Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature. It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and fluorine.
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for human consumption, but water purification may also be carried out for a variety of other purposes, including medical, pharmacological, chemical, and industrial applications. The methods used include physical processes such as filtration, sedimentation, and distillation; biological processes such as slow sand filters or biologically active carbon; chemical processes such as flocculation and chlorination; and the use of electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light.
Chlorine dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula ClO2 that exists as yellowish-green gas above 11 °C, a reddish-brown liquid between −59 °C and 11 °C, and as bright orange crystals when colder. It is an oxidizing agent, able to transfer oxygen to a variety of substrates, while gaining one or more electrons via oxidation-reduction (redox). It does not hydrolyze when it enters water, and is usually handled as a dissolved gas in solution in water. Potential hazards with chlorine dioxide include health concerns, explosiveness and fire ignition. It is commonly used as a bleach.
Disinfectants are chemical agents designed to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilization, which is an extreme physical or chemical process that kills all types of life. Disinfectants are generally distinguished from other antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics, which destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics, which destroy microorganisms on living tissue. Disinfectants are also different from biocides — the latter are intended to destroy all forms of life, not just microorganisms. Disinfectants work by destroying the cell wall of microbes or interfering with their metabolism.
Cryptosporidium, sometimes informally called crypto, is a genus of apicomplexan parasitic alveolates that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea with or without a persistent cough in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient humans.
Monochloramine, often called simply chloramine, is the chemical compound with the formula NH2Cl. Together with dichloramine (NHCl2) and nitrogen trichloride (NCl3), it is one of the three chloramines of ammonia. It is a colorless liquid at its melting point of −66 °C (−87 °F), but it is usually handled as a dilute aqueous solution, in which form it is sometimes used as a disinfectant. Chloramine is too unstable to have its boiling point measured.
Portable water purification devices are self-contained, easily transported units used to purify water from untreated sources for drinking purposes. Their main function is to eliminate pathogens, and often also of suspended solids and some unpalatable or toxic compounds.
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. UVGI is used in a variety of applications, such as food, air, and water purification.
The Phenol coefficient, is now largely of historical interest, although the principles upon which it is based are still used. It is a measure of the bactericidal activity of a chemical compound in relation to phenol. When listed numerically, the figure expressing the disinfecting power of a substance by relating it to the disinfecting power of phenol may be a function of the standardized test performed. For example, the Rideal–Walker method, introduced in 1903 gives a Rideal–Walker coefficient and the U.S. Department of Agriculture method gives a U.S. Department of Agriculture coefficient.
The Rideal–Walker coefficient, now only of historical interest, is a figure expressing the disinfecting power of any disinfectant. It is the ratio of the dilution of the disinfectant that kills a microorganism to the dilution of phenol that kills the organism in the same time under identical conditions. The Rideal–Walker coefficient determines the phenol coefficient utilizing the method (test) described by English chemists Samuel Rideal (1863–1929) and J. T. Ainslie Walker (1868–1930).
Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product which is used industrially and domestically to remove color from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains. It often refers, specifically, to a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite, also called "liquid bleach".
Chloramination is the treatment of drinking water with a chloramine disinfectant. Both chlorine and small amounts of ammonia are added to the water one at a time which react together to form chloramine, a long lasting disinfectant. Chloramine disinfection is used in both small and large water treatment plants.
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) result from chemical reactions between organic and inorganic matter in water with chemical treatment agents during the water disinfection process.
Halazone is a chemical compound with the formula can be written as C
7H
5Cl
2NO
4S, or (HOOC)(C
6H
4)(SO
2)(NCl
2). It has been widely used to disinfect drinking water.
Copper zinc water filtration is a high-purity brass water filtration process that relies on the redox potential of dissolved oxygen in water in the presence of a zinc anode and copper cathode. It uses dissolved impurities within water as constituent substrate, which are reduced to more physiologically inert compounds.
Electrochlorination is the process of producing hypochlorite by passing electric current through salt water. This disinfects the water and makes it safe for human use, such as for drinking water or swimming pools.
Water chlorination is the process of adding chlorine or chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to water. This method is used to kill certain bacteria and other microbes in tap water as chlorine is highly toxic. In particular, chlorination is used to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
Mixed oxidant solution is a kind of disinfectant which is used for disinfecting, sterilization and eliminating pathogenic microorganisms in water and in many other applications. Using a mixed oxidant solution for water disinfection (see portable water purification), compared to other methods, such as sodium hypochlorite, Calcium hypochlorite, chlorine gas and ozonation may have various benefits such as higher disinfecting power, stable residual chlorine in water, improved taste and odor, elimination of biofilm and safety. Mixed-oxidant solution is produced by electrolysis of sodium chloride brine (sodium chloride) and is a mixture of disinfecting compounds. The main component of this product is chlorine and its derivatives (ClO−, HClO and Cl2 solution). It may also contain high amounts of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) solution, dissolved ozone, hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) and oxygen. This is the reason for calling this solution mixed oxidant.
Chlorine-releasing compounds, also known as chlorine base compounds, are a family of chemicals that release chlorine. They are widely used to disinfect water, medical equipment, and surface areas as well as bleaching materials such as cloth. The presence of organic matter can make them less effective as disinfectants. They come as a powder that is mixed with water before use.
Diving equipment may be exposed to contamination in use and when this happens it must be decontaminated This is a particular issue for hazmat diving, but incidental contamination can occur in other environments. Personal diving equipment shared by more than one user requires disinfection before use. Shared use is common for expensive commercial diving equipment, and for rental recreational equipment, and some items such as demand valves, masks, helmets and snorkels which are worn over the face or held in the mouth are possible vectors for infection by a variety of pathogens. Diving suits are also likely to be contaminated, but less likely to transmit infection directly.
