The Swiss were using chlorine in the 1800s, and by the early 21st century, Americans had discovered its effectiveness of chlorine as one of the best water treatment products. Today, we know even more, and use chlorine to ensure that water is safe, potable, free of contaminants and easy to supply in small or mass quantities. The forms used include compressed gas, NaOCI or sodium hypochlorite solution, and Ca(OCI)2 or solid calcium hypochlorite. However, there are also many different systems and methods available.
Modern Water Treatment Products
As an example, you can find electro chlorination that can be used in such settings as sewage treatment plants, seawater conversion processes as well as briny water solutions. This could be used to create drinking water, make safe supplies for pools, for clean water for the food and beverage industry, to remove odors and more.
The chlorine dioxide systems can be fully submerged or in vacuum type systems encapsulated for function in many unique settings. This would apply to treating cooling waters, cleansing raw water supplies, handling circulating water and even taking waters from effluent plants and refineries. There are ozone systems that can process enormous amounts per hour and more.
In other words, there are now plenty of solutions with which to begin addressing the global challenges in fresh water supplies. This does not mean that humans can continue to use available fresh water with abandon, but it does mean that there are now advanced water treatment products that can work to undo some of the challenges and damages by using chlorination products and systems to create clean, safe, potable water again.
Why Chlorine?
With all of the advancements, many still wonder why chlorine has to be one of the purification agents of choice. The answer is simple – it is so remarkably effective at inactivating microorganisms that it just cannot be abandoned. At levels of four parts per million, it does the job of purifying water by destroying the cellular membranes of pathogens, and all without any harm to humans who might use or consume the water.
Because chlorination can be done at any time in the whole water treatment process, it is a highly adaptable method for creating safe supplies. Agencies of all kinds, including governmental, commercial and others require systems that can be customized to their needs, but the good news is that premium providers create a diversity of products to ensure clean water is always available.