Innovations in water conservation and treatment Essay

Water recycling and treatment is very essential today since fresh water scarcity can be felt in many parts of the globe; conservation of water is really needed. What is â€Å"grey water† and how could it be useful to us? Include comments about â€Å"purple pipes† in this discussion. Grey water is wash water or any water used at home such as from dish, shower, sink, and laundry. Grey water does not include water that comes from toilets wastes and garbage grinders which is called black water. Not any of the sources of grey water contains disease organisms found in waste water. Grey water has fifty to eighty percent of inhabited waste water, can be reused for other purposes, especially in land irrigation. (Ludwig 2007) First, we should know the distinctions between grey water and black water in order for us to understand fully how to manage them and why they should not be mixed together, for environmental security as well. In combined waste water, toilet wastes have ninety percent of Nitrogen, which is the most alarming and not-easily-removed pollutants affecting the prospective drinking water supply, while grey water holds about ten percent only, which is mostly organic so animals can still use it when filtered. Human pathogens can be found significantly in feces according to health professionals. Since black water has more pathogens contained, toilet wastes should be kept out of waste water stream to radically reduce the risk of spreading such organisms through water. Lastly, grey water pollutants decompose quicker than that of the black water which implies a more rapid stabilization and prevention of water pollution. (Lindstrom 2000) Plants doesn’t necessarily need to thrive on pure drinking water, it would be a waste to do so since they can actually be flourished with used water with small bits of compost. Grey water reuse is one of the essential solutions to many environmental threats and will basically remain in the up coming generation. How can grey water be useful to us? What are its benefits? First, fresh water can be conserved because grey water can replace it in many purposes, increasing effective water supply in irrigation sites and at the same time money is also saved. Secondly, reuse of grey water causes less strain on septic tank or treatment plant, extending its capacity and existence. For the local government, if wastewater flow decreases the effectiveness of the treatment becomes higher, while lowering its costs. Also, grey water protects the quality of natural surface and ground waters, given that it is purified to an enormously high level in the upper, most organically active region of the soil. Moreover, energy and chemical use will lessen because instead of undergoing a treatment and pumping, wastewaters are being used for some other purposes. The use of grey water for plants revives groundwater. Besides it also facilitates a landscape to boom even if there is no enough water to support a large amount of plant growth. Erosion can take place when there is loss of nutrients through wastewater disposal in bodies of water, however the cultivated nutrients in grey water helps maintain the fertility of the land. Lastly, it takes account in yielding the awareness of the sensible husbandry of a significant resource. (Ludwig 2007) Purple pipes in the ground are used for irrigating plants and many other purposes but not for drinking. Indirect recycling of wastewater is better than using alternative water supplies such as purple pipes because it requires less effort to install, maintain and employ. It is also less costly. Indirect water recycling would benefit everyone, not just those areas serviced by purple pipes. (Queensland Government 2006) What is â€Å"desalinisation†? In your answer, include discussions of â€Å"reverse osmosis† and one other method of desalinization. Be sure to include the pros and cons of the methods discussed. Today, approximately only one percent of the Earth’s water is fresh; the oceans are being utilized to supplement the supply of fresh water. Desalination (also called desalinization) is the process of purifying seawater or brackish water, removing dissolved solids from water, to obtain a safe and clean drinking water. Method of desalination fall under two major categories: the thermal (evaporative) methods and the membrane based methods. (Gold Coast 2004) The membrane methods involve the use of force against salts or water through a synthetic membrane. Some examples of processes include electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, and nano-filtration. Reverse osmosis (RO) forces water through a membrane under external pressure to reverse natural osmotic flow. Water flows from a more intense saline solution as pressure is applied through the semi-permeable membrane. The remaining feed water that hasn’t passed the membrane yet will increase its salt concentration. The pressure at the surface of the membrane is increased to eliminate some feed water to prevent precipitation of supersaturated salts. Pretreatment, includes fine filtration and accumulation of acid or other chemical substances to restrain precipitation, is vital to prevent precipitation of salt and formation of microorganisms on the membranes. RO is considered as the most proper and suitable technology for desalination of seawater for drinking because it can remove chloride salts, pathogens and other contaminants. (Advameg Inc) One advantage of using membrane method is that it requires less energy than using thermal method, which consumes a large amount of heat energy to be able to perform evaporation. Moreover it has a lower visual impact. Nevertheless, some disadvantages include membranes are sensitive to feed water which may cause scaling and fouling. These methods also require a high level of pre-treatment. The efficiency and costs of the procedure is reliant on the salinity of feed water. (Gold Coast 2004) In thermal methods, the water will be subjected to evaporation leaving salt behind in concentrated brine. Then, it will be condensed in order to provide roughly pure water. Common processes include heat distillation, multi-stage flash, multi-effect distillation, mechanical vapor compression, and thermo-compression distillation. For example, in heat distillation, large amount of heat is being used to refine fresh water from sea water. Derived from the natural hydrologic cycle, whereas seawater is heated, water vapors are produced, and then condensed to form fresh water. In desalination plants, seawater is being subjected to large amount of heat to meet its boiling point to tolerate maximum vaporization. To make this process possible, the atmospheric pressure is being decreased to lower the boiling point of the seawater. With a lower boiling point, multiple boiling can be done using lower energy requirement and the rate of carbonate and sulfate scale productions on the equipment is being controlled. (Advameg Inc) The advantages of using thermal methods are the following; the systems are tough and insensitive to feed water quality variations, the energy efficiency is not affected by salinity levels, and lastly it produces a high quality of water. Some disadvantages include intensive energy required and high visual impact. (Gold Coast 2004) There are still many other methods that are being developed by the different sectors, whether private or governmental, in order to conserve fresh water and recycle the wastewater to make every drop useful and productive. These innovations would play a very important part in the long run; it can solve the problems regarding water shortage and scarcity all over the world. Everyone will benefit. References: About, Inc 2007, What is Reverse Osmosis? Available from: [19 September 2007]. Advameg Inc 2007, Desalinization. Available from: < http://www. waterencyclopedia. com/Da-En/Desalinization. html> [19 September 2007]. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation June 1993. , FactSheet: Wastewater Recycling Systems. Available from: [19 September 2007]. Bynum, J April 9, 2007, Purple Pipes: The New Government Bio-Terrorism Threat. Available from: [19 September 2007]. City of Roseville 2007, Recycled Water. Available from: [19 September 2007]. Ecological Internet 2007, World Running Out of Water. Available from: [19 September 2007]. EcoWorld Inc 2007, The Global Environmental Community. Available from: [19 September 2007]. General Electric Company 2007, Desalination. Available from: [19 September 2007]. 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