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Encyclopedia > Chlorinated water

Chlorination is the process of adding the element chlorine to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water. Water which has been treated with chlorine is effective in preventing the spread of disease. General Name, Symbol, Number chlorine, Cl, 17 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 3, p Appearance yellowish green Atomic mass 35. ... Impact of a drop of water. ... Water purification is the removal of contaminants from raw water to produce drinking water that is pure enough for human consumption or for industrial use. ... It has been suggested that Water supply be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Refractory disease be merged into this article or section. ...


The chlorination of public drinking supplies was originally met with resistance, as people were concerned about the health effects of the practice. The use of chlorine has greatly reduced the prevalence of waterborne disease as it is effective against almost all bacteria and viruses. Health effects, health impacts or health risks are an important consideration in many areas, such as hygiene, pollution studies, workplace safety, nutrition and health sciences in general. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... Groups I: dsDNA viruses II: ssDNA viruses III: dsRNA viruses IV: (+)ssRNA viruses V: (-)ssRNA viruses VI: ssRNA-RT viruses VII: dsDNA-RT viruses A virus is a microscopic particle (ranging in size from 20 - 300 nm) that can infect the cells of a biological organism. ...


Chlorination is also used to sterilize the water in swimming pools and as a disinfection stage in sewage treatment. It can also apply to the addition of chlorine to other elements, such as gold in the formation of gold chloride. 50 meter indoor swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, or wading pool is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for recreational or competitive swimming, diving, or for other bathing activities that involve swimming, e. ... Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from sewage. ... Gold(III) chloride, traditionally called auric chloride, is one of the most common compounds of gold. ...

Contents

Chemistry in Water

When chlorine is added to water, hypochlorous and hydrochloric acids form: Hypochlorous acid is a weak, unstable acid with chemical formula HOCl. ... The chemical compound hydrochloric acid is the aqueous (water-based) solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCl). ...

Cl2 + H2O → HClO + HCl

Depending on the pH, hypochlorous acid partly dissociates to hydrogen and hypochlorite ions: Dissociation in chemistry and biochemistry is a general process in which complexes, molecules, or salts separate or split into smaller molecules, ions, or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. ... The hypochlorite ion is ClO-. A hypochlorite compound is a chemical compound containing this group, with chlorine in oxidation state +1. ...

HClO → H+ + ClO-

The hypochlorite ion then most often degrades to a mixture of chloride and chlorate ions:

3 ClO → 2 Cl + ClO3

Drawbacks

Disinfection by chlorination can be problematic, in some circumstances. Chlorine can react with naturally occurring organic compounds found in the water supply to produce dangerous compounds, known as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The most common DBPs are trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids. Due to the carcinogenic potential of these compounds, federal regulations in the United States of America require regular monitoring of the concentration of these compounds in the distribution systems of municipal water systems. However, the World Health Organization has stated that the "Risks to health from DBPs are extremely small in comparison with inadequate disinfection."[1] Benzene is the simplest of the arenes, a family of organic compounds An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon and hydrogen; therefore, carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and elementary carbon are not organic (see below for more on the definition controversy... Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemical compounds in which three of the four hydrogen atoms of methane (CH4) are replaced by halogen atoms. ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ... The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. ...


There are also other concerns regarding chlorine including its volatile nature which causes it to disappear too quickly from the water system, and aesthetic concerns such as taste and odour. The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ... Taste is one of the traditional five senses and refers to the ability to detect of flavor of foodstuffs and other substances (e. ...


Alternatives

Several alternatives to traditional chlorination exist, and have been put into practice to varying extents. Ozonation is used by some municipalities in the United States. Due to current regulations, systems employing ozonation in the United States still must maintain chlorine residuals comparable to systems without ozonation. For other uses, see Ozone (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number chlorine, Cl, 17 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 3, p Appearance yellowish green Atomic mass 35. ...


Disinfection with chloramine is also becoming increasingly common. Unlike chlorine, chloramine has a longer half life in the distribution system and still maintains effective protection against pathogens. The reason chloramines persist in the distribution is due to the relatively lower redox potential in comparison to free chlorine. Chloramine is formed by the addition of ammonia into drinking water to form mono-, di-, and trichloramines. Chloramine (monochloramine) is chemical compound with the formula NH2Cl. ...


Water treated by filtration may not need further disinfection as a very high proportion of pathogens are removed by microorganisms in the filter bed. Disinfection is the destruction of pathogenic and other kinds of microorganisms by physical or chemical means. ...


The advantage of chlorine in comparison to ozone is that the residual persists in the water for an extended period of time. This feature allows the chlorine to travel through the water supply system, effectively controlling pathogenic backflow contamination. In a large system this may not be adequate, and so chlorine levels may be boosted at points in the distribution system, or chloramine may be used, which remains in the water for longer before reacting or dissipating. Chloramine (monochloramine) is chemical compound with the formula NH2Cl. ...


Another method which is gaining popularity is UV filtration. It leaves no residue in the water.


Many of the water treatment plants and their related piping infrastructure in the United States are outdated, some dating to the civil war era. Alternatives to chlorination are not feasible in most cases due to cost concerns. The cost of updating facilities to use more modern and safer disinfection methods is generally seen as too costly. Much of Europe, which has a more modern infrastructure, employs safer disinfection methods. Several European nations have banned the use of chlorine in drinking water due to health concerns. There is empirical evidence which suggests that communities which use chlorinated water have a higher incidence of cancer.


See also

Water fluoridation is the practice of adding fluoride compounds to water with the intended purpose of reducing tooth decay in the general population. ... Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ... Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaClO. A solution of sodium hypochlorite is frequently used as a disinfectant and as a bleaching agent; indeed, often it is simply called bleach, though other chemicals are sometimes given that name as well. ...

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