5.

6 Water Purification
Natural sources of water
Rain is the main sources of water. When
rain falls, rainwater rushes into streams
and rivers. Water that seeps into the
gorund is called ground water,
About 97% of the Earths water is in the
ocean. However, sea water is too salty for
human consumption. We can obtain fresh
water by desalination.
Natural water is not pure. When it flows
through streams, rivers beneath the
ground, it dissolves minerals from almost
everything it flows over.
Water used for drinking must be clean and
free of disease-causing micro-organisms.

Filtration
Filtration removes suspended solid particles
from the water but this method of purification
does not kill microorganism and remove
dissolved substances.
Filtration is a process which uses fine sand,
coarse sand, small stones and pebbles. The
liquid that goes through the filter is called
filtrate and the solid material left behind is
called residue.
Boiling And Chlorination
Boiling and chlorination kill
microorganisms in water but they do not
remove suspended solid particles and do
not remove dissolved substances.
Boling can only supply a small amount of
water safe for drinking at home.
Chlorination is used to treat large
quantities of water such as swimming pool
by adding in chlorine.

Distillation
Distillation kills microorganisms in the
water, remove suspended solid particles
and remove dissolved substances.
However, distillation does not have
minerals making the water unsuitable for
drinking.
1. Photocatalytic Water Purification Technology

Unveiled at the Eco-Products 2014 in Tokyo, this

water filter technology uses photocatalysts and the
UV rays from sunlight to detoxify polluted water at
high speeds. When you think of photocatalysts, think

of your science project in school on chlorophyll;

chlorophyll is enabled by using sunlight.
In Photocatalytic Water Purification Technology, it is
the same reaction, using the suns ultraviolet rays to
clean water. Developed by Panasonic, this treatment
process claims to remove arsenic and bacteria among
a few.

4. Acoustics Nanotube Technology

If you think of NASA, you would think that they only

oversee occurrences outside our planet. While they
do oversee planetary incidents, they are also involved
in researches on anything that contributes to the
sustainability of the eco system. In this case, NASAs

Johnson Space Center developed the Acoustics

Nanotube Technology to eliminate contaminants in
water to make it potable, making it one of NASAs
contributions to water purification technologies.
This innovation still uses a sieve, but unlike other
filtration types, it is an acoustically-driven molecular
sieve embedded with small diameter
nanotubes. This technological advancement in water
filtration pushes water away from contaminants
unlike other methods. The technology has
been reported in 2009.