January 2013 | AIChE

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January 2013

Drinking Water

A term used synonymously with Potable Water, and refers to water that meets federal drinking water standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act [SDWA] (Public Law 93–523) as well as state and local water quality standards and is considered safe for human consumption. Freshwater that exceeds established...

Electric Power Water (Public Utility)

Water withdrawn by public utilities for hydroelectric power generation and condenser cooling.

Energy

The capacity to perform work, or the potential for power and activity; energy may be captured or held in living matter (e.g., food is stored energy). Various forms of energy include kinetic, potential, thermal, nuclear, rotational, and electromagnetic. Hydroelectric power, a form of potential...

Fecal Material

Solid waste produced by humans and other animals and discharged from the gastrointestinal tract. Also referred to as feces or solid excrement, it is a component of domestic sewage and must be treated to avoid the transmission of fecal bacteria and other organisms or disease.

Federal Reserved Water Rights

A category of federal water rights, created by federal law. These rights are created when the federal government withdraws land from the public domain to establish a federal reservation such as a national park, forest, or Indian reservation. By this action, the government is held to have reserved...

Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Public Law 92–500)

More commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA), constitutes the basic federal water pollution control statute for the United States. Originally based on the Water Quality Act of 1965, which began setting water quality standards. The 1966 amendments to this act increased federal government...

Feedwater

Water input into a desalting or water treatment plant.

Fermentation, Anaerobic

The process in which carbohydrates are converted in the absence of oxygen to hydrocarbons (such as methane gas).

Filter

A device used to remove solids from a mixture or to separate materials. A porous material through which a liquid or gas is passed in order to separate the fluid from suspended particular matter. Suspended materials are frequently separated from water using filters.

Final Clarifier

A gravitational settling tank installed as part of some wastewater treatment plants and placed after the biological treatment step. The tank functions to remove suspended solids. Also referred to as Secondary Clarifier.

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