What is the Procedure for Water Filtration? 

Water filtration is the process of removing unwanted contaminants and impurities from fluids such as water, chemicals or gasses. It also helps to keep liquids pure and free of chemical and biological contaminants such as heavy metals, bacteria, pathogens, chemicals, fungi, microorganisms, viruses and parasites that may be harmful to humans or their pets, equipment or the environment. 

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There are several steps involved in the water filtration procedure, each designed to meet a particular set of requirements. The procedures vary depending on the nature of the raw water, the quality required by the target consumer and the type of filtration needed. 

Pretreatment

The first step of the water filtration procedure is to pre-treat the water to remove chlorine taste/odor and to eliminate iron, manganese, and other heavy metals in the water. This is done by aerating the water and allowing it to settle. 

During aeration, the water is pumped through pipes with bubbles of compressed air which forces out bad smells and CO2 from the water. It also helps to break down metallic ions such as iron and manganese into their hydroxides. 

Next, the water is filtered and passed through a number of filters made from different materials with different pore sizes to remove any particles that might remain in the water. The pores in these filters are typically small enough to allow water to pass through but large enough to keep the finer particles out of the filtered water. 

Sand filtration

Another water filtration procedure uses sand, which is a porous material with pores that are smaller than most particles found in the water. The sand granules can be coated with a coagulant such as calcium chloride to help the sand float on top of the water. 

A sand filter can also be designed to trap bacteria and other microscopic organisms, such as giardia and cryptosporidium cysts, by reducing their sensitivity to light and temperature. This is an effective way to reduce the risk of diarrhea from these germs, which are usually the cause of illness among children. 

Ultrafiltration, Nano-filtration and Reverse Osmosis

The filtration procedure used for most commercial water supplies involves a series of membrane processes known as reverse osmosis, micro-filtration, ultrafiltration and nano-filtration. These filtration techniques remove most of the inorganic solids and dissolved chemicals from the water.