Water naturally contains many dissolved and suspended particles that could endanger our health if we ingest them. Before consuming the water that is in natural sources, it must go through a process known as purification.
This water purification process has a series of steps that allow its purification. One of the most important is the sedimentation of these particles that water has and that we should not consume. If you want to know more about what is sedimentation of drinking water, continue reading in Green Ecologist because we discovered the answer.
The water that reaches our homes comes from rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs and underground water reservoirs. This water naturally contains microorganisms (cyanobacteria, diatoms, dinoflagellates …), organic matter and inorganic particles, such as metals. The water we drink does not have the same characteristics as the water we find in nature. For avoid the health risks posed by undrinkable water, this has to undergo a purification process which consists of the elimination of microorganisms and particulate matter in suspension so that it is suitable for human consumption. The water purification It occurs in centers called Drinking Water Treatment Stations or ETAP, or in Water Purification Stations or EPA.
In the Water Treatment Stations, two main processes take place that consist, on the one hand, in the elimination of the particles that are in the water and, on the other hand, in the inactivation of the microorganisms. The water reaches the treatment stations through a series of pipes, aqueducts or built channels that connect the water intake areas with the stations. The water purification treatments that occur in these plants are:
You may also be interested in completing the information with this other Green Ecologist article on the different types of wastewater treatment.
Sedimentation is the process by which the solids that are in suspension in the water fall to the bottom of the container where the water is contained. Sedimentation is a natural process that occurs due to the effect of gravity. Although it happens in rivers and lakes, people have used this phenomenon to achieve a purer and safer water.
Sedimentation is based on Stokes' Law, according to which particles larger or heavier than water will have a higher sedimentation capacity. The viscosity of the liquid also influences, the lower the viscosity, the higher the sedimentation capacity and speed.
Suspended particles can be classified according to their diameter and state of suspension:
Based on this classification, there is a parallel way of classifying methods or types of water sedimentation according to these types of particles:
For the sedimentation of the particles to occur, it is necessary that the flow rate of the water is lower than the sedimentation rate of the suspended solids they contain. This concept of surface loading is essential when building sedimentation tanks.
Some examples of sedimentation speeds and times are, for a distance of 0.3 m, 38 seconds for grains of sand with a speed of 88 millimeters per second (mm / s), 35 hours for conglomerates of bacteria with a speed of 0.00154 mm / s and in the case of colloids the time could amount to 63 years and a velocity of 0.000000154 mm / s. Naturally, the sedimentation rate also depends on other factors such as the water temperature and the diameter and specific gravity of the particles.
The sedimentation tanks They can be circular or rectangular and have four distinct parts.
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