What process, when supplemented by disinfection, can remove nearly all bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminthes?

The process of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration is highly effective in treating wastewater due to its multi-step approach. Coagulation involves adding chemicals to the water that help destabilize and aggregate suspended particles, which are then removed during sedimentation as sludge. Flocculation follows, where gentle mixing helps form larger aggregates known as flocs that can settle more easily.

Once the larger particles are removed, filtration further enhances the treatment by physically capturing remaining fine solids and some pathogens from the water. This combination creates a robust barrier that significantly reduces the number of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths present in the wastewater.

When this process is supplemented with a disinfection step, such as chlorination or UV treatment, it can effectively eliminate almost all remaining pathogens, ensuring that the treated water is safe for discharge or reuse. This makes the combination of these processes particularly comprehensive for achieving high levels of water quality.

In contrast, while options like filtration and reverse osmosis are effective in removing pathogens and particulates, they may not eliminate all entities unless combined with additional treatment steps. Other processes like the activated sludge method primarily focus on organic matter degradation, which can reduce some pathogens but may not universally tackle all harmful microorganisms without