Coagulation, Flocculation, Sedimentation,

and Filtration
A large portion of particles suspended in water can be sufficiently small that their
removal by sedimentation or filtration is not practicable. Most of these small particles are
negatively charged, which is the major cause of the stability of suspended soil particles.
Particles which might otherwise settle are mutually repelled by these charges and remain
in suspension. Coagulation is a chemical technique directed toward destabilization of
particle suspension. he most commonly used coagulant is alum !aluminum sulfate".
Coagulation is usually followed by flocculation, which is a slow mi#ing technique
promoting the aggregation of the destabilized !coagulated" particles. Coagulation
followed by flocculation as an aid to sedimentation and filtration has been practiced for
centuries. $t is by far the most widely used process for the removal of substances
producing turbidity in water. $f water has high turbidity, flocculation followed by
sedimentation is often used to reduce the quantity of material prior to entering the filter.
%ilters for suspended particle removal can be made of graded sand, granular synthetic
material, screens of various materials, and fabrics. he most widely used are rapid&sand
filters in tan's. $n these units, gravity holds the material in place and the flow is
downwards. he filter is periodically cleaned by a reversal of flow and the discharge of
bac'flushed water into a drain. Cartridge filters made of fabric, paper, or plastic material
are also common and are often much smaller and cheaper and are disposable. %ilters are
available in several ratings depending on the size of particles to be removed. Activated
carbon filters, described earlier, will also remove turbidity, but would not be
recommended for that purpose only.
Water Hardness
(ardness is defined as the concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions e#pressed in
terms of calcium carbonate, which can be calculated as shown in the equation )
Hardness mg/l = 2,5 [conc. of Ca
2+
(mg/l)] + 4,1 [conc. of Mg
2+
(mg/l)]
he most frequently used standard classifies water supplies is shown in able *.)

Table 1. Water supply classification
Hardness Concentration
+oft ,ater - to *..* mg/l !- to * grain/gallon "
+lightly (ard ,ater *..* to 0*.1 mg/l !* to 1.0 grains/gallon"
Moderately (ard ,ater 0*.1 to **2.. mg/l !1.0 to . grains/gallon"
(ard ,ater . to *-.0 grains /gallon !**2.. to *.2.00 mg/l"
3ery (ard ,ater over *.2.00 mg/l !over *-.0 grains/gallon"
hese minerals in water can cause some everyday problems. hey react with soap and
produce a deposit called 4soap curd4 that remains on the s'in and clothes and, because it
is insoluble and stic'y, cannot be removed by rinsing. +oap curd changes the p( of the
s'in and may cause infection and irritation. $t also remains on the hair ma'ing it dull and
difficult to manage. +oap curd pic's up the dirt from laundry water and holds it on cloth,
contributing to a gray appearance of white clothes. $t is especially troublesome when
wash water is allowed to drain through the clothes. he use of synthetic detergents may
help a little, but the active ingredient in the detergent is partially inactivated by hardness
and more detergent must be used for the same cleaning tas'. +ome detergents will
produce soap during the reaction with oil or grease on the surface being cleaned and as a
result they will also deposit soap curd. A ring around the bathtub and spotting on
glassware, chrome, and sin's are constant problems in the presence of hard water. hey
require additional rinsing and wiping, increasing the time spent on everyday cleaning.
Coo'ing with hard water can also be difficult, producing scale on pots. +ome vegetables
coo'ed in hard water lose color and flavor. 5eans and peas become tough and shriveled.
(ard water may also shorten the life of plumbing and water heaters. ,hen water
containing calcium carbonate is heated, a hard scale is formed that can plug pipes and
coat heating elements. +cale is also a poor heat conductor. ,ith increased deposits on the
unit, heat is not transmitted to the water fast enough and overheating of the metal causes
failure. 5uild&up of deposits will also reduce the efficiency of the heating unit, increasing
the cost of fuel.
Most natural water supplies contain at least some hardness due to dissolved calcium and
magnesium salts. 6ther minerals, such as iron, may contribute to the hardness of water,
but in natural water, they are generally present in insignificant quantities. he total
hardness of water may range from trace amounts to hundreds of milligrams per liter.

Coagulation and Flocculation

Coagulant Chemicals
Types of Coagulants
Coagulant chemicals come in two main types & primary coagulants and coagulant aids.
Primary coagulants neutralize the electrical charges of particles in the water which
causes the particles to clump together. Coagulant aids add density to slow&settling flocs
and add toughness to the flocs so that they will not brea' up during the mi#ing and
settling processes.
Primary coagulants are always used in the coagulation/flocculation process. Coagulant
aids, in contrast, are not always required and are generally used to reduce flocculation
time.
Chemically, coagulant chemicals are either metallic salts !such as alum" or polymers.
Polymers are man&made organic compounds made up of a long chain of smaller
molecules. Polymers can be either cationic !positively charged", anionic !negatively
charged", or nonionic !neutrally charged." he table below shows many of the common
coagulant chemicals and lists whether they are used as primary coagulants or as
coagulant aids.
7ifferent sources of water need different coagulants, but the most commonly used are
alum and ferric sulfate.
Chemical Name Chemical Formula Primary Coagulant Coagulant id
Aluminum sulfate !Alum" Al8!+69"1 : *9 (86 !
%errous sulfate %e+69 : . (86 !
%erric sulfate %e8!+69"1 : 2 (86 !
%erric chloride %eCl1 : ; (86 !
Cationic polymer 3arious ! !
Calcium hydro#ide !<ime" Ca!6("8 !" !
Calcium o#ide !=uic'lime" Ca6 !" !
+odium aluminate >a8Al869 !" !
5entonite Clay !
Calcium carbonate CaC61 !
+odium silicate >a8+i61 !
Anionic polymer 3arious !
>onionic polymer 3arious !
"?sed as a primary coagulant only in water softening processes.

lum
here are a variety of primary coagulants which can be used in a water treatment plant.
6ne of the earliest, and still the most e#tensively used, is aluminum sulfate, also 'nown
as alum. Alum can be bought in liquid form with a concentration of @.1A, or in dry form
with a concentration of *.A. ,hen alum is added to water, it reacts with the water and
results in positively charged ions.


Coagulant ids
>early all coagulant aids are very e#pensive, so care must be ta'en to use the proper
amount of these chemicals. $n many cases, coagulant aids are not required during the
normal operation of the treatment plant, but are used during emergency treatment of
water which has not been adequately treated in the flocculation and sedimentation basin.
A couple of coagulant aids will be considered below.
#ime is a coagulant aid used to increase the al'alinity of the water. he increase in
al'alinity results in an increase in ions !electrically charged particles" in the water, some
of which are positively charged. hese positively charged particles attract the colloidal
particles in the water, forming floc.
$entonite is a type of clay used as a weighting agent in water high in color and low in
turbidity and mineral content. his type of water usually would not form floc large
enough to settle out of the water. he bentonite joins with the small floc, ma'ing the floc
heavier and thus ma'ing it settle more quic'ly.


Factors %nfluencing Coagulation
%ntroduction
$n a well&run water treatment plant, adjustments are often necessary in order to ma#imize
the coagulation/flocculation process. hese adjustments are a reaction to changes in the
raw water entering the plant. Coagulation will be affected by changes in the waterBs p(,
al'alinity, temperature, time, velocity and zeta potential.
he effectiveness of a coagulant is generally pH dependent. ,ater with a color will
coagulate better at low p( !9.9&;" with alum.
l&alinity is needed to provide anions, such as !6(" for forming insoluble compounds to
precipitate them out. $t could be naturally present in the water or needed to be added as
hydro#ides, carbonates, or bicarbonates. Cenerally * part alum uses -.0 parts al'alinity
for proper coagulation.
he higher the temperature, the faster the reaction, and the more effective is the
coagulation. ,inter temperature will slow down the reaction rate, which can be helped by
an e#tended detention time. Mostly, it is naturally provided due to lower water demand in
winter.
Time is an important factor as well. Proper mi#ing and detention times are very
important to coagulation.
he higher 'elocity causes the shearing or brea'ing of floc particles, and lower velocity
will let them settle in the flocculation basins. 3elocity around * ft/sec in the flocculation
basins should be maintained.
(eta potential is the charge at the boundary of the colloidal turbidity particle and the
surrounding water. he higher the charge the more is the repulsion between the turbidity
particles, less the coagulation, and vice versa. (igher zeta potential requires the higher
coagulant dose. An effective coagulation is aimed at reducing zeta potential charge to
almost -.


Coagulant
he proper type and concentration of coagulant are essential to the coagulation process.
he coagulant choice will depend on the conditions at the plant. he concentration of
coagulant also depends on the water conditions, and a jar test can be used to determine
the correct concentration to use at any given time.
Coagulants are usually fed into the water using a gravimetric feeder or a metering pump.
A gra'imetric feeder feeds dry chemicals into the water by weight. A metering pump
feeds a wet solution !a liquid" into the water by pumping a volume of solution with each
stro'e or rotation.
$mproper coagulation related to coagulant may result from)
?sing old chemicals
?sing the wrong coagulant
?sing the wrong concentration of coagulant. his may result from
setting the wrong feed rate on the gravimetric feeder or metering
pump or from a malfunction of the equipment.

Common Coagulation and Flocculation Problems
)e'ie*
Coagulation/flocculation is a process used to remove turbidity, color, and some bacteria
from water. $n the flash mi# chamber, chemicals are added to the water and mi#ed
violently for less than a minute. hese coagulants consist of primary coagulants and/or
coagulant aids. hen, in the flocculation basin, the water is gently stirred for 1- to 90
minutes to give the chemicals time to act and to promote floc formation. he floc then
settles out in the sedimentation basin.
Coagulation removes colloids and suspended solids from the water. hese particles have
a negative charge, so the positively charged coagulant chemicals neutralize them during
coagulation. hen, during flocculation, the particles are drawn together by van der ,aalBs
forces, forming floc. he coagulation/flocculation process is affected by p(, salts,
al'alinity, turbidity, temperature, mi#ing, and coagulant chemicals.
HOW ! W"#$% #%$"#$&'
Introduction
he water treatment processes developed in the *2
th
century and refined during
the 8-
th
century are simple in nature. (owever, engineers have since developed
ways of ma'ing these processes happen faster, in a smaller area and in a more
controlled way at lower cost.
hese earlier technologies are referred to as traditional or conventional
technologies to distinguish them from technologies developed more recently.
here are a great variety of water treatment processes, although only a few are
applied in most situations. A summary of each of the main treatment processes
is given below.
Coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation
$n traditional water treatment, certain chemicals are added to raw water to
remove impurities. ,hile some particles will spontaneously settle out from
water on standing !a process called sedimentation", others will not. o cause
particles that are slow to settle or are non&settling to settle out more readily, a
soluble chemical or mi#ture of chemicals is added to the water. +uch a
chemical is called a coagulant and the process is called coagulation.
he coagulant reacts with the particles in the water, forming larger particles
called flocs, which settle rapidly.
%locs can also be effectively removed by passing the water through a filter. he
process is controlled so that the coagulant chemicals are removed along with
the contaminants.
Coagulation/flocculation processes generally use aluminium sulphate !alum" or
ferric chloride as the coagulant.
A combination of coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation and filtration is the
most widely applied water treatment technology around the world, used
routinely for water treatment since the early part of the 8-
th
century.
Coagulation/flocculation processes are very effective at removing fine
suspended particles that attract and hold bacteria and viruses to their surface.
Desearch has shown that these processes alone are capable of removing up to
22.2 per cent of the bacteria and 22 per cent of the viruses from water supplies.
hese processes also remove some of the organic matter washed from soil and
vegetation as water travels across the landscape, from raindrop to river. $t is
usually this natural organic matter that is responsible for any brown
discolouration in water. (owever, not all of this natural organic matter !what
water scientists call >6M" is removed by coagulation) certain taste and odour
problems may remain.
Filtration
6ne of the oldest and simplest processes used to treat water is to pass it through
a bed of fine particles, usually sand. his process is called sand filtration. $n its
simplest form, the water is simply passed through the filter with no other pre&
treatment, such as the addition of a coagulant. ?sually this type of filter will
remove fine suspended solids and also some other particles such as larger
microorganisms.
+and filtration is even more efficient when the water being treated passes
through the sand filter very slowly. 6ver time the sand particles become
covered with a thin surface layer of microorganisms. +ome might refer to this
layer as a slime but water scientists call it a biofilm. Even very small particles
stic' to this biofilm and are held, while water of greatly improved quality
passes out through the filter.
%irst operating in <ondon in the *2
th
century, slow sand filters are still widely
used throughout the world today. Although very effective, they require a large
area of land to achieve the sort of flows required by a large modern city.
Additional processes may also be needed to achieve adequate water quality.
$n the early 8-
th
century, engineers developed rapid sand filters, which use high
rates of water flow and sophisticated bac'washing of the filter bed to remove
trapped contaminants.
5ecause the sand filtration processes become less effective at removing fine
suspended particles at higher water flow rates, the water must be pretreated F
coagulated and flocculated F before passing through the filter bed. +uch high
rate direct filtration processes are widely applied to raw water with low levels
of suspended matter. A good e#ample is the water treatment plant at Prospect in
+ydney.
he water treatment plant at Prospect in +ydney is one of the largest direct
filtration plants of its type in the world. he plant produces more than 8---
megalitres a day of treated water. $t is operated by Australian ,ater +ervices on
behalf of +ydney ,ater Corporation. he raw water being treated at Prospect
comes from ,arragamba 7am, operated by +ydney Catchment Authority.

Membrane filtration
he development of plastics has led to a new range of filter materials and
methods. Processes based on these new filter materials are now increasingly
used to treat water for urban and industrial purposes.
$n membrane filtration, water is filtered through tiny holes !usually referred to
as pores" in a membrane wall rather than a bed of sand. he smaller the pore
size, the greater the proportion of material the membrane retains as the water
passes through.
Processes of membrane filtration are categorised by the pore size in the
membrane. Pore size can vary from -.* microns !*--- microns is equivalent to
* millimetre" for microfiltration down to -.--* microns for nanofiltration.
he most common form of microfiltration membrane is a one&metre long
bundle of thin, thread&li'e hollow fibres. A microfiltration water treatment plant
would contain many such bundles.
A cross&section of a single hollow fibre is shown below !in yellow". Particles
!in brown" are retained on the outer surface of the membrane while the purified
water !in blue" passes into the central channel from where it flows lengthwise
along the hollow fibre.
Previously too e#pensive to use in many circumstances, recent advances have
reduced the cost of membrane filtration to a level approaching that of
conventional water treatment processes.
,hile membrane water treatment plants are simple and reliable in operation,
especially in small to medium&sized applications, there are some disadvantages.
(igh energy costs are involved in pumping the water through the membrane. $f
a lot of natural organic matter is in the water, the membrane tends to bloc'
easily. his is referred to as membrane fouling. $f cleaning cannot reverse the
membrane fouling, the life of the membrane will be significantly shortened.
his increases the cost of water treatment, since replacing membranes regularly
is e#pensive.
Microfiltration
Microfiltration will remove most of the fine suspended solids in the water and
almost all protozoa and bacteria but is not able to remove the dissolved part of
the natural organic matter in the water. $t is this dissolved part of the natural
organic matter that is frequently the cause of colour, taste and odour problems.
he microfiltration process is becoming increasingly popular for small&scale
water treatment plants supplying smaller communities in rural and regional
Australia. $t has become the most widely used membrane water treatment
process in Australia.
Microfiltration plants installed by water authorities in recent years include)
5atlow !umut +hire Council, >+,"
5abinda, 5ramston 5each and Mirriwinni !Cairns City Council, =ueensland",
Crystal Cree' !ownsville huringowa ,ater +upply 5oard, =ueensland", Coen
!Coo' +hire Council, =ueensland"
5irregura and Meredith !5arwon ,ater, 3ictoria"
Creswell, %rogley and Garra Clen !Melbourne ,ater, 3ictoria"
Cunbower, ooborac and rentham !Coliban ,ater, 3ictoria".
Ultrafiltration
?ltrafiltration membranes have smaller pores than those used in microfiltration
and can therefore remove finer particles from the water. his process is capable
of removing almost all the viruses !the microorganisms most difficult to
remove" and improving colour.
5ecause of the relatively high levels of natural organic matter found in raw
waters in Australia, ultrafiltration technology has not found wide application
here at this stage of its development.
Nanofiltration
>anofiltration uses membranes with even smaller holes than for ultrafiltration,
so requires a high operating pressure to force the water through the membrane.
his results in high energy and operating costs.
(owever, nanofiltration is more effective than other filtration methods at
improving water quality. %or e#ample, it is capable of removing all virus
particles and most of the >6M. (owever, it also removes some natural
minerals from the water, which can cause pipes to corrode. o reduce corrosion
in these circumstances, stabilising chemicals, such as lime, must be added to
the treated water.
he cost involved in using this technology, and the fact that bac'washing of the
membrane can consume a significant proportion of the water produced, limits
its use to specific circumstances.
here are no wor'ing e#amples of a nanofiltration plant in Australia at present,
but the process is in operation elsewhere, including Europe, where it is used to
treat surface waters contaminated by herbicides and insecticides.
Additional Treatments for Unusual Circumstances
,hile coagulation processes and/or filtration remove most of the troublesome
contaminants from water, they usually do not remove all of the dissolved !or
soluble" material. his includes low concentrations of dissolved organic matter
that microorganisms in the water can use as a food supply and perhaps algal
to#ins and associated taste and odour compounds.
$f water contains undesirable contaminants, additional treatment processes are
required, li'e adsorption and o#idation.
Adsorption refers to the process by which chemicals are attracted to and held
by a solid surface and is quite different from the similarly sounding process of
absorption.
$n water treatment, specialised adsorbent materials are used. E#amples are
activated carbon and ion e#change resins. hese adsorbants can be used to
remove purely soluble contaminants from water.
Activated carbon is the most widely used adsorbent material in water treatment,
because it is highly effective in removing taste and odour compounds and algal
to#ins. $t can be used as a powder or in granular form.
$n Australia, there has only been limited use of granulated activated carbon. $n
this treatment process, the activated carbon is usually placed in a column or
filter and the water percolated through the bed of carbon granules. After some
time the activated carbon will become saturated with the adsorbing material
and will need to be replaced or regenerated. Current technology to regenerate
the carbon granules involves heating in a high temperature furnace. 5ecause of
the cost of this regeneration process, it has not been used in Australia.
$f water contamination occurs only occasionally, a better approach is to add
powdered activated carbon to a conventional coagulation/flocculation process
when the problem arises. he carbon is collected in the filters and then
discarded with the normal water treatment plant sludge. +uch intermittent
dosing of activated carbon powder is used in Australia at numerous locations
that have problems with blue&green algal blooms.
he use of activated carbon is a very costly and can be justified only when
there are particular problems with to#ins or taste and odour compounds.
$on e#change resins can also remove soluble materials from water by
e#changing ions !charged atoms or molecules" in the water and on the resin.
his form of treatment is more often used for industrial purposes in industries
that require very pure water for specialised processing, for e#ample in
computer chip manufacture. $t has also found general application in the
treatment of boiler feed water to reduce the problem of scaling.
,ith new developments in the technology, ion e#change resins are also being
used to treat urban water supplies. %or instance, the ,ater Corporation of
,estern Australia has established the biggest ion e#change water treatment
system of its type in the world at the ,anneroo Croundwater reatment Plant
to remove intermittent odour problems occasionally e#perienced in some of
PerthHs groundwater supply schemes. his plant uses an Australian invention,
M$EI

!magnetic ion e#change" resin manufactured by 6rica ,atercare.
Another treatment technology commonly used in Europe but only now
appearing in Australia is o#idation with chemicals such as ozone or chlorine
dio#ide. hese are strongly reactive chemicals able to o#idize a range of
substances in water.
6zone in particular is a strong o#idizing agent and is used as a disinfection
agent !see below" and as a means of destroying soluble contaminants such as
algal to#ins, taste and odour compounds and !particularly in Europe" trace
levels of insecticides. $t is quite often used in combination with a column of
granular activated carbon, as any soluble organics remaining after the chemical
o#idation stage are biologically degraded by the film of microorganisms that
develops in the activated carbon bed.
E#perience with the process in Europe has been very good, with consumers
reacting positively to the improved taste of the water produced. (owever, the
technology is more e#pensive than standard coagulation and is suited to
applications only where taste and odour problems are becoming severe. %or
e#ample, Crampians ,ater, supplying water services in the ,immera region of
3ictoria, has installed such a plant at Edenhope to overcome problems caused
by algal contamination of the local water source.
Water Stabilisation
+ome raw water supplies are not stable, becoming acidic or al'aline depending
on which material they are in contact with. his condition often leads to
corrosion in piping systems and hot water services and can result in dissolved
metals appearing in the water. %or e#ample, where copper corrosion occurs, a
telltale bluish stain can appear where a tap drips on to a surface.
o prevent such corrosion problems, many waters are chemically stabilised
before distribution by the addition of lime and sometimes carbon dio#ide. he
addition of lime !calcium carbonate" will ma'e the water slightly harder by
increasing the level of calcium in the water. (ere, hardness refers to the
characteristic of the water that prevents soap from lathering. $n contrast, soft
water will allow soap to form a lather easily.
Disinfection
7isinfection is carried out to 'ill harmful microorganisms that may be present
in the water supply and to prevent microorganisms regrowing in the distribution
systems.
Cood public health owes a lot to the disinfection of water supplies. ,ithout
disinfection, waterborne disease becomes a problem, causing high infant
mortality rates and low life e#pectancy. his remains the situation in some parts
of the world.
here can be no higher priority in any water supply system than effective and
safe disinfection of the water. he only possible e#ception to this rule occurs
with secure groundwater supplies, where harmful microorganisms are
prevented from entering the underground water source or contaminating the
water when it is brought to the surface. +uch water supplies need to be
inspected and tested regularly to ma'e sure that they remain safe.
he two most common methods to 'ill the microorganisms found in the water
supply are o#idation with o#idising chemicals or irradiation with ultra&violet
!?3" radiation.
he most widely used chemical disinfection systems are chlorination,
chloramination, chlorine dio#ide treatment and ozonation.
Jey factors considered by a water authority in selecting a disinfection system
are)
Effectiveness in 'illing a range of microorganisms.
Potential to form possibly harmful disinfection byproducts.
Ability of the disinfecting agent to remain effective in the water
throughout the distribution system.
+afety and ease of handling chemicals and equipment.
Cost effectiveness.
A summary of each of the main disinfection processes is given below.
C(lor)na*)on
Chlorination is the most widely used disinfectant for drin'ing water in
Australia. $ts introduction a century ago removed the threat of cholera and
typhoid from Australian cities.
$t is cheap, easy to use, effective at low dose levels against a wide range of
infectious microorganisms, and has a long history of safe use around the world.
Chlorine is a strongly o#idising chemical and may be added to water as
chlorine gas or as a hypochlorite solution.
ChlorineHs main disadvantage is a tendency to react with naturally occurring
dissolved organic matter to form chlorinated organic compounds.
he substances formed by the disinfectant reacting with the natural organic
matter in the water are referred to as disinfection byproducts.
$n the *2.-s, as scientific instruments capable of measuring lower and lower
concentrations of substances were developed, trace quantities of chloroform
and other similar chemicals were identified as disinfection byproducts in
chlorinated water supplies.
,hile the concentration of these disinfection byproducts is usually very low !a
typical figure might be -.* part per million", some have been identified as
potential carcinogens. As a precaution, many countries limit the allowable level
of chlorinated disinfection byproducts in the water. he Australian Drinking
Water Guidelines also suggest ma#imum values for a range of byproducts !for
e#ample, -.80 part per million for chloroform&type compounds".
+tudies have compared the health ris' from microbiological contamination of
drin'ing water with the potential chemical ris' from chlorination byproducts.
he conclusions so far are)
he ris' of death from pathogens is at least *-- to *--- times greater
than the ris' of cancer from disinfection byproducts.
he ris' of illness from pathogens is at least *-,--- to one million times
greater than the ris' of cancer from disinfection byproducts.
he Australian Drinking Water Guidelines encourage action by water
authorities to reduce organic disinfection byproducts in water supplies but not
in a way that would compromise the proper disinfection of the water.
he li'elihood of such byproducts forming can be greatly reduced by treating
the water to lower levels of dissolved organic matter before chlorine is added
for disinfection purposes.
+ome Australian e#amples of chlorinated water supplies are those of
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, (obart and ownsville.
C(loram)na*)on
Chloramines are produced when ammonia and chlorine are added to water
together. hey are less effective than chlorine in 'illing microorganisms
because they are not as chemically active. (owever, chloramines maintain their
disinfecting capability longer than chlorine and are ideal for very long
distribution systems or for water supplies with long holding times in service
reservoirs. %or e#ample, the disinfected water supplied to some Australian
communities may travel through the distribution system for more than a wee'
before use as drin'ing water from someoneHs tap.
Chloramines also react less with dissolved organic matter in the water and so
produce fewer disinfection byproducts.
Chloramination is a common disinfection system in Australia and many
e#amples of its use can be found in regional Australia.
C(lor)ne d)o+)de
Chlorine dio#ide is about *- times more e#pensive than chlorine and its use in
Australia is very limited. $ts most significant use is by the Cold Coast City
Council in =ueensland.
he choice of chlorine dio#ide in this application was primarily to prevent an
aesthetic water quality problem caused by naturally occurring manganese
compounds in the raw water. he problem is sometimes described as 4blac'
water4 and can result in blac' stains on customersH washing. ,hen 4blac'
water4 occurs, the material being washed effectively acts as a filter for the tiny
blac' particles during the rinse cycle of the washing machine.
Chlorine dio#ide is a strong o#idant that can be used in low doses. $t is a highly
reactive, unstable gas that must be generated at the water treatment plant from
sodium chlorite. $ts use does not lead to the formation of chlorinated
disinfection byproducts, but other possible byproducts of o#idation, such as
chlorate and chlorite ions, can be a public health concern.
O,one
6zone !6
1
" is the most powerful disinfectant used in water treatment. $t is even
effective against the difficult to treat protozoan parasites, Cryptosporidium and
Giardia.
6zone, which only recently began to be used in Australia, destroys soluble
contaminants such as algal to#ins, taste and odour compounds and trace levels
of insecticides.
6zone is an unstable gas that must be generated at the water treatment plant.
his is done by passing an electric discharge through clean, dry air or o#ygen.
5ecause it is so reactive, ozone decays quic'ly in water. %or this reason, it is
usually used together with a small dose of chlorine or chloramine to ensure that
some residual disinfection capacity is maintained in the water supply
distribution system to prevent regrowth of microorganisms.
he use of ozone does not lead to chlorinated disinfection byproducts. (owever
other possible o#idation products, such as bromate formed from the naturally
occurring bromide found in some water sources, are a potential health concern.
-l*ra.)ole* )rrad)a*)on
?ltraviolet radiation !?3" is a component of sunlight. +unlight achieves
disinfection by ultraviolet irradiation naturally. $n water treatment, an
appropriate level of ?3 irradiation, produced by mercury lamps, can 'ill
bacteria and viruses. (owever, there is some uncertainty surrounding the
effectiveness of ?3 irradiation against Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
?3 irradiation adds no chemicals to water and uses equipment that is relatively
simple to operate and maintain. (owever, impurities in the water that cause
colour and turbidity can severely reduce the effectiveness of the process
because ?3 radiation cannot penetrate the water effectively.
?3 irradiation has no lasting effect and a further disinfectant such as chlorine
or chloramine is usually added to ensure that some residual disinfection
capacity is maintained in the water supply distribution system to prevent
regrowth of microorganisms.
he cost of ?3 treatment of water supplies is becoming increasingly
affordable, especially for small water supply systems where the raw water is
clean and cold.
?3 irradiation may also be chosen where the water source is close to the
customers, allowing only a short time between when the water is disinfected
and when it is consumed.