Kenya is among the fastest growing economies on the continent of Africa. There has been an expansion of urban centres thanks to the rapid population growth. Waste water treatment has become an important aspect in the management of the urban centres. In this article, we will explore the methods that have been employed to facilitate municipal water treatment in Kenya.
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 also another option that can be adopted easily. The idea here is to neutralize the pH of sewerage effluent. This means that if it has been determined to be acidic, a base will be added and if it is too basic, an acidic compound will be added. Coagulation method involves the addition of a substance to the effluent with the aim of creating an insoluble product that can be easily removed.
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 based methods are fairly new in most areas in the country but their use has been on a steady increase. With these methods, microorganisms are added to the effluent to aid with biochemical decomposition. The process results in formation of water, carbon dioxide and other by-products. These methods are broadly divided into aerobic and anaerobic options depending on whether or not oxygen is used.
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 also another option that can be adopted easily. The idea here is to neutralize the pH of sewerage effluent. This means that if it has been determined to be acidic, a base will be added and if it is too basic, an acidic compound will be added. Coagulation method involves the addition of a substance to the effluent with the aim of creating an insoluble product that can be easily removed.
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 based methods are fairly new in most areas in the country but their use has been on a steady increase. With these methods, microorganisms are added to the effluent to aid with biochemical decomposition. The process results in formation of water, carbon dioxide and other by-products. These methods are broadly divided into aerobic and anaerobic options depending on whether or not oxygen is used.
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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