It’s something we encounter every day, almost everywhere we go, but it’s something that – curiously – most people think very little about. Water treatment is an incredibly important part of our lives, keeping the water we need for drinking and cleaning safely. With the world’s supply of fresh clean water dwindling, and the environment being compromised one lake at a time, keeping vigilant about treating water to make it portable and usable is only becoming increasingly important by the day. That’s why more and more students of a CAD school or who are taking online CAD courses are going on to help design and maintain water treatment facilities and learning technical know-how related to process piping training.
As you may be aware, the human body is composed of almost 70% water. Water has a lot to do with how we live our lives. Depending on where you live and what your source of water is, the unfiltered water you drink could contain anything from fairly innocuous things like chlorine and fluoride to more troubling components, such as dioxins, heavy metals, pesticides or parasites, all of which could be damaging to your health. The World Health Organization lists several examples of waterborne diseases, including Hepatitis A, Botulism, and Polio. This is why water purification and treatment is so incredibly important to our health.
There are three main processes to purify water: distillation, reverse osmosis, and UV purification. Each has their own quirks, advantages, and disadvantages, but all are great methods to clean up your water.
Distillation is the process of boiling the water so that the impurities are captured in the vapour and then collecting the vapour. The impurities collect in the vapour, so removing it using a distillate will ensure clean water. The downside to distillation is that it’s quite slow, and not one hundred percent effective.
Reverse osmosis is the process of passing water through a semi-permeable membrane that captures the impurities found in the water. Originally used mostly in industrial settings, it is now becoming a popular method for home purification as well. Though reverse osmosis is an extremely effective way of treating your water, it’s quite expensive and also quite slow.
UV or “ultra-violet” water treatment is considered by many to be not only the cheapest process of purifying water but also the most effective. UV purifying does not alter the taste or PH levels of your water, nor does it produce any byproducts. It is by far the safest method of purifying water and is used predominantly for getting rid of the biological contamination in your water.
No matter how you choose to treat water, the importance of clean and drinkable water can’t possibly be overstated.
