dose
of 0.5 mg/l for 20 min (Contact time).
• Ozone can kill viruses within few seconds (virucidal).
• O3 reacts with organics and increase their biodegradability.
• It can oxidize organic chemicals like pesticides.
• Ozone can also remove odour, colour and chlorine present in water.
• To avoid growth of bacteria during distribution water is
subsequently treated in a biological filter or in granular
activated carbon to remove biodegradable organics.
• The only disadvantage of ozone is that it does not have any
residual germicidal effect as it decomposes rapidly.
• To take advantages - initially treated with ozone followed by
addition of a minimum dose of chlorine before the water is
pumped into the distribution system.
• Combined treatment - advantage of both disinfectants -
complement each other.
Large scale purification of water
Membrane processes
These are used to produce purified water for
industrial purposes, the methods used includes:
• Reverse osmosis
• Ultrafiltration
• Micro filtration
• Nano filtration
 Reverse osmosis:
Osmosis:
 If two solutions are separated by a semipermeable membrane, that does not
allow solute to pass, the solvent will pass from lower concentration to higher
concentration to equilibrate concentration on both sides.
 Reverse osmosis
• By increasing pressure, the solvent can be made to flow
from higher to lower concentration.
• Reverse osmosis results in production of treated water
stream and a relatively concentrated waste stream.
• The typical operating pressure of reverse osmosis system is
15 -50 bar. It rejects, monovalent ions and organics of
molecular weight more than 50 daltons. The membrane
used here has a pore size of 0.0001 to 0.001 micrometer.
 Benefits of Reverse Osmosis

• Water may look clear as it pours from the tap, but there are trace
amounts of what some may consider to be unwanted
contaminants.
• These can include lead, nitrates and nitrites and have a high
amount of total dissolved solids.
• The problem with a large quantity of total dissolved solids is that it
can be hard on the kidneys of someone who suffers from regular
kidney stones.
• Soft water carries extra sodium, which can also be debilitating for
those with certain medical conditions.
• The RO process takes down those levels to produce clean water.
• Removing all of the impurities through the reverse osmosis process
also reduces the number of beneficial minerals.
• Water carries calcium and magnesium in healthy quantities for
growing children and healthy adults. The drawback - reduce these
good minerals that can aid in overall heart and muscle health.
• Those who use reverse osmosis as their main source of water can
suffer from side effects, such as tiredness, muscle cramps, general
weakness and, in severe cases, cardiovascular disorders. Some
critics have also suggested that drinking reverse osmosis water
dilutes the body of electrolytes.
 Nanofiltration:
• uses membranes with pore size of 0.001 to
0.01 micrometer.
• It allows monovalent ions like Na, K to pass
through but rejects a high proportion of
divalent ions like Ca, Mg.
• The operating pressures typically 5 bar. Thus it
is also a high pressure process.
 Ultrafiltration:
• it is a low pressure process, that works
similar to RO.
• The pore size of the membrane used here
is 0.01 to 0.1 micrometer.
• The operating pressure is less than 5 bar.
• It rejects organics of molecular weight
more than 800 daltons.
 Microfiltration:
• it is a simple filtration at sub-micrometer
range. It sieves out particles greater than 0.05
micrometer.
• The membrane pore size here is 0.1 to 10
micrometer and
• its operating pressure 1-2 bar (low pressure).
• It does not separate molecules, but rejects
colloids and suspended materials present in
water.
Small scale purification of water includes:

1. Boiling
2. Chemical disinfection
3. Filtration
4. UV irradiation
5. Reverse osmosis
 1. BOILING
• It is satisfactory for household purposes.
• The water has to be brought to rolling boil for 10 - 20 min to
be effective.
• It kills bacteria, spores, cysts and produces sterilized water.
• It also removes temporary hardness of matter by driving off
away CO2 & precipitates calcium carbonate.
• Boiling alters taste of water and it has no residual protection.
 2. CHEMICAL DISINFECTION
various chemicals can be used for this purpose includes:
1. Bleaching powder
2. Chlorine solution
3. High test hypochlorite (HTH)
4. Chlorine tablets
5. Iodine
6. Potassium permanganate
1. Bleaching powder: it is chlorinated lime, when fresh it contains
33 % available chlorine. But it is a unstable compound and it
losses chlorine on exposure to air, light and moisture. It can be
made to retains strength when mixed with excess lime and it is
called as ‘Stabilized bleach’.
2. Chlorine solution: it may be prepared from bleaching powder or
can be bought as ready made solution. It also loses chlorine on
exposure to light or storage.
3. High test hypochlorite (HTH) or Perchloron: it is a calcium
compound that contains 60 -70% available chlorine. It is more
stable than bleaching powder. This can be made into solution
and used.
4. Chlorine tablets / Halazone tablets: Can be used for disinfecting
small quantity of water, 0.5 g tablet per 20 liter water.
5. Iodine: Useful for emergency disinfection, two drops of 2%
ethanol solution of iodine per liter of water. Contact time is
usually 20 -30 min. Iodine does not react with ammonia or
organic compounds, therefore can act in wide range of pH and
persist longer and has antiviral activity. But it is costly and has
thyroid activity.
6. Potassium permanganate: No longer used for disinfection of
water. It is also a powerful oxidizing agent. When used it alters
colour, taste and smell.
 3. FILTRATION
Small scale purification - filtering the water through candles.
 Ceramic filters - Pasteur Chamberland filter - Porcelain candles.
 Berkefeld filter - candles made up of Kieselgurh or infusorial earth or
kaolin.
 Katadyn filter here the candles are coated with silver catalyst which
kills bacteria by the oligodynamic action of silver ions, released in
water.
Filter candles removes bacteria but not viruses and
the candles can be clogged with impurities and bacteria
it needs cleaning by scrubbing and boiling it, at least once in a week.
 4. UV IRRADIATION
• Ultraviolet light is germicidal it is effective against most
microorganisms.
• Exposure of a film of water of 120 mm thickness to
quartz mercury vapor arc lamps – emitting UV at
254 nm kills bacteria.
• But the water to be treated should be free from
turbidity, suspended solids.
 UV IRRADIATION
Advantages of using UV:
1) Short exposure period
2) No foreign matter introduced
3) No taste or odour
4) Overexposure – no harmful effects
Disadvantages:
5) No residual effect
6) No rapid test to assess efficiency
7) Expensive apparatus
 5. MULTISTAGE REVERSE
OSMOSIS
• Makes water both chemically and
microbiologically potable.
• It removes / reduces colour, odour, TDS, hardness,
heavy metals present in water.
• Eliminates bacteria, virus, protozoa and cysts also
TWO POT METHOD
Other method of small scale purification of water
includes:

• It consists of two pots the top

one has layer of charcoal at the
bottom, followed by a layer of
sand.
• Raw water is added above it.
The filtered water passes from
top pot is collected in the
bottom.
SHUDDHA FILTER METHOD
 DISINFECTION OF
Wells act as main source WELL
of water supply in rural areas. Need
arises to disinfect it, especially during epidemics where it has
to be done daily. It can be disinfected with simple bleaching
powder.
The steps involved are:
1. Find the volume of water
2. Calculate the amount of bleaching powder
3. Dissolve bleaching powder in water.
4. Deliver bleaching powder.
5. Allow contact period
6. Carry out OTA test to check the efficiency
 DISINFECTION OF WELL

1. Find the volume of water:

Measure depth of well = (h) meter
Measure diameter of well = d meter
Calculate volume

1 cubic meter = 1000 liter of water.

2) Find the amount of bleaching powder required: Estimate
chlorine demand using HORROCKS APPARATUS and calculate
amount of chlorine required. Roughly 2.5 g of good quality
bleaching powder would be required for 1000 liter of water,
this will give approximately 0.7 mg/l applied chlorine in
water.
3) Dissolve Bleaching powder: Required amount of BP is placed
in a bucket (100g) and make in to a thin paste. Add more
water to fill the bucket to 3/4th . Mix properly and allow
lime to sediment for 5-10 min. Collect supernatant chlorine
in another bucket, discard the lime sediments else it will
increase the hardness of water.
4) Delivery of chlorine: Lower the bucket containing
chlorine solution below the surface of well water.
Agitate the water by moving the bucket violently up
and down and laterally several times. Ensure proper
mixing of chlorine with water.
5) Contact period: Allow for 1 h then use water.
6) OTA test: Check the residual chlorine level in
disinfected water using OTA test. If free residual
chlorine is less than 0.5mg/l repeat chlorination.
 DOUBLE POT METHOD FOR WELL
DISINFECTION
 Ensures constant delivery of dose of chlorine.
 It was devised by National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute, Nagpur.
 It consists of two cylindrical pots, one placed inside
other.
DOUBLE POT
METHOD FOR
WELL
DISINFECTION
 DOUBLE POT METHOD FOR WELL
DISINFECTION
 A hole of 1 cm diameter is made near the upper portion of
inner pot, while in outer pot just 4 cm above the bottom.
 A mixture of 1 kg bleaching powder and 2 kg coarse sand of
2 mm diameter is prepared and moistened with water and
filled in the inner pot up to 3 cm below the level of the hole.
 The inner pot is placed inside outer pot and the mouth of
outer pot is closed with polythene foil.
 Using rope lower the double pot 1 m below surface to
deliver chlorine.
 It is satisfactory for 2- 3 wks in small house wells with 4,500
litres of water having a draw off rate of 360-450 litres per
day
 SHUDDHA FILTER METHOD
• It can filter about 6-10 liters of water every minute.
• The water is filtered through a cellulose membrane, which can
filter out rusts, fungus, protozoa, sand, and fibres.
• Bacteria having size up to 0.4 micron are also filtered out. Thus
producing safe and wholesome water.
• Useful in eliminating 90% of the water borne pathogens.
• Filters can be cleaned by taking out the membrane and placing
in a bucket of water for 4-6h and brushing it repeatedly from
top to bottom.
• The filter has to be replaced if its thickness is reduced to less
than 50 mm, with new cellulose filter pad of 70 mm size.
 INDIAN FILTER METHOD
• It consists of four earthen pots kept one above the other on a
stand.
• Except the lowest pot all bears a whole at the bottom, which is
plugged with cotton.
• The top pot contains raw water to be filtered and
• the second pot contains a bed of fine, clean sand.
• The third pot contains a layer of charcoal supported by a stones.
• The fourth is used of collecting filtered water.
• The filtered water obtained in this method is not sterile and only
suspended impurities are removed from it.
• Therefore it should be boiled before consuming the water.
• The filter bed may be cleaned regularly to improve its efficiency.