The Pros And Cons Of Lack Of Clean Water

INTRODUCTION

Lack of clean water is affecting millions of people today.Almost 1 out of every 6 people alive are unable to adequately access water, and worse still, over double that number lack basic sanitation, for which water is a necessity.(Abebe, 2011)Almost half the population in some third world countries can’t access clean water and availability of drinking water is becoming a major socio-economic issue across the world, particularly in the developing world.

Clean water i.e. water that is free from toxins and various chemicals is essential to human health. Rapid increase in population, industrialization, droughts and demands from variety of users are the major factors that led to clean drinking water shortage. Many factors contribute

Water purification by using nanomembranes can provide solution to their problem.

DISCUSSION

Desalination processes that are mostly being used for water purification includes Reverse Osmosis, and filtration through nanomembranes. Both these processes use pressure driven membrane technology which is employed at various configurations.

Reverse Osmosis

Pressure is used to drive the water through the membrane, leaving the salt behind. Desalination through reverse osmosis removes the salts from the water with the help of membrane. These membranes are non porous and allows certain materials to pass through them. The holes in the mesh of reverse osmosis membrane are of the size that allows only water molecules to pass through them, leaving behind the salt molecules. Salt is a prospective by-product of desalination by reverse osmosis. High operating pressure is required to push the water through these membranes. Water cleaned through reverse osmosis is free from dissolved salts, organics and bacteria. However, relatively high energy consumptionmakes the costs of desalinating water through reverse osmosis generally higher than its alternatives.(Martin-Lagardette,