Water Treatment Today

It worked for the Egyptians. But we don’t live in ancient times.

As early as 1500 B.C., the ancient Egyptians reportedly used the chemical alum to cause suspended particles to settle out of water. This method, known as flocculation, is still commonly used to treat water today.

While this method was groundbreaking for its time and helpful for centuries, it has outlived its effectiveness, and represents an inferior solution to water and wastewater treatment. Sionix Corporation's DAF system floats the particulate matter to the surface where Sionix' patent pending controlled skimming process removes the waste.

At best, most water treatment facilities only remove particles 3 to 4 microns or larger. Sionix removes more than 99.5% of particulate matter including organic and biological agents, at sizes down to 1 micron.

How water is typically treated:

Substance addition. A substance is added to the water (like alum used by the Egyptians). This substance creates “floc,” which are tiny sticky particles.

Coagulation. The floc attracts dirt and other particles suspended in the water. They clump together, creating heavier particles.

Sediment formation. Once the heavier particles are formed, they settle to the bottom as sediment.

Filtration. With the heavier particles settled, the clear water moves on to be filtered. The most common filtration method is “slow sand” or sand-anthracite. In this, water flows into large shallow beds and passes through layers of sand, gravel, and charcoal.

Disinfection. In the final step, powerful disinfectants are used to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. The amount of disinfectant exceeds what is necessary just to kill these organisms - enough must be added to ensure the water stays safe through the delivery system to the customer. Chlorine is the most commonly used disinfectant. Others include chloramines, ozone, and ultraviolet (UV) rays. Disinfection does not remove the parasitic organisms remaining in the water stream.