Aqua Live Streaming Expo – Aeration, Thursday 8 October 2020, at 15:00 Cental Africa Time
We are starting off a brand new series with our Aqua Live Streaming Expo’s on Thursday 8 October! In the new series we will be focusing on different applications every week, so tune in to learn all about aeration in our upcoming Aqua Live Streaming Expo. The new series will not focus on one specific type of product but on the requirements and options available to ensure you are the champion that produces the right solution to your project challenge.
The next application is one that is close to our hearts as it will focus on Agriculture. Tune in on Thursday 15 October 2020 to see what challenges our farmers face with water storage on how those challenges can be overcome. Book the date to join the Aqua Live Streaming Expo – Agriculture, on Thursday 15 October 2020, at 15:00 Join us by attending the Zoom meetings or follow our channels on YouTube and FaceBook.
As a preview to the Aeration application that we will discuss on 8 October, let us have a brief introduction on the subject. Aeration brings water and air in close contact in order to remove dissolved gases (such as carbon dioxide) and oxidizes dissolved metals such as iron, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic chemicals. Oxygen is added to water through aeration and can increase the palpability of water by removing the flat taste. Any procedure by which oxygen is added to water can be considered a type of water aeration. There are a number of ways to aerate water, and can be done on both on the surface and under the water. Aeration is the most critical component of a waste water treatment system using the activated sludge process. A well designed aeration system has a direct impact on the level of wastewater treatment it achieves. An ample and evenly distributed oxygen supply in an aeration system is the key to rapid, economically-viable, and effective wastewater treatment. Subsurface aeration releases bubbles at the bottom of the water body and allow them to rise by the force of buoyancy. Diffused aeration systems utilize bubbles to aerate as well as mix the water. Water displacement from the expulsion of bubbles will cause a mixing action to occur, and the contact between the water and the bubble will result in an oxygen transfer into the water. Low levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) eventually causes poor water quality which lowers the ability of the water to support life. Fish needs oxygen in the water to survive and aerobic bacteria help decompose organic matter. Aeration of water and other fluids is not only used in water treatment works, but also in the food processing industry. To find out more about this exciting application please join us Thursday 8 October at 15:00 on the next Aqua Live Streaming Expo.
Economic implications of water scarcity
What are the technologies which show the most promise for addressing water shortages over the next 10 years?
Recycle wastewater efficiently
New technology and effective processes are needed for effective waste water treatment, especially in water stressed countries like South Africa who is dependent on water imports from Lesotho. A big step ahead however will be to just maintain and operate our current water treatment works efficiently, which is sadly not currently the case for most municipalities in South Africa.
Improve irrigation and agricultural practices
Up to 70 percent of the world’s freshwater is used for agriculture. By improving irrigation practices it can help to close supply and demand gaps. In some instances archaic irrigation practices like open irrigation canals must be changed to lesson evaporation and water drainage losses.
Develop energy efficient desalination plants
To date, desalination has been an energy-intensive solution to water scarcity. Typically the Middle East has capitalized on its large energy reserves to build desalination plants. But Saudi Arabia could be fostering a new kind of desalination with its recent announcement to use solar-powered plants. Britain has taken a different approach with small-scale facilities for agriculture. But these innovations bring to light another needed resource—the capital for technological experimentation.
Improve water catchment and harvesting
Water catchment systems are essential for areas with no other reliable water sources. Pakistan and India – two countries that are severely challenged by water scarcity, are overhauling rainwater harvesting systems in an effort to provide independent control of water resources.
Improve distribution infrastructure
Poor infrastructure is devastating to health and the economy. It wastes resources, adds costs, diminishes the quality of life, and allows preventable water-borne diseases to spread among vulnerable populations, especially children. The problem is not confined to the developing world. Pipes burst on a regular basis in the U.S., prompting boil alerts. Sewage treatment systems regularly overflow and malfunction, causing beach closures.
Shrink corporate water footprints
Industrial water use accounts for approximately 22 percent of global consumption. The corporate footprint includes water that is directly and indirectly consumed when goods are produced. As sustainable manufacturing becomes more important, given the increasing severity of water scarcity, experts question the costs of one industry sector in particular: bottled water.
Although the technology exists to treat and recycle water, the technology is for the most part very expensive. A cost effective solution is therefore urgently required, as many part of the world are currently battling to cope with the demand for potable drinking water. With the world population growing at a tremendous rate, the need will just grow exponentially with time. The biggest requirement may not be technology though, but to change the attitudes of whole communities to appreciate the value of clean water, and to have the awareness that water is a scarce resource.