| Word |
Meaning |
| Aldehyde |
An organic compound
containing a terminal carbonyl group.
This functional group consists of a carbon atom which is
bonded to a hydrogen atom and double-bonded to an oxygen atom (chemical formula O=CH-), is
called the aldehyde group. |
| Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) |
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) have been developed by the
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in collaboration with
the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council (NRMMC). |
| Bacteria |
A single celled organism with no nucleus or organelles. |
| Cell |
The structural and
functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of an
organism that is classified as living, and is sometimes called the building
block of life. |
| Centrifugation |
A process that involves
the use of the centripetal force for the separation of
mixtures, used in industry and in laboratory settings. In
chemistry and biology, increasing the effective gravitational force on a test tube so as
to more rapidly and completely cause the precipitate ("pellet") to
gather on the bottom of the tube. |
| Centripetal Force |
The external force
required to make a body follow a circular path at constant speed (speed being
the magnitude of velocity). The force is directed inward,
toward the centre of the circle. |
| Class A Water |
According to Victorian
Department of Human Services: Safe for use on human food crops which are
served uncooked, for irrigating public spaces such as parklands and golf
courses, and for garden watering, car washing and toilet flushing in urban
dual pipe schemes. |
| Contaminate |
Is the introduction of pollutants
(whether chemical substances, or energy functional group such as noise, heat, or light)
into the environment to such a point that its effects become harmful to human
health, other living organisms, or the environment. |
| Dewatering |
Dewatering is
the removal of water from solid material or
soil by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or
similar solid-liquid separation
processes. |
| Drinking (Potable) Water |
Water that is safe for humans to drink and to use for other domestic purposes, such as cooking, washing up, bathing and showering.According to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines: Ideally, drinking water should be clear, colourless, and well aerated, with no unpalatable taste or odour, and it should contain no suspended matter, harmful chemical substances, chemical compoundor pathogenic micro-organisms. |
| Flocculation |
A process where a solute comes out of solution in the form of floc or “flakes”. |
| Halocarbon |
Any
compound formally derived from a hydrocarbon by replacing at least one hydrogen atom with a halogen, but especially by replacing all
hydrogen atoms with halogen(s). |
| Hydrocarbon |
An organic compound
consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. |
| Ketone |
Either the characterized by a carbonyl group (O=C) linked to two other carbon atoms or a chemical compound that contains this functional group. |
| Lipid |
Broadly defined as any
fat-soluble, naturally-occurring molecules, such as fats, oils, waxes,
cholesterol. |
| Membrane |
A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or
film and separating two environments (usually in a plant or animal). |
| Methane |
A chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. It is the
principal component of natural gas. |
| Micron |
A measure of length; the thousandth part of one millimetre; the millionth part of a meter. Example, hair is about 40 microns. |
| Microorganism |
Organisms,
usually single-celled, that are too small to be seen by the unaided eye. Bacteria, protists, fungi are considered microorganisms. |
| Milli-Volt |
One
thousandth (10-3) of a volt, abbreviated as mV. |
| Nitrogen |
Molecular nitrogen (N2),
a colourless, odourless gas at room temperature. |
| Non-Potable
Water |
Water that is not of
drinking water quality, but which may still be used for many other purposes,
depending on its quality. Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 non-potable water is a ‘substance’ for which manufacturers, suppliers and end
users have obligations in regard to risk management. |
| Nucleus |
The control centre of a
cell, which contains the cell's chromosomal DNA. |
| Organelle |
A specialized subunit
within a cell that
has a specific function, and is separately enclosed within its own lipid membrane. |
| Phosphorus |
A chemical element (symbol
P). It is a component found in fertilisers that ends up as runoff in river
systems and dams that contaminates the water and contributes to algal blooms
creating pollution of the environment. |
| Reticulation |
In this context,
reticulation is the continuous redirection of waste and/or water across a
membrane. |
| Reverse Osmosis |
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a
separation process that uses pressure to force a solvent through a membrane that retains the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to pass to the other side. |
| Sensor |
A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a vapour pressuresdistinctive
manner. |
| Sludge |
The residual semi-solid
material left from industrial, water treatment or wastewater treatment
processes. |
Volatile Organic
Compounds
(VOCs) |
Volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) are organic chemical compounds
that have high enough vapour pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. A wide
range of carbon-based molecules, such as aldehydes, ketones and hydrocarbons are VOC's. The most common VOC is methane, a greenhouse gas sometimes excluded from analysis of other VOCs using the term non-methane VOCs, or NMVOCs. Major worldwide sources of atmospheric methane include wetlands, ruminants such as cows, energy use, rice agriculture, landfills, and burning biomass such as
wood. VOCs in water include petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated compounds
(THM or trihalomethanes), alcohols, ketones , esters and aldehydes as well as
chlorinated products in industrial processes. |
| Wastewater Treatment |
Domestic wastewater
treatment is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater, both runoff
and domestic. It includes physical, chemical and biological processes to
remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Its objective is to
produce a liquid stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste or sludge also suitable for discharge or
reuse back into the environment. This material is often inadvertently
contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds. |
