WATER CONSERVATION IN HOUSEHOLDS

INTRODUCTION:

‘WATER CANNOT BE CREATED BUT CAN BE CONSERVED….’

In the course of time, there have been many changes that have caused major changes in the water quality and the ecological status of water.

Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants. Due to these contaminants, it either does not support human use, such as drinking water or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its biotic communities, such as fish. Water is also being wasted in large amounts. 

We have been facing a lot of problems related to water such as:

•Wastage of water

•Overexploitation of groundwater

•Hard water in hilly areas

•Contamination of water

•A high amount of pathogens in water

Such pollution is a major source of death and disease worldwide, especially in developing nations. Even in wealthier nations where piped water supplies mean that water pollution poses fewer direct threats to human health, many lakes and rivers are polluted.

The consequences of these problems have been impact-making:

•Diseases

•Endangered aquatic life

•Ineffective agriculture

•Destruction of food chains (biological magnification)

The solution

We aim to establish a fully-functional water sustaining system in our community. All the water from the drainage of our households doesn’t end up anywhere where we can us it productively. The amount of water wasted and resources exploited is a lot. Waste products can be used for producing energy. Waste water can be filtered and reused again, it can be used to generate electricity using its kinetic energy, faces can be used in biogas plants, H₂ gas evolved can also be used for generating energy.

DESCRIPTION:

Materials required:

1. Turbine
2. Waste water with urine and other wastes separated
3. Zinc electrodes
4. Pipelines
5. Alum
6. Filter paper and sieves
7. Water tank

Working of the model:

• The water from different households must be collected such that the water mixed with urine and the water mixed with faeces would be in separate tanks. This is because if the water is mixed in the start itself then the next processes will be affected.
• The water must be poured through a turbine which would rotate it and produce electricity. This electricity can be further used to supply households with electricity and a part of it can also be used for the electrolysis of urine.
• The water with faeces must be filtered out. The water must be taken to a sedimentation unit. Whereas the residue can be sent to a biogas plant where it will decompose into biogas which consists of fuel gases like methane hydrogen, hydrogen sulphide and many more.
• The water with urine can be taken to electrolysis plant where the urine can be electrolysed. This will result in the production of various useful gases such as hydrogen. Since urine is a mixture of many salts and urea there will be deposition of many metals like sodium potassium and calcium on the cathode. The reaction is as follows: –

Anode reaction:

CO(NH₂)₂ + 6OH^– —-> N₂ + 5H₂O + CO₂ + 6e^–

Cathode reaction:

6H₂O + 6e^– —–> 3H₂ + 6OH^–

Overall reaction:

CO(NH₂)₂ + H₂O —–> N₂ + 3H₂ + CO₂  

• After the complete electrolysis of urine there will be foam formed. This foam can be mixed with biogas in order to supply homes with gas for cooking and other domestic purposes. This foam has a high content of hydrogen and it being present in the form of foam reduces its rate of combustion and makes it even more usable when mixed with biogas. Moreover, there is no pollution as no harmful sulphur or nitrogen oxides are released into the air.
• The leftover water can be transferred into another container which would be mixed with water containing bile salts and soap also. Soap and bile salts are emulsifying in nature and hence can be easily separated by a substance called alum. Alum is a group of compounds that help in making non-polar compounds comparatively more polar thus making the in soluble in non-polar compounds such as water. This helps in settling down all the compounds at the bottom.
• After the settling down of all the compounds the suspension must be transported to another tank where it is filtered. The water that comes out is not yet free of harmful microorganisms. To kill all the microorganisms the water must be chlorinated.

Applications: –

• The water obtained can be reused in households for domestic purposes.
• It will significantly reduce the rate of groundwater depletion as there will be a self-sustained water system in the locality itself.
•  It will be highly cost efficient and the apprehension of groundwater depletion will come to an end if this plant is set up on a large scale.
• If distillation is also carried out at the last then the water can also be used for drinking purposes.

Illustrations:

DIAGRAM: