Water treatment has often been neglected over the past decades, leading to escalating water pollution and depletion of clean water resources. In an era marked by population growth and diminishing water supplies, addressing water contamination and revolutionizing water management is paramount.
Water treatment plays a crucial role in safeguarding our global water supplies and the environment. It is imperative to tackle the root causes of water depletion, one of which is pollution.
Decontamination requires a bilateral approach – treating water before use to ensure safety, and treating wastewater before discharge to mitigate pollution entering the water cycle. This inevitably helps reduce the spread of disease, food chain contamination, and damage to aquatic ecosystems.
However, compounding this issue further are various micropollutants, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, fertilizers, pesticides, active pharmaceutical ingredients and trace metals. These present a multifaceted challenge that demands a comprehensive approach, often requiring a combination of treatment steps such as coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, advanced oxidation, activated carbon treatment and disinfection, as well as biological treatment for wastewater.
Another significant concern is the presence of persistent, man-made chemicals known as PFAS
Studies have shown that exposure to PFAS can have adverse effects, including links to various cancers2. These chemicals also contaminate water and soil, posing a threat to entire ecosystems3. Consequently, there is a global effort to regulate and reduce their use, with nations implementing policies and measures to eliminate or reduce the production of chemicals of concern, including PFAS.
Companies and manufacturers need to align their operations with evolving legislation and restrictions, taking action upstream to prevent PFAS from entering the water cycle and soils, and downstream to treat water before use or discharge to the environment. As standardized analysis methods exist for only about 50 PFAS compounds in water, it is currently not possible to assess global PFAS removal. Advancements in granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins, high-pressure membrane systems and in situ thermal solutions are our best line of defense for reduction of PFAS in water and soil.
Technology at heart: Actiflo® Carb
As a high rate clarification technology, Actiflo Carb is designed to treat and refine water. It combines fast flocculation and sedimentation performance with the adsorption capacity
of powdered activated carbon to adsorb non-flocculable organic matter, taste and odor compounds, pesticides and emerging micropollutants, such as PFAS. It is specifically
designed to efficiently treat pollutants resistant to traditional clarification methods to achieve superior treated water quality.
Prioritizing water treatment, recycling and safe reuse is crucial for a sustainable future. By investing in advanced technologies and comprehensive water management strategies, we can effectively address water pollution, persistent chemicals and water scarcity. This proactive approach not only safeguards our precious water resources but also protects human health and preserves the delicate balance of aquatic ecosystems for generations to come.
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(1) CHEM Trust “PFAS – the ‘Forever Chemicals’” - signatory to the “Zürich Statement on Future Actions on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)” (2018).
(2) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: NTP (National Toxicology Program). 2016. Monograph on Immunotoxicity Associated with Exposure to Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). Last Reviewed: November 1, 2022.
(3) National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Center for Biotechnology Information: PFAS
Concentrations in Soils: Background Levels versus Contaminated Sites, Mark L. Brusseau, R. Hunter Anderson and Bo Guo, Sci Total Environ. 2020 Oct 20.