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Water Facts

Our Blog / Water Facts / Current Page

10 Simple life-saving methods for water purification (Part 1)

22/7/2019

9 Comments

 
A happy man collecting improved drinking water from a community water filter, the ROAMfilter™ Plus
Do you know that 1 in 7 globally are consuming unsafe drinking water?

In fact, having clean drinking water is one of the biggest concerns for travelers living abroad, especially humanitarian workers and emergency relief organisations responding to disasters.

Imagine being stranded after a flood swept through the city. The pipelines are broken and the water supply is disrupted. There is no power supply nor electricity. People around you are thirsty and in desperate need of clean water.

With the limited resources available, how can you obtain safe drinking water?

Lucky for you, there are several simple methods you can use to purify water.
​
In this post, we will explore the advantages and drawbacks of the different water treatment methods and how we can treat and obtain clean drinking water in rural and disaster affected areas.
Summary
Comparing removal of pathogens, suspended solids and dissolved solids between water treatment processes

3-Pot Method

3-Pot water treatment process, an affordable way to improve water quality
An affordable pre-treatment method!​
Source: http://www.vicharoo.com/water/low-cost-water-purification-methods-1/
The 3-pot method is a simple trick you could do to improve your water quality with just a few pots. All you need is a clean cloth and three containers with cover. While this is by no means a complete disinfection, it reduces the larger physical suspended solids and provides you an improved source of water for emergency.

By storing water in a covered pot for at least two days in a safe and undisturbed condition, the process slows down bacteria growth and multiplication by depriving them of key respiratory elements such as oxygen.

The process can reduce the level of aerobic bacteria by 50% due to the unfavorable survival conditions in the pot. Pathogens attached to suspended solids will also settle to the bottom of the pot with time, thereby improving the quality of the stored water.

Always draw the supernatant (water from the top of the pot) to get cleaner water. The pots should be covered to avoid re-contamination and with a wide enough neck to ease the cleaning process.
​
Pro-tip: The 3-pot method is a handy technique is commonly used as a form of pre-treatment before filtration! 
Advantage
Drawback
- Good pre-treatment for large particles
- Easy to set up and use
- Almost no cost

- Does not remove smaller suspended particles
- Large proportion of bacteria still present
- Disinfection is not complete
- Time-consuming

Chemical Coagulation

Achieve clear water through chemical coagulation, removing organic and inorganic compounds
Coagulant to suspended particles: Let’s stick together
Source: http://www.vicharoo.com/water/low-cost-water-purification-methods-1/
Coagulation is a like using a “glue” to stick small particles together to form larger particles. The larger particles can then settle down faster because they are heavier.

Coagulants is the “glue” mentioned in the coagulation process. It includes aluminum or iron salts, such as ferric sulphate, ferric chloride, aluminum sulphate or polymers.

But what’s the science behind this… “gluing” process?

Interestingly, it is through the neutralization of the negatively charged suspended particles in the water. Coagulant turns the repulsion between particles to attraction and helps to bind the particles together.

This could be done by stirring the coagulant in the water for a few minutes and letting the water to stand until most of the coagulated particles settle. Obtain the clear water from the top portion of the container.
​
You can remove most organic compounds effectively by coagulation, while certain inorganic compounds, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and copper could be removed as well.
Advantage
Drawback
- Easy to uses
- Reduces the time required to settle out suspended solids
- Over-dosing will affect the water quality
- Needs constant resupply

Ion-exchange Resin

An ion-exchange resin that can improve water sources that are contaminated with heavy metals
Stripping off the bad stuff
Source: https://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/reverse+osmosis+water+systems.html
As much as possible, we want to avoid a water source that is contaminated with heavy metals. Heavy metals that goes beyond the WHO threshold is harmful and chronic exposure can damage the human body indefinitely.

Passing the water through an ion-exchange resin is an effective way to remove inorganic chemicals including heavy metals. The resins act as a medium for ion exchange and when water contacts the resin, certain “bad” ions (such as heavy metals) are trapped and replaced by the ions not harmful to the human body.

Anion resins and cation resins are the two most common resins used in the ion-exchange process. Anion resins attract negatively charged ions, while cation resins attract the positively charged ions. However, some contaminants are not easy to remove by conventional ion exchange resins. Specific resins have been developed to remove those contaminants.
​
The most common chemical composition of ion-exchange resins is polystyrene, while certain types are manufactured from acrylic (either acrylonitrile or methyl acrylate).
Advantage
Drawback
- Able to remove inorganic chemical effectively without energy

- Needs to be replaced regularly
- Challenging to determine replacement frequency
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Activated Carbon

Activated carbon removing organic chemicals from water
Adsorbing the organics
Source: https://drjockers.com/4-reasons-use-activated-charcoal/
Activated carbon is an effective material to remove organic chemicals from water besides coagulants. Activated carbon has many small pores on the surface to achieve a very high surface area and contact point.

One gram of powdered activated carbon has a surface area of more than 3,000 m²
. Thus, large amount of soluble substance can stick (adsorb) onto the activated carbon surface. Sufficient contact time (10 to 20 minutes) is usually required to remove contaminants effectively from the water.

Although it is not effective for microbial contaminants, metals, nitrates and other inorganic contaminants, activated carbon can be combined with other treatment methods to complement each other.
Advantage
Drawback
- Readily available compared to other solutions



- Activated carbon needs to be replaced regularly
- Contact time is needed for adsorption to be effective

Ultrafiltration (by ROAMfilter™ Plus)

A man pumping a portable water filter to get a supply of clean drinking water
1L of water in seconds!
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a process that physically separates microscopic particles from the water based on the principle of size-exclusion. UF removes essentially all colloidal particles (0.01 to 1.0 microns) from water and some of the largest dissolved contaminants. 

The ROAMfilter™ Plus is a water filtration system that is specifically made for disaster and rural development areas. The filter is designed to be safe, simple and swift.

Safe because our technology utilizes 0.02-micron pore membranes, capable of removing bacteria and viruses.

Simple because it works exactly like a bicycle pump, making it easy to operate and maintain without electricity. 

And Swift because at a light weight of 3 kg, it can be easily carried over any terrain and deployed to produce more than 200 litres of clean water per hour.

Advantage
Drawback
- Safe: Ultrafiltration membrane removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses

- Simple: Intuitive design operated by a hand pump mechanism; no electricity is required. Easy maintenance

- Swift: Only 3 kg in weight, you can carry it over any terrain

- Durable: Replaceable filter cartridge lasts 2 years

- Efficient: With a flow rate of 200L/Hr, it can serve up to 100 people
- Requires complementary solutions to remove chemicals and heavy metals













Thirsty for more knowledge?

Check out 10 simple life-saving methods for water purification (Part 2) to find out more!
A happy child collecting clean drinking water from a community water filter from Wateroam
 
10 Simple life-saving methods for water purification (Part 2)
Read Now
 
​​Did you know, 525,000 children under 5 die from diarrhoeal diseases every year? Millions more fall ill  due to water-borne diseases caused by the lack of access to clean drinking water.
A happy school girl enjoying clean drinking water from a portable water filter, the ROAMfilter Plus
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A happy boy drinking safe and clean drinking water from Wateroam filter
Wateroam works with Sponsors & Champions to provide clean drinking water access. Through complementing one another's strengths, we are able to maximise our resources and increase social impact.

Sponsors provide resource support to empower Champions to deploy clean drinking water. Champions are those on the ground, actively working with communities in need of clean water.

By working together, we can reach out rapidly to the 633 million people globally without safe water access. Visit our Get Involved section to learn more about how you can play your part! 


Blog Author: Ze Yong Yeoh
9 Comments
David link
16/12/2019 09:46:43 pm

A nice piece of information, as we also knows Manufacturing water purifier or best water softeners 2020 and filtration systems has become a huge business in the industrialized countries of our planet. Companies manufacturing water purifier and filtration systems in the U.S. ship them to developing countries.

Reply
heron filter link
27/1/2020 03:16:10 pm

I saw a lot of new things and found out. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Levi Armstrong link
14/2/2020 06:34:42 am

Oh, I'd never even heard of the 3-pot treatment until today. I'm hoping to get a good drinking water system put into my home soon. That way, I can put my well water through it and have clean drinking water.

Reply
Marcus, Water evangelist link
14/2/2020 01:17:18 pm

Hi Levi, I'm happy to see that this blog has been informative for you. We will contact you via Email to share with you about our water systems.

Reply
Melanie J Barnes link
11/5/2020 04:51:08 am

my doubt is that for municipal water less tds bellow 200 uf water purifier is cheaper but why people are buying costly uv water purifier instead of uf water purifier? is there any advantage in uv purifier than uf water purifier?

Reply
Marcus, from Wateroam
11/5/2020 02:11:55 pm

Hi Melanie J Barnes,

Great question! The science behind it can be a little more complex but I'll try my best to explain it as simply as I can!
First we need to understand the science behind how UF and UV water filters work!

UF filters uses UF (or Ultrafiltration) to remove contaminants such as suspended solids, sediments, bacteria and viruses (what many are concerned with, especially with our lack of understanding Covid-19!).
Through "pore-size exclusion", the UF membrane will prevent the aforementioned particles from going through, removing the contaminants allowing clean water to come out from the tap.
The process requires pressure which is created by your tap and the filtration process is instantaneous.
With a good UF filter, you can get between 99% to 99.9999% removal of pathogenic organisms (Wateroam's ROAMfilter Plus has 99.9999% removal efficacy for bacteria!).

UV filters use Ultraviolet Light, or more commonly UVC to "disinfect" the water. A residential UV filter usually contains a mercury lamp that ionizes the air around it, emitting ionized UVC radiation to "kill" or "disrupt" the DNA of microbes such as bacteria and viruses.
The process requires electricity to power the UV lamp and the effectiveness of the infection depends on the (1) turbidity (cloudiness) of the water and (2) the "intensity" of the UVC rays as well as (3) contact time.
UV filters can only work with water that has low or close to zero turbidity (cloudiness) as the UV rays wouldn't be able to effectively kill the bacteria if the suspended particles absorbs the UV light in the water. This means water may need to be filtered before UV light can be used.
Intensity and contact time are inversely proportional - the higher the intensity of the UV light, the lower the contact time (or faster the disinfection rate) and vice versa.
UV filters work best in low turbidity (or "clear looking") water and give an added assurance to the consumers when it's put in place.

UF filters are meant to be a little more versatile, being able to filter out a larger range of contaminants in the water. Of course, if a UF filter is used to filter water that is very turbid and contaminated, frequent replacement may be needed. A UF filter is usually accompanied by a strainer and microfiltration filter (MF filter) to ensures it doesn't clog up often.
UV filters are more specialized - they do well in disinfecting water provided it is clear and transparent, but it is limited in its ability to treat water if it doesn't have a microfilter or ultrafilter before it. Otherwise, it will not be effective in cleansing the water.

In conclusion, the choice of your filter depends on your needs and use. If you have experienced dirt and pathogens visually appearing in your water, it is best to install a UF water filter to deal with both the micro & macroscopic particles.
If your concerns are just microbes like bacteria in water, a UV filter might suffice.

If you are interested in finding out what's in your water, please read our brief blog on 5 Water Quality Indicators to check the quality of your water source, found here:
https://www.wateroam.com/water-facts/how-do-i-check-the-quality-of-my-water-source

I hope that helps and please don't hesitate to send us an email if you would like to chat more!

Reply
Kristofer Van Wagner link
11/6/2020 02:21:09 pm

Thank you for sharing these useful information on water purification. My sister is planning to have a well water system installed. After reading this post, I will share it with my sister so that she knows the procedure.

Reply
Marcus, From Wateroam link
16/6/2020 11:57:22 am

Hi Kristofer, thank you so much for writing in to us. We're happy this blog has been informative for you and will be helpful for your sister. Please share our blogs about water quality testing with your sister as well, so she can make sure her well water is safe for consumption. I have included links to them below:

Is my drinking water safe for consumption?
https://www.wateroam.com/water-facts/is-my-drinking-water-safe

Why is it important to test our water?
https://www.wateroam.com/water-facts/why-test-your-drinking-water

Reply
Adam Golightly link
13/1/2021 05:31:44 am

My mom has been thinking about getting her water treated, so that it can be more healthy for her to drink. Getting the system installed by a professional could allow her to be more effective. Thanks for explaining how the body can be damaged by heavy metals, and they can be disposed of with ion-exchange resin.

Reply



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