Latest Advances in Water Technology

Since the development of the well system, some 10,000 years ago; water technologies have always been central to the development of the human race. Opening up new liveable areas for societies and improving standards of health; water technologies now provide basic sustinence and act as a major source of energy across the globe.

 

Many of the world greatest minds have worked with water technologies to improve living standards from Archimedes developing his eponymous screw pump to today’s innovators in nanotechnology.

 

Modern scientific minds are tackling many of world’s current problems with the assistance of water technologies, including illness and advanced irrigation. Researchers in Indian have started investigating the capacity for nanotechnology in water filtration to provide safe drinking water in third world countries.

 

The World Health Organisation report that 1.6 million die every year due to diarrhoea attributable to unsafe drinking water and insufficient sanitation. Using nanotechnology, the researchers have developed a solution to this issue, removing bacteria, microbes and other foreign matter using composite nanoparticles. The low cost (£1.50 a year per family) make it a viable option for even the poorest communities. Membrane chemistry is also responsible for increasing the amount of water safely consumable for humans. Recent research and breakthroughs have developed techniques to turn salt water into fresh water. The cost of this treatment, known as desalination, is constantly falling, making it a more commercially viable option on a larger scale. The cost of desalinating seawater is still very expensive, and requires significant amounts of energy. A desalination plant in Singapore has been working extensively on the process of biomimicry since 2005. Biomimicry mimics the biological process used by mangrove plants and euryhaline fish to extract seawater, using minimal energy.

 

Harry Seah, chief technology officer for Singapore's national water agency, explains: “If science can find a way of effectively mimicking these biological processes, innovative engineering solutions can potentially be derived for seawater desalination. Seawater desalination can then be transformed beyond our wildest imagination.” Technological advances are even made in the field of leak management, helping to make water usage more efficient and less wasteful in both professional and domestic environments. It has been reported that a stunning 60% of all water used by pumping stations, reservoirs, water catchment plants and treatment plants is unaccounted for. By managing water use, leaks and loss; these advances could reduce the amount of water used by half without inhibiting impact. More controlled use of water in irrigation can also significantly cut the amount of wasted water. With 70% of the world’s freshwater used by the agricultural industry, intelligent computer monitoring systems utilising precise algorithms will reduce waste in both the long term and the short term.

 

For a full range of Complete Pump Supplies’ water technologies, visit our homepage or call our specialist team on 0333 323 2329.