Kenya is an East African country that has exhibited tremendous economic growth in the last few decades. This growth has resulted in expansion of existing towns and cities. As is the case with most cities all over the world, there is a tremendous amount of waste water that is generated. We will explore some of the ways in which municipal water treatment in Kenya is being carried out.
Chemical methods are among those that are widely used. This technique employs chemical reactions aimed at eliminating toxins from sewerage before it is released to the environment. Chlorination is perhaps the most well known option under this category. Chlorine, an oxidizing chemical, works by killing microorganisms. This effectively reduces the rate of decomposition of sewage. Another common example here is ozone.
Neutralization is an alternative that has been adopted by some plants. This is a technique that involves the addition of an alkali or an acid to the effluent with the aim of changing its pH. Acidic waste may be neutralized by addition of lime. In coagulation technique, the chemical that is added results in formation of an insoluble product making it easier to get rid off.
Physical methods are perhaps the simplest and the most widely used. These methods do not cause any biological or chemical change on the waste water. Sedimentation is one of the options that fall under this category. The method largely relies on the force of gravity for its success. Because solids are generally denser than liquids, they will sink to the bottom while liquid waste remains at the top. This makes separation a lot easier.
Aeration is the process through which air is pumped into the effluent. The amount of oxygen within this wastewater is increased and this is favourable to aerobic bacteria. The bacteria increase in numbers rapidly and break down organic matter within the waste.
Filtration is often used in conjunction with other methods. It is used to get rid of solid particles from liquids by forcing the effluent to pass through sieves. The sieves may be more than one and arranged in series so as to increase efficiency. The sand filter system is quite popular in Kenya.
Biological systems have been readily embraced and are either used in isolation or alongside the other methods. Microorganisms (mostly bacteria) are released to the effluent to facilitate biochemical decomposition. The by-products of this decomposition include water and carbon dioxide and several others. The methods may be classified as aerobic or anaerobic.
The main objective of water treatment is to make it safe before it is released to the environment. This is true for all cities that operate sewage effluent treatment systems and is also true for Kenyan cities. The efficiency of the process in Kenya is quite low mostly because a volume of effluent is being directed to overstretched treatment plants. There is a need to commit more resources to this exercise by the government as well as the private sector.
Chemical methods are among those that are widely used. This technique employs chemical reactions aimed at eliminating toxins from sewerage before it is released to the environment. Chlorination is perhaps the most well known option under this category. Chlorine, an oxidizing chemical, works by killing microorganisms. This effectively reduces the rate of decomposition of sewage. Another common example here is ozone.
Neutralization is an alternative that has been adopted by some plants. This is a technique that involves the addition of an alkali or an acid to the effluent with the aim of changing its pH. Acidic waste may be neutralized by addition of lime. In coagulation technique, the chemical that is added results in formation of an insoluble product making it easier to get rid off.
Physical methods are perhaps the simplest and the most widely used. These methods do not cause any biological or chemical change on the waste water. Sedimentation is one of the options that fall under this category. The method largely relies on the force of gravity for its success. Because solids are generally denser than liquids, they will sink to the bottom while liquid waste remains at the top. This makes separation a lot easier.
Aeration is the process through which air is pumped into the effluent. The amount of oxygen within this wastewater is increased and this is favourable to aerobic bacteria. The bacteria increase in numbers rapidly and break down organic matter within the waste.
Filtration is often used in conjunction with other methods. It is used to get rid of solid particles from liquids by forcing the effluent to pass through sieves. The sieves may be more than one and arranged in series so as to increase efficiency. The sand filter system is quite popular in Kenya.
Biological systems have been readily embraced and are either used in isolation or alongside the other methods. Microorganisms (mostly bacteria) are released to the effluent to facilitate biochemical decomposition. The by-products of this decomposition include water and carbon dioxide and several others. The methods may be classified as aerobic or anaerobic.
The main objective of water treatment is to make it safe before it is released to the environment. This is true for all cities that operate sewage effluent treatment systems and is also true for Kenyan cities. The efficiency of the process in Kenya is quite low mostly because a volume of effluent is being directed to overstretched treatment plants. There is a need to commit more resources to this exercise by the government as well as the private sector.
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