Introduction
Water filtration technology is an important tool for providing safe, good and readily available sources of drinking water to everyone all over the world. As the world’s population increases, pollution becomes a problem and technology advances, the future of water filtration has a lot to offer in the ways of water treatment and use. In this paper, the present trend and future prospect of water filtration technology and its relation with nanotechnology, smart technology, sustainability, automation, climate change and possible legal regulations are discussed. These advances will also advance water treatment enhancement to become more efficient hence address social, environmental and public health issues (Shannon, 2019).
Nanotechnology in Water Filtration
Water filtration systems can be considered to be great beneficiaries of nanotechnology in the future. It uses a nanometer scale material which is one- billionth of a meter to improve the filtration process. Carbon nanotubes, grapheme, and nanoparticles are some of the nanomaterials which have recently found their way into water treatment research and development because of their filtering advantage.
These materials possess certain characteristics like, large surface area, increased adsorption rate and better efficiency in removing contaminants like heavy metals, pathogens and hydrocarbons. For instance, grapheme based filters are one of the best that can be utilized to absorb several small particles from water to make water filtration plants more useful in their filtration services. Nanotechnology also offers the possibility of creating new more efficient and energy-saving filtration systems. Some of the previously used water filtration techniques may be costly in terms of energy usage particularly when filtering high volumes of water but application of nanotechnology may reduce the energy utilization and operating cost (Qu, 2018).
Looking at the future, application of nanotechnology in water purification is expected to advance and enhance the level of purification and make purified water available across the different parts of the world to the people who have no access to it. This technology may well become one of the key building blocks in the war against contaminated water worldwide as researchers find ways to make nanomaterials cheaper and easier to manufacture.
Smart Water Filtration Systems
On this note, as the society transits to the INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) AND DIGITALIZATION, smart water filtration systems are emerging trends in the market. Contemporary smart filters include mechanisms with probes and software tools for real-time monitoring of water quality as well as for efficient filtration and prognosis of maintenance needs.
These systems enable water filtration plant operators to keep checking parameters including the pH, turbidity and the amount of contaminants in the water. They help to obtain necessary information about working specifications and can inform about some problems like clogged filter, appearance of new dangerous impurities or something like that. Further, preventive maintenance can also be predicted so that the operators can maintain the equipment even before it fails, through predictive analytics. This helps to minimize on the downtime that is incurred during cleaning, increases productivity, and also guarantees provision of clean water (Kummu, 2019).
Smart Filtration systems can also be linked to remote monitoring and operators hence allowing real-time status check and rectification when the operator is off-site or at remote location. Governments, especially in the developing world, which lacks adequate skilled workforce or technical knowhow will find this capability immensely useful. In the future the water filtration industry will look to incorporate smart technology into the water treatment process as smart technology advances, this will lead to the water filtration industry improving its efficiency.
Sustainable Water Filtration Practices
This is due to the increasing concern of environmentalism in the future use of machinery such as water filtration systems. Most conventional filtration processes take lot of energy, and most of them need chemical inputs which are unhealthy for the environment. Hence, there are pressures to create environmentally friendly techniques and strategies of filtration and technologies as well.
This involves natural materials like sand, Plant based media and bio char where the water is filtered purely without involving chemicals that would normally harm the water. Furthermore, more studies focusing on low energy consuming filtration techniques including the gravity-driven membrane filtration and the solar powered filtration are posing workable remedies on how water treatment plants can embrace low carbon principles (Pendergast, 2020).
Additionally, the idea of the circular water systems where wastewater is treated and directly returned back to the supply and used for non-portable purposes such as agricultural or industrial use is gradually emerging. This is because after the water has been treated, filtration plants can use the same water severally thus conserving water which in another way would be used from other sources. In the future, sustainability plays an important role in the governments’ legislation, the management of the companies, and the consumers’ behavior, affecting the prospects of water filtration plants implementing environmentally friendly technologies and solutions (Miller, 2019).
Automation and AI Integration
Automated systems and artificial intelligence will undetermined the future of water filtration industry through optimization of process, reduction of human errors and increasing capabilities. Advanced technologies used in water treatment include artificial intelligence which regulates the amounts of chemicals used in the process, the rate of filtration and disinfected water used in different processes.
Since these are artificial systems, they are capable of continuous operation, 24/7 without much human interferences and thus can be better suited for large water filtration plants. This means that artificial intelligence can evaluate data history and water quality components to foresee changes in water composition which will allow the filtration system to respond adequately. For instance, AI will notice that there is high bacterial presence in the water which prompts additional disinfections or notify the operators to change the processes they use.
Further, the AI technology can be applied for monitoring and analyzing the condition of the water filtration systems through the sensors which help in identifying the main problems or inefficiencies in these systems in their early stages. This predictive maintenance can also take time but it will help in reducing the costs and increase the life cycle of the equipment’s. While the water filtration plants face pressure due to rise in demand for water, automation and AI will be pivotal to ensure plants are able to produce clean and safe water to the rising demand in a most efficient manner (Elimelech, 2020).
Climate Change and Water Filtration Problems
Seasonal changes in environment are reported to have a critical impact on water resource in the world through quantity and quality. Higher rainfall occurrences, more frequent droughts, higher temperatures and indeed any weather scenarios alter availability of water as well as introduces new forms of pollutants. Therefore, the water filtration plants have to find ways of operating under these conditions to be able to continue to supply quality water that can be consumed by people.
How filtration plants might respond to the challenges posed by climate change is that the plants can employ more robust filtration systems that provide capability of addressing diverse types of patient endogenous matter. For instance, flood disaster with high levels of rains tend to bring pollutants such as silt, sand, debris, and chemicals into water sources which overwhelms the standard filtration mechanism. Effective filtration technologies, which are multi-stage filtration technologies and the utilization of appropriate membranes, can influence extreme conditions (U.S., 2020).
Also, due to climate change, water scarcity can be expected to promote the use of other water sources including sea water or wastewater. Special emphasis has been placed on desalination plants and several form of advanced wastewater treatment technology, as water scarcity continues to arise in many parts of the world. The development of future water filtration will include the adoption of systems that can accommodate to changes in climate as well as capably treating various types of water supplies.
Regulatory Developments in Water Filtration
The amount of contamination in the water sources is raising question marks and with increase in consciousness, regulatory authorities of global ague are revisiting and incorporating more strict norms for water treatment plants. New rules concerning the amount of contaminants to be present in water, testing procedures, and reporting will also become a concern in the future of water filtration since plants have to follow the new rules (Fane, 2021).
Governments are also encouraging the use of environment friendly techniques in its treatment process. For instance, the laws governing the application of certain chemical substances in filtration may be rigid giving way for better practices. Further, with new pollutants emerging over time such as micro plastics, pharmaceuticals among others, filtration plants have to incorporate appropriate technologies that will enable them remove the new emerging pollutants as and when they are required by law or regulatory framework (EPA, 2020).
There will also be the issues of transparency and accountability for instance; Water filtration plants will be expected to issue water quality reports to the regulators and the public. Real-time observation of water quality in plants through record-keeping and prompt alerts assist plants in regulation compliance and problem solving. With increasing regulatory requirements, water filtration plants still have to stay current with the most advanced methods of purification so that they may meet new standards needed for the public.
Conclusion
The future of water filtration is being built by innovation and inventions, development in new products, and increasing more concern towards sustainability and more emphasis on resilience. From nanotechnology and smart filtration systems to integration of Artificial Intelligence and coming changes in legislation, the water filtration industry is on the verge of radical changes. These trends will help the water filtration plant in continuing with its functions, manage larger amounts of contaminants and will help it to cope with the impacts of climate change. In the future, water filtration will be developed according to global needs that are still increasing in terms of clean water access while also conducting sustainable practices. In this case, water filtration plants should embrace these trends and predictions as a result of fulfilling social needs while ensuring people’s health (Water., 2020).