Water Treatment Chemicals in South Africa
South Africa needs approximately 26 billion litres of additional water annually to serve almost 19% of rural communities without access to clean, fresh drinking water. At WaterIcon, we realise the urgency of these statistics and use, among other techniques, our SANAS 17025 accredited laboratory to research, develop, and produce water treatment chemicals and other solutions to purify water and assist in meeting these dire requirements.
The Seven Methods of Water Treatment
To fully understand the challenges that are being faced, one first needs to analyse conventional surface water treatment plants, the seven methods of water treatment, and the water treatment chemicals that are currently being used in South Africa and the rest of Africa:
- Coagulation and Flocculation: This is the process of rapid, thorough mixing of water treatment chemicals that include alum or polymer with raw, untreated water. The process is slowed down to allow particles in the water to coagulate together (or floc). Slow mixing allows the flocculating clump to gain in mass and settle in what is known as clarifier bins.
- Sedimentation and Clarification: Once flocculation is complete, clearer water flows from the centre of the clarifier via weirs for filtration while the collected floc “sludge” is pumped to sedimentation ponds or basins.
- Filtration: Clarified water is processed through filters from top to bottom. Gravity allows the water to pass through various filtering mediums such as sand and gravel or granular activated carbon to remove finer pollutants, boosting the effectiveness of disinfection.
- Disinfection: Filtered water may still contain microscopic organisms which are removed by adding chlorine. The addition should be enough to kill off the remaining organisms while not affecting the taste or odour of the liquid.
- Sludge Drying: Solid waste gathered from flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration is pumped to drying areas called ponds, basins, or lagoons.
- Fluoridation: This process adjusts the concentration of fluoride ion content within the treated water. The result is a purified liquid that is safe to drink and minimises tooth decay.
- pH Correction: Stabilising naturally soft water reduces corrosion in both the suppliers’ distribution system and the domestic plumbing of the recipients. This is done by introducing lime with the filtered water to positively adjust the pH levels.
Water security is a serious challenge in South Africa, and it is going to take growth, expertise, and development to supply the growing need for clean drinking water in this country. Patented products, procedures, and water treatment chemicals produced at WaterIcon (and in collaboration with our international partners) are proving to be positively assisting in this process. We provide end-to-end water treatment solutions which include conventional water treatment, research and development on difficult effluents, new and innovative chemical formulations, and water analyses that are cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Connect with WaterIcon – specialists in water management solutions.