Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in sewage treatment plants. Sewage is treated to remove all the chemical and biological hazards, making it safe to release into water bodies. Chlorine also oxidises a large number of organic molecules such as lipids and proteins.
Why is chlorine used in sewage treatment plants?
Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in sewage treatment plants. Sewage is treated to remove all the chemical and biological hazards, making it safe to release into water bodies. Chlorine also oxidises a large number of organic molecules such as lipids and proteins. Chlorine and water together form hypochlorous acid.
What is chlorine used to disinfect?
Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in sewage treatment plants. Sewage is treated to remove all the chemical and biological hazards, making it safe to release into water bodies.
How does chlorination kill bacteria in water?
Chlorination involves adding a measured amount of chlorine to water to produce a residual sufficient to kill bacteria, viruses, and cysts. The killing effect of chlorine depends on the pH of the water, temperature, chlorine level and contact time (i.e., the time the chlorine is in the water before consumption).
What is chlorination and how does it work?
Chlorination is the process of adding chlorine to drinking water to kill parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Different processes can be used to achieve safe levels of chlorine in drinking water. Using or drinking water with small amounts of chlorine does not cause harmful health effects and provides protection against waterborne disease outbreaks.
Why is chlorine used in the water treatment process?
To prevent contamination with germs, water companies add a disinfectant—usually either chlorine or chloramine—that kills disease-causing germs such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and norovirus.
Why is chlorine used in wastewater treatment sometimes?
Chlorine needs time to inactivate any microorganisms that may be present in the water being treated for human consumption. The more time chlorine is in contact with the microorganisms, the more effective the process will be.
Why is chlorine used as a bleaching agent?
Chlorine and its derivatives have the ability to oxidise coloured objects, thus making them colourless. Thus they find various applications as bleaching agents in the fabric and paper industry.
What is chlorine used for?
Its most important use is as a bleach in the manufacture of paper and cloth, but it is also used to make pesticides (insect killers), rubber, and solvents. Chlorine is used in drinking water and swimming pool water to kill harmful bacteria.
What is the process of adding chloramine to drinking water to disinfect it and kill germs?
Chloramination is the process of adding chloramine to drinking water to disinfect it and kill germs. It is sometimes used as an alternative to chlorination. Chloramines are a group of chemical compounds that contain chlorine and ammonia.
When was chlorine first used?
Chlorine was first used in the United States as a major disinfectant in 1908 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Chlorine use became more and more common in the following decades, and by 1995 about 64% of all community water systems in the United States used chlorine to disinfect their water.
What is the best disinfectant for drinking water?
Several major U.S. cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, and Washington, D.C. use chloramine to disinfect drinking water. Chloramine is recognized as a safe disinfectant and a good alternative to chlorine.
What is the EPA's water treatment system?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows drinking water treatment plants to use chloramine and chlorine to disinfect drinking water. Water system pipes develop a layer of biofilm (slime) that makes killing germs more difficult.
What is the EPA's hotline for chloramine?
EPA provides guidance for local water authorities switching to chloramine on how to minimize lead and copper levels. If you are concerned about lead or copper levels in your household water, call EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 for testing information.
Where is chloramine used?
Chloramine has been used as a drinking water disinfectant in the United States in places like Cleveland, Ohio, Springfield, Illinois, and Lansing, Michigan since 1929. In 1998, an EPA survey estimated 68 million Americans were drinking water disinfected with chloramine.
What is the purpose of water in dialysis?
During dialysis, large amounts of water are used to clean waste products out of a patient’s blood. Dialysis centers must treat the water to remove all chemical disinfectants, including chlorine and chloramine, before the water can be used for dialysis.