Clean Water - chemistry at work

UPDATE: 1/1/2012

In an earlier post I had described a talk concerning the harnessing of the power of sunlight.  This and other topics concerned with macropolymers was discussed in Melvyn Bragg's In Our TIme series.  The programme is well-worth a listen and though it had been recorded, it has the spontaniety that one expects from a group of interesting people. 
There was some disagreement among the panelists, who included:

Tony Ryan - Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science at the University of Sheffield
Athene Donald - Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Robinson College
Charlotte Williams - Reader in Polymer Chemistry and Catalysis at Imperial College, London

The programme can be heard on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b018grhm

** end of update

The last talk in the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) public meetings was about water and was given by Phil Souter of Procter & Gamble (P&G).  The talk was chaired by Stephen Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) (www.cia.org.uk)

This lecture can be viewed and listened to at http://www.thereaction.net/explore/the-quest-for-a-clean-drink/   To the non-chemist, some of the language may need some explanation.  There’s quite a lot of coagulation, flocculation and precipitation and these have specific chemical meanings.  Phil also mentioned Arrhenius, the Swedish physical chemist who had several theories named after him.  One concerned the effect of heat on the rate of a reaction.  This is important in the storage of functional chemical products as they can decompose when stored at high temperatures.  (Arrhenius is a good name to drop if you happen to be in a self-catering chalet on skiing vacation and someone complains that the potatoes have taken a long time to cook.  You may have to explain the concept of boiling point at altitude, but Arrhenius would give you the rate of cooking of the potatoes!  Also, a professor emeritus at Edinburgh knew Arrhenius and delighted in telling stories about some of the experiments so – I knew someone who knew Arrhenius!)

It was a well-attended lecture and shows how, with a bit of thinking and their unique ability in creative processes, chemists can make a difference in very large corporations.  Phil Souter described his company as being based on strong brands in the fast moving consumer sector.  Many of P&G’s brands will be well known such as Pampers, Ariel and Pringles potato chips.  Many of their products involve handling of liquids, powders and granules using a variety of chemical engineering processes.  The lecture, which was accompanied by samples of videos, was of a new product which Phil Souter’s team had developed mainly as a philanthropic investment in cutting infant mortality caused by water borne infectious diseases.  P&G have decided to put their own name on the product – the first time they have done this for decades.  You can learn more about the programme and product at:  http://www.csdw.org/csdw/home.shtml

Most people know the chemical formula for water is H2O.  Many of us take it for granted that it flows out of a tap, ready to drink and we dispose of liquid waste down the waste pipe without giving any thought on how the water got there in the first place.  However, water borne diseases are sadly a way of life in many developing countries, where people have no access to clean drinking water and the source of water - be it river, pond, lake or even flood water - has various hazards.  Some of the hazards are due to organisms, while others are a result of heavy metals, including arsenic.  Natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding, tsunamis and drought create acute shortages of safe drinking water. 

Traditionally, in most of these countries the fetching and carrying of water would be done by women and children, and in order to purify it the water would have to be heated to boiling point.  This involves additional fuel gathering, so that an investment in a clean drink is huge. 

The product that P&G developed has several components.  One of them is ferric sulphate, which helps to sink much of the heavy metals and some of the fine particles using processes indicated above.  The second major ingredient is calcium hypochlorite, which is commercially available but tends to decompose if stored at high temperatures over a long time.  This calcium hypochlorite provides an active form of chlorine for disinfection purposes.  The whole mix is designed to clarify the water, remove the heavy metals and to disinfect the water and keep it disinfected from further microbial contamination for a couple of days.  We take this for granted at home with water from the tap which has been chlorinated. 

Some practical experience was illustrated by case studies from Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  In Uganda, P&G worked through one of their organisations in conjunction with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including some charities.  P&G’s product costs around 2 cents or 2 pence per sachet, and this can treat up to ten litres of water, which can then be used in the family for drinking.  Interestingly, even in this day of consumerism it seemed people were more likely to use something for which they had actually paid, albeit 2 cents per sachet.  If people are given something for nothing, it tends to have no value and can be left unused.  In Bangladesh, where high levels of arsenic are encountered in well water leading to severe cases of arsenic poisoning, the P&G product has been shown to reduce these levels. 

There were some interesting discussions at the end of the talk and later over coffee.  Those attending included a mix of public health, water treatment specialists and those in education. 

In summary this was a good way to round off the International Year of Chemistry with the RSC and the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) putting on an excellent topic.  Access to clean drinking water is obviously an area where a bit of creative chemistry can make a difference.  While geologists and engineers can find and deliver the water, including the desalination of sea water, it takes a chemist to make it potable!  After all, drinking water has to contain essential minerals such as calcium for bone growth, other ions are desirable to maintain a TDS (totally dissolved solids) or hardness. 

The programme for the RSC talks in 2012 can be found on:  http://www.thereaction.net/events/

Forth Railway Bridge: Dunfermline

One of my early memories of travelling by train is going over the Forth Railway Bridge on the way to holiday in east Fife.  An exciting part of the journey was crossing the River Forth between Dalmeny and North Queensferry.

The cantilever bridge was built at the end of the 19^th century and was opened by the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VII on 4 March 1890.  One of the rituals on crossing this bridge was being given a penny to throw out at some point during the crossing.  There are three arches on the super structure of the bridge and the chances of the penny missing some of the ironwork were negligible, though with the old steam trains and the rattle going across the bridge, the noise of the penny clanking down the bridge would never be heard.  I was a bit envious later on when I found out that some friends of mine had lived in North Queensferry and had allegedly made a fortune in finding the coins at low tide on the north side of the bridge.  These days the journey is done by modern diesel trains and you can’t throw anything out of the trains.  



Travelling on the Forth Rail Bridge

There’s a frequent commuter service from the Fife circle to Edinburgh.  We decided to park the car at Dalmeny from where a return ticket to Dunfermline costs £3.30 with a Disabled Railcard.  The station is marked Dunfermline Town and this is the old Dunfermline Lower Station, with a passing reference to the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens: “The king sits in Dunfermling  toune, drinking the blude -reid wine” (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Child's_Ballads/58)

Dunfermline was one of the capitals of Scotland before Edinburgh took the title.  Dunfermline prides itself in having been the birthplace of King Charles I and of Andrew Carnegie.  King Robert the Bruce is buried below the pulpit of the church situated at Dunfermline Abbey.  The Abbey and palace buildings are in the care of Historic Scotland and are well worth a visit.  The pillars in the Abbey can be touched and some of the carvings are original.  There was a very warm welcome in the Abbey church from Anne Toschack.  There is a gift and book shop in the church itself. 

Adjacent to the graveyard is Abbot House, which is also well worth a visit.  It has a very attractive coffee shop with home-baking and extremely obliging staff.  There is a small bookshop and gift shop and Patricia was very enthusiastic in discussing the local amenities.  There is an impressive City Chambers in the town centre.  If by chance you refer to it as the Town Hall you may be gently reminded of its proper name!

Later, I found myself in the historical section of the Public Library and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful when I mentioned that my father’s family came from the town and surrounding area.  One of the staff kindly searched through the microfiche and microfilm as handling optical data is something I can’t do.  The library has a mine of information and as family history is quite a big thing in Scotland, it was not surprising that there were some overseas visitors at the time. 

The Tourist Office staff is extremely friendly and I am grateful to Isabel and her colleagues for many helpful tips which they made and on a second visit later in the day for checking up on the availability of High Tea that afternoon! 

Not far from the Tourist Office is Pittencrieff Park which was gifted to the town by Andrew Carnegie and is usually known as the Glen.  There is a beautiful function suite called The Pavilion where I took my granny some 40 years ago for lunch.  There’s also a museum in the park and though only the ground floor is currently open, there are many interesting displays.  I was talking to the staff about the visit with my granny and they showed me a large photograph of the Pavilion Restaurant and a display section of the wicker chairs from the Pavilion, so I was able to sit in one of the wicker chairs by a table and imagine my granny (with her best hat on) and I having lunch! 

The coastal towns of Fife are well worth a visit.  Culross is very well known and is a major National Trust for Scotland centre.   Other villages are Charlestown and Limekilns. 

We planned on staying three hours in Dunfermline but spent seven hours strolling around before having a real high calorific value High Tea at the City Hotel: main course, toast, cakes, two pots of tea all for about £10 per head.  As a result, we just missed a train.  While waiting for the next train, I had an interesting chat with Peter from the railway company about current and historic trains.  He too was a bit of a railway enthusiast and had been on some of the lesser known parts of the rail network including the suburban rail around Edinburgh and a trip from Miller Hill to Smeaton.  My street cred increased when I mentioned I had walked across the forth Railway Bridge in the mid-1970s as part of an organised trip where we were allowed to climb up and down the famous cantilever structures.    

The Forth Road Bridge from the Forth Rail Bridge

On the way north we had sat on the left hand side of the train with views to the Forth Road Bridge which was opened in 1964.  This brought back memories of having to wait at South Queensferry for what seemed like ages to cross the Forth during the Edinburgh holidays.  At one point, my father decided it would be quicker to go the long way round and cross the river at Kincardine.  This bridge was built in the 1930s and until then the Forth could only be crossed at Stirling by road.  There is currently talk of building a second Forth Road Bridge as the capacity of the 1964 bridge is being stretched as have the cables holding the suspension bridge up. 

People from Fife are known as Fifers and they have a reputation for being fly and a bit crafty.  There is a saying: “It takes a lang spoon tae sup wi’a Fifer.”  Another expression frequently mentioned to children who had unreasonable financial demands on their parents: “Who do you think I am: Andrew Carnegie?”  Andrew Carnegie was a philanthropist, though many have questioned the unbridled capitalism which brought him his fortune in the USA.  While Carnegie Hall in New York is famous, as is Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, many Scottish villages have a hall known as a Carnegie Hall.  The Carnegie Trust  endowed many local charities and students as well as libraries.  In fact the Public Library in Dunfermline is called the Dunfermline Carnegie Library.