BIOL 360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Ciliate, Critical Role, Activated Carbon
Document Summary
The process of converting raw hudson river water into potable water at the filtration treatment plant takes about three hours. The methods of treating water have changed over the years to become safer and more time and cost efficient. The procedure of creating drinkable water begins with the neutralization of the water and sediments. Al3+ is used to neutralize the negative particles within the water which then allows the particles to floc and coagulate. Microbes contribute to this process by beneficially creating stable flocs which settle well. Occasionally, depending on the microorganism s present, a bulking sledge may be formed by instead which does not settle easily because of the filamentous structure. After the coagulated particles settle, the water becomes much less turbid decreasing from an original estimation of 130 turbidity units down to 2 turbidity units. Filtration then occurs where the water passes through one foot of sand and two feet of granule activated carbon.
