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Determination of Copper Content in Solution Using Spectrophotometer
Objective
Objectives of this lab includes:
To get knowledge about Copper in water
To learn about the role of Copper in water quality
To understand the precautions and procedures involved in the determination of
Copper in water
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Copper is a reddish metal that occurs naturally in rock, soil, water, sediment, and air.
Properties
It reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum,
due to its band structure, so it as a nice reddish color.
It is malleable, ductile, and an extremely good conductor of both heat and electricity.
It is softer than zinc and can be polished to a bright finish.
It is found in group IB of the periodic table, together with silver and gold. Copper has
low chemical reactivity.
In moist air it slowly forms a greenish surface film called patina; this coating protects
the metal from further attack.
It has many practical uses in our society and is commonly found in coins, electrical wiring,
and pipes. It is an essential element for living organisms, including humans, and-in small
amounts-necessary in our diet to ensure good health.
Health Impacts
Copper can be found in many kinds of food, in drinking water and in air. Because of that we
absorb eminent quantities of copper each day by eating, drinking and breathing. The
absorption of copper is necessary, because copper is a trace element that is essential for
human health. Although humans can handle proportionally large concentrations of copper,
too much copper can still cause eminent health problems.
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Long-term exposure to copper can cause irritation of the nose, mouth and eyes and it
causes headaches, stomachaches, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea.
Intentionally high uptakes of copper may cause liver and kidney damage and even
death. Whether copper is carcinogenic has not been determined yet.
There are scientific articles that indicate a link between long-term exposure to high
concentrations of copper and a decline in intelligence with young adolescents.
Industrial exposure to copper fumes, dusts, or mists may result in metal fume fever
with atrophic changes in nasal mucous membranes.
Chronic copper poisoning results in Wilson’s Disease, characterized by a hepatic
cirrhosis, brain damage, demyelization, renal disease, and copper deposition in the
cornea.
Occupational exposure to copper often occurs. In the working environment, copper
contagion can lead to a flu-like condition known as metal fever. This condition will
pass after two days and is caused by over sensitivity.
Environmental Impacts
When copper ends up in soil it strongly attaches to organic matter and minerals. As a result, it
does not travel very far after release and it hardly ever enters groundwater. In surface water
copper can travel great distances, either suspended on sludge particles or as free ions.
Copper does not break down in the environment and because of that it can accumulate
in plants and animals when it is found in soils. On copper-rich soils only a limited
number of plants has a chance of survival. That is why there is not much plant
diversity near copper-disposing factories. Due to the effects upon plants copper is a
serious threat to the productions of farmlands.
Copper can seriously influence the proceedings of certain farmlands, depending upon
the acidity of the soil and the presence of organic matter. Despite of this, copper-
containing manures are still applied.
Copper can interrupt the activity in soils, as it negatively influences the activity of
microorganisms and earthworms. The decomposition of organic matter may seriously
slow down because of this.
When the soils of farmland are polluted with copper, animals will absorb
concentrations that are damaging to their health.
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Sheep’s suffer a great deal from copper poisoning, because the effects of copper are
manifesting at fairly low concentrations.
Impacts of Copper Concentration on Waste Water Treatment
Copper can have toxic effects on bacteria used in wastewater treatment systems. The
concentration of 0–10 mg L−1 Cu2+ can cause effects on the performance of an anoxic/oxic—
membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR) process, which simulates the wastewater treatment process
in treatment.
Above 1 mg L−1 of Cu2+ can put negative effects on the activities of both autotrophic and
heterotrophic bacteria, moreover, autotrophic bacteria are more sensitive to Cu 2+ than
heterotrophic bacteria. The synthesis of the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) can be
stimulated by 1 mg L−1 Cu2+ while inhibited at higher concentrations.
Guidelines for Copper:
According to WHO and NEQS, the concentration of copper in drinking water should
not be more than 2mg/L.
According to WHO and NEQS, the concentration of copper for different water bodies
(such as, seawater, inland water, sewage treatment) should not exceed 1mg/L.
COPPER MEASUREMENT
Materials Required
Apparatus
Quartz cell
Beaker
Volumetric Flasks (for stock solutions)
Spectrophotometer
Reagents
Copper Sulphate
Ammonium Hydroxide
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Procedure
Preparation of concentration of 100 mg/L of Cu+2 using CuSO4.5H2O.
1. To prepare copper solution of concentration of 100mg/L, use following
calculations to find grams of copper sulphate to add in 1000ml of distilled water.
Atomic mass of CuSO4.5H2O = 249.49
Atomic mass of copper in CuSO4.5H2O = 63.5
249.5
Cu+2 (1000mg/L) =
63.5
= 3.92g
3.92× 100
Cu+2 (100mg/L) =
1000
= .392g
2. Now prepare solution of concentration of 100mg/L by adding 0.392 g of
CuSO4.5H2O. in 1000 ml distilled water.
3. To make intermediate standard solutions of Cu+2solution in 100 ml of water, use
following formula:
C1V1 = C2V2
C 2V 2
V1 =
C1
20∗100
V1 = 20 ml
100 =
It means, to prepare a solution of 100ml of concentration of 20mg/L, we have to
add 20ml of previously prepared solution of copper sulphate.
4. Now to prepare remaining solutions use the above calculations and note the volumes
in the form of table:
Required Volume (V1 =
Sr. Required Concentrations
No. (mg/L) C 2V 2
)
C1
1 20
20ml
2 40
40ml
3 60
60ml
4 80
80ml
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5 100
100ml
5. Add 5 ml of ammonium hydroxide in each beaker.
6. Measure absorbance at 620 nm.
7. Draw the calibration curve.
Observations and Calculations
S/No Concentrations (mg/l) A620
1 5 0.075
2 10 0.095
3 15 0.114
4 20 0.124
5 25 0.137
6 Unknown Sample X 1.285
Graph
Results
The concentration of Copper content of the given water sample is 4.09 mg/L.
Comments
We have performed this experiment in the lab and have learn many interesting and
informative facts about Copper and spectrophotometry in water quality analysis. We also
have studied the methods to find the Copper content in water and its importance in the water.
It was quite interesting and informative activity indeed.
