Conditions for water disinfection

Conditions for water disinfection

Drinking water disinfection is linked to other water purification steps. A proper disinfection can only take place when water is already purified to a certain extent. The circumstances will than be suitable for disinfection, because the larger part of pathogenic microorganisms present in the water will be removed during primairy water purification steps.
Dissolved and floating particles must be removed from water, because these may react with disinfectants to disinfection byproducts and because they are a substrate for microorganisms. Moreover, microorganisms are harder to remove from water when adsorption to floating particles in water takes place. The concentrations of floating particles in water must be low when disinfection is apllied, preferably below 1 mg/L. Chemical substances that are present in water through human or natural causes may also influence disinfection. The substances react with disinfectants to disinfection byproducts. This causes the concentration of disinfectants needed to properly remove microorganisms to be much higher. It is also harder to maintain a residual concentration.

Adequate waste water treatment can make the disinfection of drinking water more efficient. This is often neglected. When waste water treatment is insufficient, water that is polluted with all kinds of pathogenic microorganisms and chemical pollutants will end up in the environment. This negatively influences the environment, mainly surface water quality. Surface water is used for the production of drinking water.
To enhance waste water quality, waste water is purified. The purification process includes a disinfection step.