MIEX® water purification process

[摘要] The water we drink comes mostly from dams and rivers. It usually contains several impurities: suspended solid matter, such as dirt, leaves and so on; waterborne diseases such as Escherichia col i, giardia or worse; and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), also known as natural organic matter (NOM) and as 'Colour'. To make it suitable for drinking, water must be treated so that the suspended matter is removed, and any pathogens killed by disinfection with chlorine or ozone.During the 1990s a team of Australian scientists from CSIRO and the company Orica, in collaboration with the South Australian Water Corporation, developed a new way to remove organic materials, from the water supply. it was called the MIEX® process, the acronym for magnetic ion exchange. The process makes water cleaner and safer at a lower cost than previous methods and in less time. The MIEX® process uses a specially designed resin. The resin has a magnetised component which allows the particles to act as weak magnets, giving them unique settling and other handling characteristics.The MIEX® process has been described by US water specialists as potentially the 'magic bullet' the world's water utilities have been searching for and is now a significant part of the Orica Watercare [external l ink] business. By 2011 there were 37 MIEX® systems operating internationally with a further 8 under construction. Of these, only three are operating in Australia: at Mount Pleasant in South Australia, Wanneroo in Western Australia and Airey's Inlet, Victoria.

[发布日期] 2011-04-11 [发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)