Chlorine Water Treatment

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Benefits and risks of Chlorine use as a water treatment

Chlorine water treatment is the oldest most basic water treatment. Chlorine is added to water as it has a disinfecting affect. It reduces micro organisms such as bacteria and viruses which are found in water supplies and can cause diseases like Cholera.

Centuries long people have been developing water treatment methods. In ancient Greek, 2000 BC people knew that boiling water purifies it. This method is now days still used to purify the water. After 1500 BC Egyptians used the coagulation process which is a process where in solids in water are separated, the water is than filtered with a filter bag. The coagulation method was used till 1845 AC. In 1845 British scientist John Snow discovered that Chlorine works as a good purifier of water. John Sow was the first scientist who’s water treatment worked well and led to governments starting to install municipal water filters and hence the first government regulation of public water.

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Chlorine is a cheap chemical, easy to apply and saves time. In nature Chlorine is found as a Chloride ion which is a salt deposited in the earth or dissolved in the ocean. After separating Chlorine from Chloride ion it is used in municipal water filters. Only a small amount of the chemical is needed to disinfect the micro organisms which are found in the water pipes. The Chlorines’ result is quick and can be observed immediately after the treatment procedure is completed. As the Chlorine water treatment reacts fast it is used in case of emergencies such as ...

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