In this lecture, prof. Rietveld introduces a typical treatment process in Dutch drinking water systems: softening.
Nearly all of the drinking water in The Netherlands is distributed with a total hardness between 1.0 and 1.5 mmol/L (5 – 9 ^oD). At many drinking water production plants the raw water is much harder and therefore softening is part of the treatment scheme. At most locations softening is achieved by so called pellet reactors or fluidized bed reactors.
The lecture deals with the theoretical acpects of this process, and the practical applications.