In the tabel below you find the most conventional physical water treatment methods. They involve processes that remove contaminants or reduce unwanted properties from water without the use of chemicals.
These methods leverage physical forces or barriers to treat water.
When the physical force is very small and act on hydrogen bonds, we call it quantum water treatment technology.
On this website we focus on complementary physical treatment technologies that can enhance the efficiency of conventional treatments and/or can reduce the use of unwanted chemicals and biocides even more.
| Water Treatment Method | Common Positive Effects | Common Negative Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Sand Filtration | Simple, inexpensive | Regular maintenance, ineffective against dissolved pollutants |
| Activated Carbon Filtration | Removes odors, chemicals | Periodic replacement required |
| Reverse Osmosis | Broad contaminant removal | High water waste, maintenance |
| Ultrafiltration | Effective against pathogens | Susceptible to fouling |
| Nanofiltration | Softens water, specific chemical removal | Not as thorough as RO |
| Microfiltration | Lower energy requirements | Does not remove viruses or small molecules |
| Screening | First step in treatment | Only for large particles |
| Sedimentation | Low energy | Ineffective for dissolved pollutants |
| Distillation | Removes most contaminants | Energy-intensive |
| Aeration | Improves taste, smell | Limited contaminant scope |
| UV Disinfection | No chemicals | Doesn’t remove non-biological contaminants |
| Ozonation | Effective disinfectant | Possible harmful by-products |
| Electrocoagulation | Removes diverse pollutants | Electrode maintenance, energy use |
| Ion Exchange | Water softening, removes metals | Requires regeneration; doesn’t remove organics |
| Electrodialysis | Effective desalination | High energy, membrane fouling |
| Electromagnetic Treatment | Non-chemical scale prevention | Efficacy debated, doesn’t remove existing scale |
| Ultrasonic Treatment High-and low-power | Non-chemical, various applications like algae and biofilm prevention | The signal form and sequence is critical per application |
| Membrane Bioreactors | High-quality effluent | High operational costs |
| Hydraulic Ram | No external energy needed | Limited application |
| Bank Filtration | Natural pre-treatment | Dependent on geographical conditions |
| Vacuum Filtration | Effective for specific applications | Requires energy, specific use cases |
| Biological Filtration | Natural process, improves water quality | Time for biofilm development |
| Disk Filtration | Efficient particle removal | Maintenance for cleaning disks |
| Bag Filtration | Simple and versatile | Bags need replacing |
| Rapid Sand Filtration | Effective for turbidity reduction | Requires backwashing |
| Slow Sand Filtration | Low maintenance, effective against pathogens | Large land area required |
| Ceramic Filtration | Effective for pathogens | Pores can clog |
| Centrifugal Filtration | Fast, effective for dense particles | Not for fine particles |
| Gravity Filtration | Low energy | Limited by filter type |
| Pervaporation | Effective for specific separations | Energy-intensive |
| Forward Osmosis | Low energy requirement | Requires draw solution recovery |
| Mechanical Vapor Recompression | Efficient for desalination | High initial costs |
| Freeze-Thaw Desalination | Low-energy desalination | Slow process |
| Multi-Stage Flash Distillation | Large-scale desalination | High energy and capital costs |
| Cloud Seeding | Potentially increases water supply | Unpredictable results |
| Ice Pigging | Effective pipe cleaning with minimal water | Requires specific equipment |
| Air Stripping | Removes certain chemicals, gases | Not for non-volatile compounds |
| Structured Water Devices | Proven scale and biofilm prevention ; Claims of health benefits | Scientifically difficult to prove, but many industrial references are available |
| Magnetic Water Treatment | Scale and corrosion prevention claims | Lack of consistent scientific evidence |
| Electrodeionization | Continuous operation, no chemical regenerants | Requires pre-treated water |
ps.
The only chemical we consider for some applications is the use of 100% biodegradable organic hydrogen peroxide, stabilized with non-metallic additives.