Water Purification for Human Consumption | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Water Purification for Human Consumption


Abstract:

This project is to research, propose, and test the alternatives to the current water purification methods. Two most important objectives are to reduce the cost and make t...Show More

Abstract:

This project is to research, propose, and test the alternatives to the current water purification methods. Two most important objectives are to reduce the cost and make the solution available to the people with minimal infrastructure. Problem Description: Water is critical for life. Even though two thirds of the earth surface is covered with water, not all of it is suitable for human consumption. United Nations statistics show that 1.2 billion people, or almost one in every five, have water scarcity now and another 1.6 billion people do not have sufficient infrastructure to use the water available to them in rivers and aquifers (https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml). Water extracted from rivers, lakes, and aquifers is not suitable for human consumption in most cases without purification. Water purification is expensive and difficult process which requires chemicals like Aluminum Sulfate. These chemicals interact with suspended solid particles in the water in a process called flocculation, which creates heavy particles that sink to the bottom. After flocculation, the clear water is further purified with Chlorine or other anti-microbial chemicals. These chemicals are produced in expensive factories and require transportation over long distances to reach the intended population. The infrastructure required to collect, purify, and distribute the water is very expensive and requires large capital investment for long term. These high costs and requirement of capital investments are further complicated in politically unstable regions of the world. In view of this background, there is a need to find innovative solutions to the water purification to reduce costs, capital investment, and bring the solutions to the needy people. Research, proposed solution, and results: This research was focused on how different civilizations in the past dealt with the water purification problem, especially when there were no chemicals, factories, and water supply infrastructur...
Date of Conference: 13-13 March 2021
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 29 April 2022
ISBN Information:
Print on Demand(PoD) ISSN: 2330-331X
Conference Location: Princeton, NJ, USA