Class Example: Color removal

1. Discuss briefly the causes of colour in water.

2. Differentiate between “apparent” and “true” color.

3. What is the different between the spectrophotometric methods for measuring color

and the platinum standard procedures?

4. What uses are generally made of color information in practice?

1. Discuss briefly the causes of colour in water.

Solution:

 Color in water generally results from natural organic materials in water resulting

from decay of vegetation.

 Iron can cause color in water.

 Dissolved organic compounds called tannins can result in dark brown colors.

Algae floating in the water (particles) can impart a green color.

 Clay soils (suspended solids) during flood season may cause red color.

 Also, water may be colored from discharge of highly colored waters such as from

the dying industry or pulp and paper mill operation.

2. Differentiate between “apparent” and “true” color.

Solution:

 Apparent colour is the colour of the whole water sample, and consists of colour

from both issolved and suspended components.

 True colour is measured after filtering the water sample to remove all suspended

material.

3. What is the different between the spectrophotometric methods for measuring color

and the platinum standard procedures?

Solution:

 The platinum standard procedure for color is generally used for judging the color

of water when the color is of natural origin.

 Spectophotometric methods are used to judge color due to domestic and industrial

wastewaters, where the color may not be similar to the yellow hue of natural

organic materials.

4. What uses are generally made of color information in practice?

 Color determinations are made when seeking a satisfactory source of water for

domestic purposes.

 Color removal is expensive and the potential need for color removal is an

important consideration in seeking a satisfactory water source.

 Color measurements are made for research and control of chemical additions for

color removal and in determination of the quality of water provided the consumer.

Example: Addition of alum in coagulation-floculation removal of color in

wastewater treatment.