Chapter 7 - Conventional methods and materials used for water treatment in rural areas

Abstract

Globally, in rural areas, water is the most precious resource for humans to be used in purified form. Since ancient times all civilizations adopted the method of purification. Chronologically humans learned many methods for the purification of water in order to make it potable around all the civilizations. There is certain evidence present regarding different methods of water purification like distillation and the use of minerals or elements (Cu, I, Ag) between 4000 BCE and 1000 BCE. In Egypt, people used aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, or a mixture of both. Greece used Hippocrates sleeve before boiling and ancient India used sand and gravel filters according to Susruta Samhita. In Mali, people have used the winnowing sieve method and cloth for filtration. In the Bali region of Indonesia, Jempeng stone filter method is used where water is impure due to wind. In Tanzania, coconut filters and bone char are used for purification. Filtration is also done in various ways like by clay vessels in Egypt, by gravity filters in Khem, by oyster filters in Australia, by hollow wax balls used by Aristotle, and by sand filters used by Romans and Greeks. In various rural regions of many countries like India, Africa, and Arabian countries coagulation is performed by natural coagulants like Moringa oleifera. In a holistic approach, different inhabitants in different civilizations adopted different types of traditional methods like boiling, solar (microbial removal) and chemical disinfection, chlorination, sedimentation, minerals usage, three pot method, aeration, adsorption-based method [bone char, charcoal (Sumerians, Egyptians, IVC, Greeks, etc.), activated charcoal], screening, by using plant parts in India, etc. to purify water in their rural areas from ancient to present time. World is facing a scarcity of drinking water as the sources of potable water have only a reservoir of 2.4%. United Nations has also set Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) for providing clean drinking water to all by 2030. Purification of water to make it drinkable through traditional knowledge can prove a solution to achieve this goal. So, this chapter has been compiled to throw some light on water purification from ancient times till the present.