Removing chemicals & odorless solutions

[SunsetClause]

If there was chemicals in something like water is there a simple way to remove them?

If I had a liquid substance and it had some kind of odor is there a way to make it odorless but preserve the other properties of the substance like taste?

[GAHD]

for the most part, taste = odor. Your tongue can only pick up bitter, sour, etc..

To remove whatever from water, the easyest way is to use a centrifuge: it'll seperate the liquid into layers by overcoming it's base suspention qualities. Heavy goes to the bottom, lite goes to the top.

did that help you?

[SunsetClause]

Originally Posted by GAHD

To remove whatever from water, the easyest way is to use a centrifuge: it'll seperate the liquid into layers by overcoming it's base suspention qualities. Heavy goes to the bottom, lite goes to the top.

did that help you?

I assume the good part of the water would be the top? Would a centrifuge separate chemicals? What if the chemicals are lighter or heavier than water?

[GAHD]

the lighter chemicals will end up on top, the denser ones on bottom. By exaple, if you mix salt with water (salt water) the salt will dissolve and suspend in th water. Running this salt through a centrifuge will yeald water on top, and the salt will go to the bottom as it is heavyer.

Water does not always go to the top, it is the lighter fluid that will rise.

capiche?

[C1ay]

Originally Posted by SunsetClause

If there was chemicals in something like water is there a simple way to remove them?

Maybe, maybe not, it would depend on the chemicals. Like Gahd pointed out, some could be removed with a centifuge. Another possibility is distillation. You might even be able to add another chemical to the water that will bond with one that you want to remove. There are chemicals for instance that can me mixed with water and oil that cause the oil to coagulate so that it can simply be skimmed in oil spill clean ups. What chemicals are you trying to remove?

[GAHD]

Distilation is so much work though, you can make a centrifuge with a weight, waterproof container, and some rope. Put the weight on the bottom of the container, tie the rope to the top, put the liquid inside, and spin it with muscle power. Distillation generally requires something to boil the liquid(s) in, the heat to cause them to boil, a tube for the vapor to flow through, and a cool basin to catch it in. I suppose if you had a compressor motor and felt like creating a hermetic chamber you could boil by vaccume, but that needs even more work.

But yeah, what exactly ARE you trying to do?

[SunsetClause]

Originally Posted by C1ay

There are chemicals for instance that can me mixed with water and oil that cause the oil to coagulate so that it can simply be skimmed in oil spill clean ups. What chemicals are you trying to remove?

That is a good idea but what chemicals can you add to water that will make chemicals heavier or lighter? For example if I had Trichloroethylene in my water how would I remove that or Benezene?
Petroleum is easy to clean up, at least the parts that float and you can see but not chemicals.

Distillation wont help. Cant chemicals evaporate with water or evaporate faster than water?

Here for example the water I sh*t in is the same water that flows back through my sink. There's water treatment plants that take the sewage water filter it, runs it through a UV light and dump it back in the river where they got it from and pump it back out. The reason they dump it back in the river is to allow the natural process of water cleaning to take place knowing full well that the water they dump in that river will pick up more chemicals than it already had in it before it was dumped. They even add chemicals to the chemical water they pump out of the river like chlorine to give someone a chance at a kidney transplant and someones testis a good chance at getting testicular cancer and dropping the sperm count by about 75% and the other 25% a chance at chromosome deletions or who knows.

Bottle water is the same water in a different wrapper. Still comes from that same dirty river with added minerals for taste when water is not even suppose to have a taste.
How does someone who pumps municipal water get rid of the chemicals that's in water? I read that theres really is no way. Just have to find water that is clean enough by someone elses standards.
Is there a sure way to remove chemicals from water?

[C1ay]

Originally Posted by SunsetClause

Is there a sure way to remove chemicals from water?

Yes but it may involve multiple processes depending on the chemicals. I would think though that precipitation, fractional distillation and reverse osmosis should get most, if not all, of them.

[HydrogenBond]

If only odor is the problem use activated charcoal. That will remove most odors, chlorine, organics, among other things. Ion exchange resins will remove cations and anions. There are also floculants like iron sulphate which will create a precipiate. As the precipiate settles it will sweep out trace particulates. Reverse osmosis is also a good way to separate water.