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How technology mimics nature in water treatment; Biology, UV, Filtration,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Oxidation
To take a look at how nature and technology can be used in concert with each other with regards to water treatment we should first answer some basic questions about the availability and use of water and how nature “treats” it.
How much water is there?
・ 97.5% of all water on Earth is salt water, meaning only 2.5% is fresh water
・ Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use.
・ < 1% of the world's fresh water (~0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and is therefore available on a sustainable basis.
What do we do with this available water?
・ Consumptive water use refers to water that is not returned to streams after use. For the most part, this is water that enters the atmospheric pool of water via evaporation (from reservoirs in arid areas) and from plant transpiration (especially from "thirsty" crops such as cotton and alfalfa). Irrigated agriculture is responsible for most consumptive water use, and decreases surface run-off. An extreme example is the Colorado River, which has most of its water diverted to irrigated agriculture, so that in a normal year, the only water that reaches its mouth is that regulated by a treaty between the US and Mexico.
・ Agriculture is responsible for 87 % of the total water used globally. In Asia it accounts for 86%, compared with 49% in North and Central America and 38% in Europe. Rice growing, in particular,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], is a heavy consumer of water: it takes some 5000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of rice. Compared with other crops,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], rice production is less efficient in the way it uses water. Wheat, for example, consumes 4000 m3/ha, while rice consumes 7650 m3/ha.
・ A great deal of water use is non-consumptive, which means that the water is returned to surface runoff. Usually that water is contaminated however, whether used for agriculture, domestic consumption, or industry. The WHO estimates that more than 5 million people die each year from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water, and lack of sanitation and water for hygiene. This has economic effects as well: an outbreak of cholera in Latin America killed hundreds of people, and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
・ Some believe that fresh water will be a critical limiting resource for many regions in the near future. About one-third of the world's population lives in countries that are experiencing water stress. In Asia, where water has always been regarded as an abundant resource, per capita availability declined by 40-60% between 1955 and 1990. Projections suggest that most Asian countries will have severe water problems by the year 2025. Most of Africa historically has been water-poor.
How the natural ecosystem deals with water contaminants.
・ The earth is a natural filter containing sands, rocks and salts that filter and absorb with soil particles and living organisms in the water and soil waste that is in the water. Slow flowing water ways such as lakes, ponds or wetlands also provide a settling effect to suspended particles.
・ Wetlands. Wetlands can remove 20 to 60% of metals in the water, trap and retain 80 to 90% of sediment from runoff and eliminate 70 to 90% of entering nitrogen. Many types of plants are specially adapted to different kinds of wetlands, plants consume many “wastes ” and materials that are considered contaminants when dissolved or suspended in water.
・ Streamside vegetation and forests act as "living filters" that intercept and absorb sediments, and store and transform excess nutrients and pollutants carried in runoff from adjacent lands. They can reduce the nitrogen concentration in water runoff and floodwater by up to 90%, and can reduce phosphorous by as much as 50%.
・ Microorganisms. Microorganisms are the natural chemical engineers of the ecosystem. Bacteria and other organisms utilize or break down nutrients, metals,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and other chemical contaminants in the water.
・ Rivers, waterfalls and lake waves, add oxygen to the water, oxygen is one of the components of oxidation that used by plants and animals to consume and break up organic compounds.
・ UV rays from the sun, not only help the microscopic plants and animals to multiply, providing energy, the UVC component of sunlight also acts as an oxidizer of compounds and destroys the DNA of viruses and other harmful bacteriological components that may be present in the water.
Technological methods of water treatment
Natural water treatment is not only slower than convenient it also may not be available at a convenient proximity to the point of use for human consumption. In most cases then technological replacements for the missing components can be installed. Modern UV chambers can process and disinfect over 1000 gallons per minute. Aerators are used in most treatment plants to add oxygen to digesting tanks. Super microorganisms have been developed to digest location specific wastes. And filtrations systems, both batch and continuous flow can remove particles and contaminants down to 0.005 microns. All this technology though can be implemented with an eye towards preserving and enhancing natural treatment systems. Not only is it economically more sensible to utilize natural systems but, failure tolerance on natural systems tends to be much higher. For more information on technological resources for the treatment of wastes please visit [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
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