The cutting-edge technology used to make drinkable tap water in the Expo Garden is expected to be put into wider use in China after the Expo.
The country's first large-scale drinkable tap water facilities are at the Expo, with a total of 158 fountains installed around the Expo Garden to quench thirsty visitors who are not allowed to bring drinks and water into the garden for security reasons.
The free drinkable tap water is being processed by a combined technology of activated carbon absorbing micromolecules of organisms, an ultrafiltration membrane that physically cleans substances, and ultraviolet sterilization. With these technologies, the processed water reaches the international standard for purity and safety, according to Expo authorities.
"Millions of visitors will come to the grand event, and ensuring safe drinking water in the Expo Garden is quite important for us, so we developed a safer, low-carbon technology," said Li Weiying, associate professor of environmental science and engineering at Tongji University, who is in charge of the drinking water research during the Expo.
China's current water treatment sequence, outside of Expo, involves the addition of a coagulant for precipitation, and subsequence filtration and sterilization. "This chemical process may form some potentially harmful substances for people's health," she said.
The water in the Expo Garden comes from the city's three water plants - Linjiang, Yangsi and Nanshi - and is processed by active carbon-ozone technology before flowing into the garden.
"To ensure good raw source water, we adopted a green technology in the process of water purification," she said. "This technology can filter out very well a variety of water impurities from secondary pollution and ensure quality water."
Li said the water reaches the quality standard of the European Union that currently includes more than 200 indicators.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
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Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.