Water Sources and their Impurities

The sources of water include mountain streams, natural spring water, drilled well water, flowing water from rivers and lakes, and the municipal tap water. They need to be analyzed for their physical properties, as well as chemical and biological impurities. The principal methods of treatment to improve the water include ... 

Despite their high cost and the long process involved in their development, immunochemical techniques may soon have broad applicability in the environmental field. Antibody production is the key step of any immunochemical technique. Immunosensors yield the best results for pesticides determination104 in terms of both accuracy and reliability. The most reliable immunosensors are piezoelectric. They assure a good sensitivity and limit of detection.105 The main problem for piezoelectric immunosensors utilization for water analysis is their low sensitivity, which results in a decrease in the S/N ratio because of the impurities present in water (from matrix or other sources). 

Tramp impurities are those out of control. Their source is usually unknown, as is their frequency of appearance, their duration of persistence, and their concentration is surely not managed. In solvent cleaning operations, water and oxygen (both from air) are the most common tramp impurities. Other are color, odor, stains, particulate, NVR, or unexplained peaks in a UV or other scan. 

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