Disinfection

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Where are we heading towards….?

• Water from filtration may contain some harmful disease

Producing bacteria in it
• Chemicals used for killing bacteria – Disinfectants
• Disinfection/Sterilisation
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Disinfection & sterilisation
• Should remove existing bacteria, residual effect for a long period
• Chlorination
• Minor Methods –
▪ Boiling of water
▪ Treatment with excess lime
▪ Treatment with ozone
▪ Treatment with iodine and bromine
▪ Treatment with UV rays
▪ Treatment with Potassium Permanganate
▪ Treatment with Silver (Electro-Katadyn Process)

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1) Boiling of water
• Can kill existing germs
• Simple, by boiling of water
• Suited during water borne epidemics
• No residual effect
• Not a practical method

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2) Treatment with Excess Lime
• In addition to softening, can kill bacteria
• 14-43 ppm can remove about 99.3-100 % bacterial
load
• Applicable for highly polluted waters
• Rise in pH is detrimental to the survival of bacteria
• Excess lime need to be removed from water
• It cannot protect from the possible
recontamination

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3) Treatment with Ozone Under high
electric arc
voltage

3O2 → 2O3
• Ozone is effect over a wide pH range and Oxygen molecule Ozone molecule

rapidly reacts germs

• Has a very strong oxidizing power with a O3 → O2 + O
short reaction time Ozone Oxygen Nascent Oxygen

• The treatment process does not add

chemicals to the water
• Ozone can eliminate a wide variety of
inorganic, organic and microbiological
problems and taste and odor problems

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But,
• It is very costly, costlier than
chlorination
• Used only when electricity is
available
• No residuals due to being highly unstable
• Ozoniser is required
• Lesser efficient than chlorination 7
4) Treatment with Iodine and Bromine
• 8 ppm and contact period 5 minutes
• Available in the form of pills
• Handy in usage
• Used for treating small water supplies
https://www.who.int/water_sanitat
for army troops, private plants, ion_health/publications/iodine-
swimming pools etc. 02032018.pdf?ua=1

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5) Treatment with UV Rays
• UV rays of wavelengths 1000-
4000 micro-meter
• Mercury vapor lamps enclosed in
quartz bulb
• Can yield sterilized water
• Does not impart any additional
taste or odour to water
• Costly, skilled supervision
• Requires electricity

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6) Treatment with Potassium
Permanganate
• Disinfecting Well water supplies
• For lesser contamination
• Oxidising the taste produced by organic
matter
• Used as algicide for removing colour and
iron from water
• Normal doses – 1-2 ppm with a contact
period of 4-6 hours
• Can not guarantee 100% bacteria removal
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7)Treatment with Silver
• Silver ions produced have a strong germicidal
action
• Dosage 0.05-0.1 mg/l
• Contact period- 15 min. – 3 hours
• No extra harmful impact on human body
• Process is very costly
• Germicidal action is retained for future
contaminaton

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Chlorination
To be continued…

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