Materials and Processes for Treatment of Microbiological Pollution in Water

Abstract

Clean and safe water is vital for the life and health of human beings. However, there are still millions of people around the world with inadequate clean water sources. Microbiological pollution is one of the most concerned water pollutants and is the crucial cause of waterborne diseases like diarrhea, resulting in about two million deaths annually due to severe dehydration (WHO in Guidelines for drinking-water quality. Incorporating the first addendum, WHO, Geneva, 2017). It is critical to develop methods using advanced materials and process to mitigate contaminants from water resources. Production of safe water usually involves disinfection and decontamination processes. Conventional disinfection process, such as chlorination, is challenged by the formation of disinfection by-products. Furthermore, the presence of emerging pathogenic, that resist conventional water treatment techniques, raised the crucial necessity for emerging materials and techniques for treating water from microbiological pollution (Shannon et al. in Nature 452:301–310, 2008). This chapter describes bacterial, viral, and protozoal microbiological pollution in water supplies and the application of emerging materials and techniques to eliminate such contaminations. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.