Hello,
I'm currently working on a project which consists of removing the main salts of sea water using chemical means (in order to get the unwanted substances form a new salt which wouldn't have a good solubility, thus allowing one to remove it). Our experiment is going quite good up to now, but a question came into my mind: would you trust drinkable water made through chemical means? Our results aren't confirmed so far, but if I was able to give you the water and tell you that it is 100% ok to drink, would you trust it?
I'm eager to know how people will react to this 
| Soltair wrote: |
Hello,
I'm currently working on a project which consists of removing the main salts of sea water using chemical means (in order to get the unwanted substances form a new salt which wouldn't have a good solubility, thus allowing one to remove it). Our experiment is going quite good up to now, but a question came into my mind: would you trust drinkable water made through chemical means? Our results aren't confirmed so far, but if I was able to give you the water and tell you that it is 100% ok to drink, would you trust it?
I'm eager to know how people will react to this |
I have trusted to chemically cleaned water previously - in the outback in Australia. We used commercial kits to purify stream water several times. Tasted like a wombat's armpit, but did the trick and aside from a spot of the old montezuma's revenge (bad stomache for a couple of days - more likely down to mineral or other non-organic differences in the water than any nasty bugs) things worked out fine
Regards
Chriswhy not, the difference is only that, in before we rely on the nature/recycel, but maybe future we rely on you/ourselves 
it seems to me we are all ready relying on chemically treated water for our existance now!
people are ready to adopt technologies since these days technology is the only to get away from risk...
Yes however there are a lot of pre-conceived ideas about chemical processes. Everybody wants "bio" things, natural substances and the likes. The most ridiculous was when I heard a "Aloes is good for you because it is not chemical!". 
Just to think that everything is chemical...
But I'm glad to know that at least some people would try it out i would be good thing that we can pure drinkable water from seas, but i think that this entire process would make that water will be expensive, so that water wouldn't be a common good but an expensive good.
Yes... I do know that. HOwever, the other processes demand a lot of energy too and present some other difficulties. Our project's source is Mauritany and the region of the Dead Sea, where drinkable water is a rare good.
Many public water systems use chemical process in cleaning the water. Maybe not as agressive as what you are doing, but chemical processes all the same.
As with one of the above posts that used chemicals to purify water in the wild, I have done the same. I did not find the water tasting bad and had no problems with it.
There are parts of the world where clean, potable water is not plentiful. A safe affordable approach to increasing that supply would be useful. However, remember to consider what is done with the by products.
I would want to be assured that the chemicals you were using weren't extremely toxic, since I would expect some small amount to remain in the purified water. The salt water itself wouldn't concern me, since it's only the _large quantity_ that makes it undrinkable.
In the final analysis, the question has to be what impurities are left in the water, and in what quantity. The result is important; the method for achieving it is secondary. I assume the water might need to be filtered after the precipitated salts were removed.
Well it is truly an experiment, so in the scientific method we must concentrate only in precipitating substances (which is not quite exactly possible, I'll know if it can be done or not in January), without regard to the possible toxicity of the said precipitated substances.
We will however check out in which proportion the salts are removed, and if we added unwanted substances or not. Still, the "making drinkable water" is not even quite part of our goal, which would sound more like "Is it possible to chemically remove the main anions and cations of sea water?" THEN, if it can be done, could we possibly try it out for drinkable water?
Merry Christmas! | Soltair wrote: |
Well it is truly an experiment, so in the scientific method we must concentrate only in precipitating substances (which is not quite exactly possible, I'll know if it can be done or not in January), without regard to the possible toxicity of the said precipitated substances.
We will however check out in which proportion the salts are removed, and if we added unwanted substances or not. Still, the "making drinkable water" is not even quite part of our goal, which would sound more like "Is it possible to chemically remove the main anions and cations of sea water?" THEN, if it can be done, could we possibly try it out for drinkable water?
Merry Christmas! |
In fresh water common ion exchange systems use a zeolite resin bed to replace unwanted Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions with benign (soap friendly) Na+ or K+ ions.
Here's a Wikki article may help....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification
Regards
Chris | Soltair wrote: |
Yes however there are a lot of pre-conceived ideas about chemical processes. Everybody wants "bio" things, natural substances and the likes. The most ridiculous was when I heard a "Aloes is good for you because it is not chemical!". Just to think that everything is chemical...
But I'm glad to know that at least some people would try it out |
I think herpes is natural too. You want that in your water?
Anyway, chemicals have been added to our water for awhile now. I've been to water treatment plant. I didn't freak out or anything.Yeah, I think we are already pretty used to chemically cleaned water and the people not having any drinking water sure won't care too much how they get it.
The price of the process is going to be important though, most people needing drinking water don't have much money to get it 
We have checked the results for the resin purification and it is very effective. However it is also quite hard not to completely remove the salts, as drinkable water still contains a bit of those...
My first question would be "Are these chemicals safe for the environment?" If it was, then why not? There are a couple of ways that humans can "produce" water. I have an idea, but likewise it may take a while, if it were technically possible.
But it may not be impossible for humans to create a machine that can manipulate both hydrogen and oxygen. We have an abundance of these specific gases. If this machine could manipulate the two, then clean water could form.
| chastise wrote: |
My first question would be "Are these chemicals safe for the environment?" If it was, then why not? There are a couple of ways that humans can "produce" water. I have an idea, but likewise it may take a while, if it were technically possible.
But it may not be impossible for humans to create a machine that can manipulate both hydrogen and oxygen. We have an abundance of these specific gases. If this machine could manipulate the two, then clean water could form. |
We already have such technology and have had for a long time. It is called electrolysis (used in splitting H and O). To form water from H and O is very simple. The reaction is simply 2H2 + O2 --> 2H2O. All that neeeds to be added is energy (a spark will do the trick on a small scale).
Regards
Chris
