Since personal consumption of water is not more tan 10 liters per capita per day, remediation of acidic rainwater with baking soda is feasible a...

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Since personal consumption of water is not more tan 10 liters per capita per day, remediation of acidic rainwater with baking soda is feasible and appropriate. Wonder what could be causing such low acidity in rainwater - are there coal burning power stations nearby or any other polluting industries? Nice to know rain harvesting is a popular environmental initiative in Guatemala. It is a rage in India with in raising acceptance of rainwater for all uses including drinking. The concern here is organic contamination, which is tackled with UV. Shankar www.refurbindia.com ;    

3 Comments

  2. Shankar, I agree with your comments about utilization of rainwater by raising the pH.  Not sure that baking soda is the agent to perform that task most cost-effectively.  But, the wealth-in-water to be recovered is in the PROPER treatment of wastewater.  Only 30% of India's wastewater is "treated" and most of that is woefully inadequate. Also, the final step in the use of the supposed "gold standard," aerated sludge treatment, is bogus at best, and a crime against nature at worst.  Especially the final step of chlorination which, in itself, creates a whole host of additional problems.  

    A truly viable alternative is phyco & phyto-remediation. That is the use of natural algae and plant based methodologies.  This is not something bizarre or untried.  These systems are in use all over the world, including in India.  The sad thing about the applications of these technologies as they currently exist in India, is their failure due to improper design or poor/inappropriate operating methods.  This is all about to change (stay tuned).  

    Serendipitously, there is the added benefit of recovering water that is treated to a standard that allows it to be utilized for irrigation of human food crops.  Right now, Israel recycles 95% of its wastewater.  This replaces the use of potable water, now being used for crop irrigation, (the heaviest use of potable water in India) which, in India, is a potential crime against humanity, given that there available alternatives that actually, EFFECTIVELY treat and recycle wastewater. To be able to use properly, safely recycled wastewater to replace the use of potable water would be a net savings of potable water in the hundreds of billions of liters.  There is hardly a country on Earth that has a greater need for such conservation than India.  

    In addition, using phyco & phyto-remediation not only cost effectively and safely recycles wastewater and sequesters carbon but it also creates a biomass that can be converted into biofuels and a whole portfolio of industrial chemicals.  Stay tuned.