Water Supply and

treatment
(Ceng 4181)

for 4th years civil engineering

students.
2023
 CH8
DISNFECTION
The filtered water may normally contain some harmful
disease producing bacteria in it
These bacteria must be killed/inactivated in order to make
the water safe for drinking
The process of killing or inactivation of these bacteria is
known as Disinfection

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• Disinfection means the destruction, or at least the complete
inactivation, of harmful micro-organisms present in the water.
Water disinfection means the removal, deactivation or killing of
pathogenic microorganisms.
As a result, microorganisms are destroyed or
deactivated, resulting in termination of growth and
reproduction.
• It is considered the last barrier in conventional water treatment
and in cases where no other methods of treatment are available,
disinfection may be resorted to as a single treatment against
bacterial contamination of drinking water.
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 Why Water Disinfection
• Water from questionable sources may be contaminated by a
variety of microorganisms, including bacteria and parasites
that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and
hepatitis.
• Therefore, drinking water should be free from any micro-
organism that could transmit disease or illness to the
consumer.
• As a result water treatment processes such as storage,
sedimentation, coagulation, and filtration reduce the bacterial
content of water to varying degrees. 5
 Factors that influence the disinfection of water

1. The nature and number of the micro-organisms to be destroyed.

Certain organisms may not be destroyed or completely
inactivated by disinfection.
2.The type and concentration of the disinfectant used.
Higher concentrations are co-related to higher efficiencies.
3.The temperature of the water to be disinfected.
The higher the temperature the more rapid the disinfection
will be.
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 4.The time of contact.

The disinfection effect becomes more complete when the disinfectant

remains in contact with the water longer.

5. The nature of water to be disinfected:

If the water contains particulate matter, especially of a colloidal and

organic nature (turbidity), the disinfection process generally is
hampered due to the "protection" of the micro-organisms by the
turbidity particles.

6. The pH of the water: Chlorine, for example, will have better

disinfection power if working at pH below 7, as the chlorine
compound that will prevail is HCIO. At higher pH the chorine
compound present is CIO- which has a lesser bactericidal power.7
7. Mixing:

Good mixing ensures proper dispersal of the disinfectant

throughout the water, and so promotes the disinfection process.

• Types of water disinfection

A. Physical Method of water disinfection

• At family level the two principal physical disinfection methods

used are: boiling of the water and Solar disinfection.
• Ultraviolet radiation has been gaining rising acceptance for
small community systems in developed countries, because of
the reliability of the components and the declining costs.
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 i. Boiling of the water

Boiling water is an effective method of treatment because no

important water-borne diseases are caused by heat resisting
organisms.

It is effective in destroying all classes of waterborne

pathogens (viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores, fungi and
protozoan etc ) and can be effectively applied to all waters.

Boiling water also kills like giardia and cryptosporidium

Parasites. 9
Advantages of Boiling • Disadvantages of Boiling:
• Readily available. – Requires a great deal of heat
• Well suited for – Time to bring water to boil and
cool before use
emergency and
temporary – Can give water “flat" taste
disinfection. – Contributes to indoor pollution
and deforestation
• Will drive volatile
– Typically limited capacity
organic chemicals out
– Not an in-line treatment system
of water.
– Requires separate storage of
• Extremely effective treated water
disinfectant that will – Does not remove suspended or
kill even giardia cysts. dissolved compounds 10
• Application:

• It is highly effective as a household treatment, as it

destroys pathogenic micro-organisms such as viruses.
• In emergency situation, boiling of water may be used as a
temporary measure.
• Nevertheless, in some areas of the world this method may
be expensive for the user (too much fuel consumption and
work for women). Consumers usually do not like the taste
of boiled water and it also takes a long time for the water
to cool.
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 ii. Solar Disinfection (SODIS)
• Solar disinfection is a simple water treatment method using
solar radiation (UV-A light and temperature) to destroy
pathogenic bacteria and viruses present in the water.
• It is one of the simplest and least expensive methods for
providing acceptable quality drinking water.
• Solar disinfection is a thermal process consisting of raising
water temperature for a long enough period of time in
containers that have been prepared to absorb the heat
generated by solar radiation. 12
 FACTORS THAT COULD INFLUENCE SODIS

– Geographic latitude and altitude,

– Season,
– Number of hours of exposure, t
– Time of the day,
– Clouds, and temperature;
– Volume and material of vessels containing the
water;
– Water turbidity and color
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 Advantages of SODIS
• Not dependent on conventional energy

• Avoid the use of toxic chemicals.

• Require relatively simple and low-cost equipment that is easily recovered

• Not environmentally damaging

• Do not consume firewood and thus helps to avoid deforestation.

• Do not extremely simple and inexpensive.

• Easily accepted by the communities.

• Do not smoke like open fires that can cause respiratory diseases.

• No consumables required
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 Disadvantages

• Water needs to be clear for best efficiency (< 30 NTU

(Nephelometric Turbidity Units))

• Can not remove suspended particles or dissolved compounds.

• Requires bright sunlight.

• Waiting period.

• Needs to be cooled.

• Several bottles needed per day 15

 Efficiency:

• Usually, the efficiency to inactivate bacteria is indicated to

be 99.9% (even though it is higher with many specific
organisms). With virus, the efficiency is slightly lower.

• However, if the water contains sediments, it is

recommended to use sedimentation and filtration
(depending on the amount of sediments) to eliminate the
sediment.
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 iii. Ultraviolet radiation (UV)
• Even though it is not popular in the 3rd world, the most
practical physical method that can be used for water
disinfection in a "central" water treatment facility at small
community level is ultraviolet radiation.

• Ultraviolet (UV) water treatment is the disinfection process

of passing water by a germicidal UV light source, typically
low-pressure and medium-pressure mercury lamps.
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the UV light source emits germicidal energy into the water that can alter the
nucleic acid (DNA) of the various bacteria, viruses, molds, and parasites that
may be present in the water, inhibiting their ability to reproduce and
rendering them inactive.

Exposing water to ultraviolet light destroys pathogens.

To assure thorough treatment, the water must be free of turbidity and color.
Otherwise some bacteria will be protected from the germ-killing ultraviolet
rays.

The UV radiation technology is simple to use and highly effective for

inactivating microbes in drinking water,

 it does not introduce chemicals or cause the production of harmful

disinfection by-products in the water 18
The most important parameters of UV radiation
relating to water disinfection are:-
• Wavelength
• Condition of the water
• Intensity of radiation
• Exposure time
• Type of microorganisms

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 Disadvantages:
• No disinfection residual.
• Low penetration power.
• Requires pretreatment of cloudy or
colored water.
• Requires cleaning and new lamp
annually.
• Higher cost of equipment when
compared with chlorine solution
Advantages of UV
• Kills bacteria almost
immediately.
• Compact and easy to use.
• low contact time
• Simple operation and
maintenance
• No chemicals involved.
• Does not modify aesthetic
characteristics of the water.
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Break for
5min
Chemical Method of water disinfection
Chemical methods depend mostly on selected chemicals with oxidizing
and biocidal properties.
The most commonly used chemicals include:-
 chlorine and its compounds,
 potassium and calcium permanganate,
hydrogen peroxide,
Ozone,
bromine,

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 Important characteristics a good
chemical disinfectant
• It is not only important to have the potential to destroy germs. but a good
chemical disinfectant should :-

1. not cause the water to become toxic or unpalatable.

2. be able to destroy all types of pathogens in the water.
3. destroy the pathogens within the time available for disinfection.
4. function properly regardless of any fluctuations in the
composition or condition of the water.
5. function within the temperature range of the water
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6. be safe and easy to handle.

7. be such that it is easy to determine its concentration in

the water.

8. provide residual protection against recontamination.

9. not produce disinfection by-products (DBPs).

10. be readily available and low cost .

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Treatment with Ozone: Ozone readily breaks down into
normal oxygen, and releases nascent oxygen.

The nascent oxygen is a powerful oxidizing

agent and removes the organic matter as well
as the bacteria from the water
 Chlorination: The germicidal action of chlorine is explained
by the recent theory of Enzymatic hypothesis, according to
which the chlorine enters the cell walls of bacteria and kill
the enzymes which are essential for the metabolic
processes of living organisms 25
 Chlorine Chemistry
Chlorine is added to the water supply in two ways

It is most often added as a gas, Cl2(g)

 However, it also can be added as a salt, such as sodium hypochlorite
(NaOCl) or bleach

Chlorine gas dissolves in water following Henry's Law:

Cl2(g) → Cl2(aq)

 Once dissolved, the following reaction occurs forming hypochlorous acid (HOCl):

Cl2(aq) + H2O → HOCl + H+ + Cl-

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Hypochlorous acid is a weak acid that dissociates
to form hypochlorite ion (OCl-)

HOCl → OCl- + H+ Ka = 3.2 x 10-8

All forms of chlorine are measured as mg/L of Cl2

(MW = 2 x 35.45 = 70.9 g/mol)

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Chlorine gas tanks

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• Points of Application:

1.Prechlorination----prior to any other treatment process

2. Post chlorination---after filtration

3.DE chlorination----distant points of the distribution system

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Cont.

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Important Terminologies in chlorination
Chlorine demand:
 The difference between the conc. of chlorine added to the
water and the conc. of chlorine remaining at the end of a
specified contact period
Chlorine demand varies with:
 the conc. of chlorine applied,
time of contact,
temperature, and
water quality
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Chlorine residual
The total conc. of chlorine remaining in the water
at the end of a specified contact period.
Combined available residual chlorine
 Any chlorine in water which has combined with
N2
 The most common source of nitrogen is
ammonia, and compounds formed by the reactions
between chlorine and ammonia are known as
chloramines.
The disinfecting power of combined available
chlorine is about 25 to 100 times less than that of
free available chlorine
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 Breakpoint chlorination

The point at which all of the chloramines have been

oxidized and only free chlorine is formed is called the
“breakpoint “

If no ammonia is present in the water, there will be no

breakpoint

The chlorine required to reach the breakpoint is usually

about 10 times the ammonia nitrogen content of the water
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 Other effects of chlorination
In addition to the disinfection achieved with chlorination, other beneficial
effects should be noted

Since the oxidizing power of chlorine is high, in the presence of free

chlorine, hydrogen sulfide is oxidized, nitrites are oxidized to nitrates, and
soluble iron and manganese are oxidized to their insoluble oxides

Free chlorine also reacts with naturally occurring taste, odor and color
producing organic substances to form chloroorganic compounds, e.g.,
trihalomethanes,THM

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• 1. A chlorine dosage of 110 kg/day is required to disinfect a flow of
1,550,000 lpd. If the calcium hypochlorite Ca(ClO)₂ to be used contains
65% available chlorine, how many kilograms per day hypochlorite will
be required for disinfection?

• 2. A water flow of 900,000 lpd requires a chlorine dose of 3.1 mg/L. If

calcium hypochlorite (65%available chlorine) is to be used, how many
kg/day of hypochlorite are required?

• 3. A tank contains 550,000 liters of water and is to receive a chlorine

dose of 2.0 mg/L. How many kilograms of calcium hypochlorite (65%
available chlorine) will be required?

4. A flow of 2,550,000 lpd is disinfected with calcium hypochlorite (65%

end of the session
Thank you