Module 5.

Water, detergents and sanitizers for dairy plant operations

LESSON 16
SOFT AND HARD WATER, TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT HARDNESS

16.1 Introduction

Water is a basic renewable natural resource upon which the survival and well being of
living organisms depend. Quantity, quality and availability of water are critical factor in
supporting our human civilization and standards of living. Man and animals enter
hydrologic cycle as users of water and producers of waste in many forms. Water is also
essential to the food supply and habitat of all other living organisms. The food industry
uses large quantities of water. It is the most necessary item of the food industry. In
addition to use in the growing of the raw products, water is used for generating steam,
cleaning, peeling, grading, and conveying products, as a heat exchange medium in
heating and cooling operations, for cleaning plant and equipment, for condensing vapors,
for the fire protection, sanitizing, drinking, humidification, as an ingredient in the finished
products and as a means of waste disposal. To successfully fulfill this versatile role in
food industry, water must be in adequate supply, safer and of high quality. Moreover due
to the globalization and implementation of WHO and ISO concepts the quality of raw as
well as finished products has become very important. In the present scenario the
management of water, both qualitatively and quantitatively is gaining importance.
Therefore, the supply of adequate quantity and safe quality of water is of vital importance
to the food industry particularly to dairy industry. Management of water in food industry
consists of three components: i) quality at entry level ii) water conservation and iii) waste
management.

16.2 Types of Water

Generally water is classified into two categories i) Hard water and ii) Soft water. Water
hardness is basically due to the presence of di- cations including Ca2+ and Mg2+. These
ions enter a water supply by leaching from minerals. Water hardness is further of two
types: i) Temporary hardness and ii) Permanent hardness. Temporary hardness is caused
by the carbonates and bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium. This can easily be
removed by boiling of water. On the other hand, presence of sulfates and chlorides of
calcium and magnesium are responsible for permanent hardness of water. This kind of
hardness is not removed by simple boiling but requires some complex operations. The
combined effect of temporary and permanent hardness is called as total hardness of the
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 Soft and hard water, temporary and permanent hardness

water. Temporary hardness and permanent hardness are also known as carbonate
hardness and non- carbonate hardness, respectively. Conventionally hardness is
expressed in terms of ppm of calcium carbonate. In industry, the major problem caused
by hard water is the deposition of scales in and on the pipes which can clog plumbing and
interfere with heat exchangers. These scale, are composed mainly of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3), magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2], and calcium sulfate (CaSO4). Calcium and
magnesium carbonates tend to precipitate out as hard deposits to the surfaces of pipes and
heat exchanger surfaces. This is principally caused by thermal decomposition of bi-
carbonate ions but also happens to some extent even in the absence of such ions. In
boilers, the deposits act as an insulation that impairs the flow of heat into water, reducing
the heating efficiency and allowing the metal boiler components to overheat. In a
pressurized system, this can lead to failure of the boiler.

The following equilibrium reaction describes the formation of calcium carbonate scales

CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O ⇋ Ca2+ + 2HCO3-

Hard water, form white precipitate (scum) with soap solutions, instead of producing
lather. This effect arises because the di- cations destroy the surfactant properties of the
soap by forming a solid precipitate. A major component of such scum is calcium stearate.

2 C17H35COO- + Ca2+ → (C17H35COO)2 Ca

The Indian standards for water quality tolerances for processed food industry are as

Table 16.1 Bacteriological Tolerances

Sl. No. Characteristics Tolerances

1 Coliform bacteria, MPN index per 100 ml <1
2 Standard plate count, per ml, (max) 50*
3 Proteolytic and lipolytic organisms combined count per ml 5
(max)
*Not applicable in the case of cooling water and of hot water supplied in dairy industry.

Table 16.2 Physical and Chemical tolerances (BIS, 1981)

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 Soft and hard water, temporary and permanent hardness

Sl. No. Characteristics Tolerances

i) Color (Hazen units), Max 20

ii) Turbidity (units), Max 10
iii) Odor None
iv) pH 6.5 to 9.2
v) Total solids, mg/L, Max 1000
vi) Total hardness (as CaCO3), mg/L, Max 600
vii) Sulphate (as So4), mg/L, Max 200
viii) Fluoride (as F), mg/L, Max 1.5
ix) Chloride (as Cl), mg/L, Max 250
x) Cyanide (as CN), mg/L, Max 0.01
xi) Selenium (as Se), mg/L, Max 0.05
xii) Iron (as Fe), mg/L, Max 0.3
xiii) Magnesium (as Mg), mg/L, Max 75.0
xiv) Manganese (as Mn), mg/L, Max 0.2
xv) Copper (as Cu), mg/L, Max 1-0
xvi) Lead (as Pb), mg/L, Max 0.1
xvii) Chromium (as Cr+6), mg/L, Max 0.05
xviii) Zinc (as Zn), mg/L, Max 15.0
xix) Arsenic (as As), mg/L, Max 0.2
xx) Nitrate (as N), mg/L, Max 20
xxi) Phenolic substances as C6H5(OH ), mg/L, Max 0.001
xxii) Cadmium (as Cd), mg/L, Max 0.01
xxiii) Mercury (as Hg), mg/L, Max 0.001

TABLE 16.3 Tolerances for radioactivity

Sl. No. Characteristics Tolerances

i) Alpha emitters, µc/ml, Max 10-9
ii) Beta emitters, µc/ml, Max 10-8

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 Soft and hard water, temporary and permanent hardness

TABLE 16.4 Additional tolerances for specific operations

Sl. No. Characteristics Tolerance for

i) Total hardness (as CaCO3), Cooling Washing, flushing Processing
mg/L, Max and general
purpose
30* 30** -----
ii) Iron (as Fe), mg/L, Max -- 0.1 0.1
iii) Manganese (as Mn) , mg/L, --- 0.1 0.1
Max
iv) Slime forming organisms Absent --- ---
*For waters which are re-circulated and used. In once through and run to waste systems,
carbonate hardness should be absent.
**Especially if used for washing with soap or other alkaline detergents.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Temporary hardness of water is caused by ________.

a) Chlorides & Sulfates
b) Carbonates & bicarbonates
c) Sodium & Potassium
d) None of the above

2. Permanent hardness of water is caused by the __________.

a) Chlorides & Sulfates
b) Carbonates & bicarbonates
c) Sodium & Potassium
d) None of the above

3. As per Indian standards the standard plate count, in water meant for processed food
industry should not exceed __________.
a) 10
b) 100
c) 50
d) 05

4. Total hardness as CaCO3, in water meant for processed food industry should not
exceed _________ ppm.
a) 400
b) 300
c) 500

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 Soft and hard water, temporary and permanent hardness

d) 600

5. Level of Nitrate in mg/l in water meant for processed food industry should not exceed
____.
a) 30
b) 20
c) 40
d) 25

ANSWERS

1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (d) 5. (b)