The Future Of Water Treatment Technology: What Will It Bring?
Did you know that 783 million people globally do not have access to clean and safe water? Did you also know that water scarcity in the future is a real issue? As a result, the future of water treatment technology will see fresh methods of purifying water so that everyone has access to fresh water that’s safe to drink. There are tons of different ways to purify water and here’s what the future has in store for us.
Solar Technology:
Using sunlight to generate clean water goes back well over two thousand years. Sunlight has long been known to deactivate organisms in water that can make humans ill when drinking untreated water. This water cleaning process however, can take a few hours, depending on weather conditions and temperature. Recently, scientists discovered that black carbon-dipped paper with sunlight, can expedite the water purifying process. it’s been estimated that ten to twenty litres of clean water can be produced every day through the use of black carbon dipped paper to absorb and vaporise water, alongside the use of a solar still. This natural water treatment process of using sunlight is low cost, low energy, and yet – extremely efficient.
Nanotechnology:
Nanotechnology works extremely well in water purification, because nanomaterials have large surface areas, selective permeability, high reactivity, affinity for specific contaminants, good reusability and excellent flux rates. The use of nanotech biosensors in water sanitation is a new process and it works by detecting pesticides and heavy metals in water. Nanoparticles are made to be too large to pass through a filter and they work by attracting heavy metals and pesticides and this process itself removes the impurities from the water. Recently, scientists invented a cheap nanoparticle water filtration system that for the first time, was able to remove chemical components such as lead and arsenic in the water, due to a chemical filter that blocked contaminants.
Water Desalination:
A recent breakthrough in advanced water technology is filtering the salt water from the sea, into drinkable water. Scientists at the University of Manchester recently discovered how to precisely control the size of pores in a graphene oxide sieve. This breakthrough allowed the scientists to filter out the salts in water to make the water safe to drink. Another recent discovery by scientists and UK engineers is the use of ultrasound waves to purify and desalinate ocean water. The system works by utilising ultrasound waves to ‘explode’ the unclean ocean water into particles smaller than ten microns. These microns evaporate and condense, which then results in clean and pure water.
High-Tech Filtration:
Water scarcity in the future is a real concern and scientists have been getting extremely creative with their water purification methods. A innovative method is the development of water filtration technology that converts cow manure into filtered water that can be utilised as fertiliser. Cow manure is predominantly water and one thousand cows can produce approximately ten million gallons of water annually. This water purification process uses an anaerobic digester to produce energy from the waste. It’s also used with an ultra-filtration reverse osmosis system to create the water byproduct.
Water purification technologies of the future are sure to include advancements in solar technology, water desalination, high-tech filtration and nanotechnology. If you are looking for clean water, European Watercare can provide you with high quality water filters and calcium treatment units.
