UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

CAWANGAN PULAU PINANG

ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY
CEW545
OCT 2020 – FEB 2021
TITLE OF EXPERIMENT : Chlorine Breakpoint

DATE OF EXPERIMENT : 28TH OCTOBER

GROUP : PEC221 7 H2

GROUP MEMBERS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

LECTURER : PN. SABARIAH BINTI BADREALAM

LEVEL OF OPENESS :
1 2 3
1. INTRODUCTION
Breakpoint chlorination is the point where the demand for chlorine has been fully satisfied in
terms of chlorine addition to the water. When chlorine is added to water, a reaction is
produced in the compounds present in the water. These compounds utilize the chlorine,
resulting in zero chlorine residual. Breakpoint chlorination is a common practice when
disinfecting water in water treatment system, industrial water systems and swimming pools.
It is one of the most typical forms of chlorination where adequate chlorine is incorporated
into the water to achieve the breakpoint, keeping the water well chlorinated and
appropriate for its intended use.

2. OBJECTIVES
 To analyse the given laboratory data and plot the breakpoint chlorination curve
 To determine the breakpoint chlorine dose for water sample.

3. LEARNING OUTCOMES
 To identify the appropriate experiment to determine the breakpoint chlorine usage.
 To analyse and interpret the given laboratory data and identify the chlorine breakpoint
for optimum dosage.

4. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Once chlorine has been added to water, it is consumed by a type of chemical reaction that
has a net effect of increasing the chlorine concentration. For a typical addition of chlorine,
the reaction rate instantly increases and reduces the chlorine concentration. This is because
chlorinated compounds acquire more chlorine.
The pace at which the chlorine atoms are added is comparatively slow, but the rates can be
faster because chlorinating increases the reactivity. Once almost all of the chlorine reactions
are accomplished then adding more chlorine leads to permanent residual chlorine.
The period where the concentration of chlorine rapidly increases is called the "breakpoint."
In some cases, there can be no breakpoint seen because various organic compounds react at
different rates.
5. PROBLEM STATEMENT
In the actual practice, students are required to determine the breakpoint dose of chlorine
using DPD Ferrous Titrimetric method. Students also need to identify and conduct the
appropriate sample dilution to conduct the titration procedure. However, for this online lab
session, students are required to browse the suggested YouTube links/Standard Method to
determine on how to conduct this experiment.

6. APPARATUS
Iodometric Method
 Glass Rod
 Electronic weighing balance
 Conical Flask (250ml)
 Beaker
 Burette
 Filter funnel
 Pipette (10 mL, 5mL, or 1mL)
 Retort Stand

Residual Chlorine Kit

 Graduated Cylinder (50ml)

 Pipette (5ml)
 Glass rod

6.1 REAGENTS
Iodometric Method
 Starch Powder
 Potassium Iodide
 Sodium Thiosulphate LR
 Acetic Acid Glacial, CH3COOH

Residual Chlorine Kit

 Chlorotex Reagent
7. PROCEDURES
Iodometric Method
a. 2.482g of sodium thiosulphate LR was dissolved in 1 litre of distilled water to produce
Reagent solution of 0.01N sodium thiosulphate(titrant).
b. Starch powder was dissolved in water to produce a starch indicator solution and this
supernatant will be used for the testing.
c. The burette was then filled with the titrant.
d. Then a conical flask was used to filled with 200mL of sample. (The suitable volume
should be taken such that the amount of titrant consumed should not exceed 20mL)
e. Pipette was used to add 10mL of acetic acid glacial into the conical flask that contain
200mL of sample.
f. Then 1g of potassium iodide was added into the sample and stirred.
g. A few minutes was taken to allow the sample for colour development while the initial
reading was recorded. (The colour should be viewed with white background for a better
result)
h. Then the sample was titrated until the yellow colour disappeared.
i. 1mL of supernatant which is the starch solution was added into the sample until a blue
colour appeared.
j. The sample was titrated again until the blue colour disappeared.
k. The final reading of the burette was taken and recorded, and the test were repeated
until a concordant value is achieved. (Concordant value is the readings where the value
taken are identical or close to each other)

Residual Chlorine Kit

a. 2 graduated cylinders were prepared and one of the cylinders was filled with 50mL of
sample and the other cylinder was filled with 5mL of chlorotex reagent with the help of
pipette.
b. Then the cylinder with 50mL sample was poured into the cylinder that contain chlorotex
reagent.
c. The sample was then stirred and 1 minute was taken for the sample to rest aside.
d. The colour of the sample is then compared with the colour indicator chart that is behind
the Chlorotex Reagent bottle.
e. The colour was then labelled accordingly to obtain the value of residual chlorine.
 8. RESULTS & ANALYSIS

Chlorine dose 0.0 0.01 0.05 0.10 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
(mg/L)
Volume of 0.0 1.6 6.2 2.9 1.3 8.0 12.1 23.8 37.6 44.0
standard titrant
(mL)
** For a 100 mL sample, 1.00 mL of standard titrant = 1.00 mg Cl as Cl2/L (Chlorine
residual)

Analysis
V 1 × N × 35450
Residual Chlorine=
V2
V1 = Volume of standard titrant used
V2 = Sample used = 100mL
N = Normality of Standard Titrants

1
1.6 × ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 1= =5.67 mg/ L
100
1
6.2× × 35450
100
Residual Chlorine 2= =21.98 mg/ L
100
1
2.9 × ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 3= =10.28 mg/ L
100
1
1.3× ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 4= =4.61mg/ L
100
1
8.0 × ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 5= =28.36 mg/L
100
1
12.1× ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 6= =42.89 mg/L
100
1
23.8 × ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 7= =84.37 mg/L
100
1
37.6 × ×35450
100
Residual Chlorine 8= =133.29mg/ L
100
 1
44.0 × × 35450
100
Residual Chlorine 9= =155.98 mg/ L
100

Chlorine dose 0.0 0.01 0.05 0.10 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
(mg/L)
Volume of 0.0 1.6 6.2 2.9 1.3 8.0 12.1 23.8 37.6 44.0
standard titrant (mL)
Residual Chlorine 0 5.67 21.98 10.28 4.61 28.36 42.89 84.37 133.29 155.98
(mg/L)

Chlorine Re s idual (mg/L) Vs Chlorine Dos e (mg/L)

180
160 155.38

140 133.29
Chlorine Residual (mg/L)

120
100
84.37
80
60
42.89
40 28.36
21.98
20 5.67 10.28
0 4.61
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Chlorine Dose (mg/L)

Chlorine

Breakpoint Chlorination = 1.5 mg/L of chlorine dose.

9. DISCUSSION
10. CONCLUSION