How can waste water can be turned into drinking water?

Answer 1

Answer : The steps involved in getting clarified water from wastewater involves physical, chemical, and biological processes, which remove physical, chemical and biological matter that contaminates the wastewater.

1. Wastewater is passed through bar screens. Large objects like rags, sticks, cans, plastic packets, napkins are removed

2. Water then goes to a grit and sand removal tank. The speed of the incoming wastewater is decreased to allow sand, grit and pebbles to settle down through sedimentation .

3. The water is then allowed to settle in a large tank which is sloped towards the middle. Solids like faeces settle at the bottom by sedimentation and are removed with a scraper. This is the sludge. A skimmer removes the floatable solids like oil and grease. Water so cleared is called clarified water. The sludge is transferred to a separate tank where it is decomposed by the anaerobic bacteria. The biogas produced in the process can be used as fuel or can be used to produce electricity.

4. Air is pumped into the clarified water to help aerobic bacteria to grow. Bacteria consume human waste, food waste, soaps and other unwanted matter still remaining in clarified water. After several hours, the suspended microbes settle at the bottom of the tank as activated sludge. The water is then removed from the top. The activated sludge is about 97% water. The water is removed by sand drying beds or machines. Dried sludge is used as manure, returning organic matter and nutrients to the soil. The treated water has a very low level of organic material and suspended matter. It is discharged into a sea, a river or into the ground. Nature cleans it up further.

Answer 2

Various methods are used to purify water (and your choice of method will depend upon how much water you want to purify, and how much money you have available to do it); these include distillation, filtration, sedimentation, oxygenation, and chlorination.