Radiation-based Water Purification

The use of ionizing radiation for decontaminating water on Ranul.

Utility

Ionizing radiation breaks down the molecular structure of pathogens and chemical substances which cannot be extracted by filtering alone. Water treated this way is safer to drink or use in medical contexts, and more predictable in industrial applications.

Manufacturing

Preparatory Filtering

Coarse contaminants are removed mechanically. Especially in municipal purification complexes, larger lumps of solid waste are extracted with nets and re-directed to dedicated waste basins. The water is then pumped through multiple layers of gravel and sand with decreasing granularity, and finally through fabric membranes with increasingly dense weaving.

Desinfection

Both the extracted waste and the filtered water are then subjected to heat and ionizing radiation, emitted by arrays of fire crystals. This is done in flat glass trays to optimize the suffusion with the radiation. Furthermore, the trays are surrounded with reflective metal to prevent the radiation from escaping.
An alternative approach, common in Hazu Ropuru and Hazu Kalpasu, is to spread out the glass trays under the open sky and use the radiation from Larevok and Larekon. In this case, reflective shielding below and next to the trays help with focusing the energy.
In either case, water which evaporates from the waste sludge is intercepted on slanted plates and re-introduced into the water cycle.

Interception of Ions

In a last step, the water is pumped through a section with sheets of electrically charged metals. Ions from the broken-down molecules are attracted to those and thus removed from the water. The exact choice of reactive materials depends on the use case. For example, drinking water is usually exposed to those which are likely to produce desirable, health-supporting minerals by bonding with those ions.

Social Impact

Radiation-based water purification greatly improved the overall health of the people using it, and made it significantly easier to settle outside the fertile regions of the sea shores and river banks.
Notably, this technology also allowed the Rilanga and Ran-E-Zu to establish self-supporting shelters in the Ralenlos Mountains. The lack of any municipal infrastructure, especially after the end of the Final War, made water a more precious resource than ever before. Consequently, working purification facilities were essential for the survival of the Rul species.

by Kathrin Janowski

Access & Availability

common

Complexity

filtration layers of increasing density
heat and ionizing radiation

Discovery

using celestial radiation for boiling water in desert regions

by Kathrin Janowski

Further Reading