Chapter No. Rev.

UTILITIES UNIT – AREA SPECIFIC

RAW WATER & WASTE WATER 1.0 01

Prepared by: Page:

1.0: QUALITY OF RAW WATER GQ 1 of 5
Approved by: Date:

MAB 20.05.2013

1.1 INTRODUCTION:

Water is the basic requirement of any process industry. Water quality is an important
element in the efficient operation of boilers, steam generating system and cooling
water system. It is the most common and cheapest cooling media for removing
process heat. It is used for generating steam. Steam is used as heating media and also
as a power source for driving turbines and generators. Steam is ideal for carrying heat
energy. When steam condenses, heat energy is given off. Much of the heat from
burning fuel can be absorbed by boiler water, transported with the steam and released
at the desired points.

It is also used as a Raw material in its normal existing liquid form or in vapor form.

Water is a good solvent for many chemicals which is another important use of water
in chemical industry.

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1.2 PROPERTIES OF WATER

Pure water is a simple combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Chemical formula is

H2O. Water is a tasteless, odorless, colorless liquid in its pure state. It is the only
inorganic material that occurs in three forms (ice, water, and steam) within the earth's
natural temperature range. Because water can be converted to steam at a convenient
temperature, it is ideal for generating power or conduction heat.

The boiling point of water depends on the pressure at which water is subjected. At
atmospheric pressure, water boils at about 100 oC. As pressure increases, the boiling
point also increases. As the pressure decreases, the boiling point of water decreases.
Under extreme vacuum condition water will boil at temperatures as low as 1.6 oC.
Water is a universal solvent; it dissolves the rocks and soils it contacts. It dissolves
gases from the air and gases given off from organic matters in the soil. It picks up
suspended matter from the earth. It is also subjected to contamination with industrial
wastes, oils, and process materials. In general, the types of impurities water contains
depend on what it contacts. The amount of impurities depends on the contact time.

1.3 SOURCES OF WATER

The raw water sources are divided into two main classes: -
 Ground Water
 Surface Water
Ground Water:
Canals, rivers, lakes all are sources of surface water. Natural cycle of evaporation of
water from earth and then condensation in the form of rain always remains in
operation. The rainwater while falling down absorbs various gases present in the
atmosphere. The more soluble gases are normally oxygen and carbon dioxide. This
water then seeps down into the earth and during this process of seepage various salts
come in contact with the water. Some parts of these salts are dissolved in the water.
Especially when water passes through rocky area many salts are dissolved in it. The
earth acts as a filtering media for this water. Thus all the suspended particles are
removed. So well water contains less suspended solids but higher concentration of
total dissolved salts.

Surface Water
The water present above surface of ground is called surface water. Comparatively the
surface water contains less dissolved salts, but concentration of suspended solids,

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 mud and silt normally remains high. Moreover the organic matter in surface water is
also normally higher as compared with the ground water. It is normally present in the
form of humic acid, which is generated by decaying of various plants & human
wastes.
The surface water also contains pollution from industrial drainage and sewage.
Characteristics of this water keep on changing with the seasons; especially heavy rain
affects the quality of water.

1.4 IMPURITIES IN WATER

Completely pure water is non existent. All natural waters contain various types and
amount of impurities. Anything in water that is not H2O is a contaminant or
impurity. Contaminant is considered a pollutant when its concentration reaches a
level that may be harmful either to aquatic life or human health (if the water is for
potable purposes). Dissolved impurities in water are broadly classified as inorganic
salts dissolved from minerals and organic matter related to aquatic life and
vegetative. In most fresh waters, dissolved mater is largely inorganic.
Impurities in natural waters may be classified as
A. Dissolved solids
B. Dissolved gases
C. Suspended solids

1. DISSOLVED SOLIDS

Dissolved solids are categorized as follows;

(a) Hardness

Soluble calcium and magnesium salts present in water impart hardness. These salts
are normally in the form of bicarbonate, sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates. Hardness is
of two types
Temporary hardness: It is due to the presence of carbonates and bicarbonates.
Permanent hardness: It is due to the presence of chlorides, sulfates and nitrates.

(b) Chlorides

All chloride salts are highly soluble in water. Chlorides are present in water in the
form of calcium, magnesium and sodium compounds. They add the solid content and
give corrosion characteristics to the water. Chloride ions cause stress corrosion of
stainless steel.

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(c) Sulfates

Present in water in the form of calcium, magnesium and sodium salts. They add solid
contents to water. Sulfates itself is not so significant but combines with calcium to
form calcium sulfate which impart scaling problem even at low temperature. Calcium
scaling is very hard & causes blockage on heat exchange surfaces.

(d) Nitrate

Adds solid content to water but is not significant industrially. Normal concentration
in the water is very small.

(e) Silica

Silica is present in raw water up to few PPM.

 Being volatile, forms deposits on turbine blades thus reducing efficiency and
causes imbalance of rotor.
 It causes scaling in boilers. Silicate scale in boiler tubes is very hard and heat
resistant. Local overheating of the tubes start due to this heat resistant film.
This localized heating can ultimately result in tube failure.
Treatment processes that remove silica are adsorption on magnesium precipitates
in the lime softening, adsorption on ferric hydroxide in coagulation process using
iron salts and anion exchange in the demineralization process.

(f) Iron

Most common soluble iron is ferrous bicarbonate. In the absence of oxygen iron is
quite soluble in the reduced state. Whereas oxidized iron is almost completely
insoluble. Insoluble iron reduces the cation resin capacity by collecting at the top of
bed.

(g) Organic Matter

Organic matter is a broad category that includes both natural and synthetic molecules
containing carbon, and usually hydrogen. All living matter is made up of organic
molecules. It is present in water due to decayed vegetation. These organic materials
are broadly classified as humic substances. Some organic materials are truly soluble,
but much of it is present in colloidal form and can generally be removed by
coagulation. Organic matter may be removed by activated carbon treatment. It is
major factor in the fouling of anion exchange resins, degrading effluent quality of
demineralized water and requiring early replacement of resin.
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2: DISSOLVED GASES.

Since all the gases are soluble in water to some extent, so both surface and ground
waters contain some dissolved gases. More important are dissolved CO 2 and O2.
These gases take part in corrosion reaction and also accelerate rate of corrosion.

3: SUSPENDED SOLIDS

Suspended solids can be termed as turbidity. These are insoluble matter including
coarse particles, mud, and silt etc. Suspended solids are less in ground water as
compared to surface water.