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Water Treatment

Key Stage 4

Meaning

Water treatment is the process of removing harmful materials from waste water before being released into the environment.

About Water Treatment

Sewage is treated in several stages to make it safe to be released into the environment:
  1. Filtration - A metal grill with large holes is used to collect large objects that have made their way into sewage.
  2. Sedimentation - Sediment is allowed to fall to the bottom of a container and is removed.
  3. Digestion - Micro-organisms are added to the sediment to break down many of the chemicals into smaller soluble ones.
  4. Disinfection - Chlorine of Ultraviolet Light is used to kill the micro-organisms before then being released into rivers or the ocean.
Water Treatment is important for providing potable water for human consumption.

Extra Information

References

AQA

Water treatment, page 103, GCSE Chemistry; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Water treatment, pages 163-165, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Water treatment, pages 195-8, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 2, Hodder, AQA
Water treatment, pages 252-3, GCSE Chemistry, Hodder, AQA

Edexcel

Water treatment, page 104, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
Water treatment, page 41, GCSE Chemistry; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
Water treatment, pages 112, 113, GCSE Chemistry, CGP, Edexcel

OCR

Water treatment, page 148, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR