WATER : dealing with chemical contamination

hi - there are loads of threads on water that all concentrate on how to neutralise pathogens [ bacterial , viral and parasitic ] by various filtration and chemical treatments or boiling

but one topic seems to be over looked by a majority of people :

dissolved solids and miscible liquid contamination .

and only 2 realistic options will deal with this :

reverse osmosis

distillation

and both are far more labour // power intensive - use far more complex and costly equipment - and in the case of distilation - need a degree of skill [ as a flawed distillation attempt can actually make things worse ]

this is a problem i have on a regular basis - yup i have access to water - but its unusable so we have to haul in potable water - as chemicals and filters will not produce safe water

this OP is just a springboard for discussion - i will expand it tonight

but i want to get the ball rolling on awarness of the issues

water that has all suspended solids removed and all pathogens killed - is not garunteed safe to drink

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Activated charcoal is another option.
Distillation usually will carry over the chemicals, if their boiling point is lower than water.

I work in the waste water/fresh water treatment field [industrial and all natural] ...currently. Previously in chemical plant(s) specific waste water treatment and lab [WWTL].

The question you ask is complicated and requires access to sampling.

If no facility is available: Distillation (for discussion) is a better bet if in an emergency; if you would have access to activated carbon, filter for a few hours and then distill. Carbon filtering is not AS effective in the field...but has value.

Distillation, will not remove chemicals with boiling points lower than water eg. Benzene. Also the altitude has an affect on this method (many forget).

Try reading water treatment information from 1890-1940. There is good info there...but no real answer for "all" chemicals

mg

a reply to: ignorant_ape

I use a reverse osmosis filter and a distiller, it come's out at 0ppm every time, pure as rain water.