Recycled Water Filtration

Have you ever wondered where the water comes from when you wash your hands or fill a glass of water to quench your thirst? At Lowell Corp we produce the tools that are used to build and maintain the pipelines that allow the water to reach your house, but today we will go over the process of how some of that water is recycled and re used before it reaches you.

With continued population growth worldwide the demand for fresh water is also continuously growing. With the use of modern technology and a great amount of research we can now mimic the process of cleaning water and do it a much faster rate. Water recycling employs the same principles as the hydrologic cycle but is much more efficient and the end product is purer. Microfiltration and reverse osmosis are the most advanced phases of water treatment, and the end product is as pure as the bottled water you buy at your local supermarket.

The recycling process begins with a multistep process that mimics nature’s purification process.

Phase 1: the first phase is the primary treatment, this process begins when the wastewater reaches the sewage treatment plant. Here the solids are removed from the water. Then tiny micro-organisms, like those that are found in natural rivers and other bodies of water are added. These micro-organisms eat particles that are too small to see or too light to settle. Once they are full and heavy they fall to the bottom and cleaner water rises to the surface. The water then goes through a filtration process where the water percolates through layers of fine coal, sand, and gravel much like the natural process of underground aquifers. There are also additional disinfectants such as chlorine added to kill germs. At this point, the water is suitable for use in landscape irrigation and commercial uses.

Phase 2: Before the water is deemed ready to drink, the purification process is taken a step further. There is a microfiltration process, during this phase the water is pressurized through pipes containing straw-like fibers that are 5,000 times smaller than a pin hole. At this point the water is at a level of purity that was consumed by our ancestors but the process goes yet another step further and eliminates virtually all impurities.

Phase 3: This final step is reverse osmosis, water is pressurized at about 200 pounds per square inch though tightly wound layers of membranes with pores that are 5 million times smaller than a pinhole.