Sunday, 30 August 2015

How to purify water - The Complete Guide

The last decade or so has seen a sharp decline in the drinking water quality. Water purifiers too have gained tremendous interests in the same period. This has resulted in an increase in the interest around water purifiers. The water that we get today, from the municipal bodies, is often laced with alarming levels of dangerous dissolved impurities like rust, salts, heavy metals, chemicals, etc.

Amidst the deteriorating water quality situation, water purifiers have come as a gush of fresh air. There are many water purification technologies available today.  However, most of the water purification technologies eliminate only a few contaminants.

Contaminants present in water can be classified into two categories -

1) Suspended Impurities: These are insoluble impurities which contaminate water. Example - mud, dust, sand, dead insects, rust, mercury, lead, copper, cadmium, etc.

2) Dissolved impurities/ Contaminants: These are soluble particle such as pesticides, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, etc.

Water purification is not a new concept. This process has been going on from a long time. However, with time the traditional water purification methods have become ineffective against many new pollutants.

Listed below are some of the methods used for water purification -

1) Boiling: Boiling drinking water with fuel is the oldest and most commonly practiced household water treatment method. Despite boiling being a laborious that uses up a lot of energy, many organizations recommend it- both, for water treatment in developing countries as well as to provide safe drinking water during an emergency. Boiling only eliminates pathogens and does not remove suspended or chemical pollutants (e.g. arsenic) from drinking water.

2) Cloth filtration: This medieval method of water purification employs a cloth with tiny pores, through which water is passed. The tiny pores prevent suspended impurities from passing through thus providing clean water. However, this method is not effective against dissolved impurities and pathogens.

3) UV water purification technology: A UV-based water purifier is effective against bacteria and viruses but becomes null against impurities like pesticides, rust, heavy metals, salts and harmful chemicals.

4) Kent’s Mineral RO water purification technology: The Mineral RO technology combines the best of both RO & UV technologies, while eliminating the limitations of a single technology. Mineral RO technology offers double purification of RO and UV along with UF — which together remove even the most harmful dissolved impurities including arsenic, fluorides, rust, chemicals, pesticides and other heavy metals. The technology also features a unique TDS Controller that helps retain the essential natural minerals in the purified water. It is one of the best water filters in India.

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