THE

CHEMISTRY
OF WATER
Prepared by:
Camille C. Abendanio
College of Science
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

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OUTLINE
I. Earth’s water
II. Human Activities and Water Quality
III. Water purification processes

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EARTH’S WATER
• 72% of the earth’s surface
• Undergoes water cycle –
cycle of phase changes
through different parts of
the earth

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EARTH’S WATER
Salt water: Earth’s Oceans and Seas
➢ Contains 97.2% of all the water on earth (1.35x109 km3 in volume)
➢ Most biodiversity (algae, zooplanktons and phytoplanktons, bacteria,
fishes, mammals, crustaceans, molluscs, arthropods, amphibians and
reptiles)
➢ Contains 3.5% w/v of salts by mass
➢ Salinity – mass in g of dry salts per kg of seawater
➢ Seawater temperature decreases as depth increase

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EARTH’S WATER

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EARTH’S WATER

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EARTH’S WATER
Salt water: Earth’s Oceans and Seas

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EARTH’S WATER
Freshwater
➢ Less than 500ppm of dissolved salts and solids
➢ 0.6% of the earth’s water composition
➢ Includes lakes, rivers, waters and streams
➢ Main uses:
o Domestic use
o Agriculture (e.g. Pangasius fish or cream dory is cultured in freshwater)
o Manufacturing processes
o Basic life activities

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EARTH’S WATER
Freshwater
➢ Approximately 20% of the world’s freshwater is in the form of
groundwater
o Aquifers - porous rocks that hold the water.
o Can be accessible for human consumption, however, large amounts
of arsenic (a heavy metal) present in rocks can cause harm to
humans.

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HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY
Water quality parameters
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS)
• Amount of particulates, soil, sand, and other solids (dissolved or not
dissolved) in water.

TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS)

• Total amount of dissolved inorganic salts and small amounts of organic
matter in water (WHO, 2003)

TURBIDITY
• Measures the amount of sunlight that passes through the water.
• Highly turbid → less sunglight can enter → less support to the ecosystem
underwater.
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HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY
Water quality parameters
pH
• Acidity/Basicity of water. Extreme pH levels are harmful to biodiversity.

SALINITY
• Depends on the ecosystem, some ecosystem require certain levels of salinity.

TEMPERATURE
• Has correlation with Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels.

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HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY
Water quality parameters

DISSOLVED OXYGEN (DO)

• Oxygen is normally required for life processes in water, which is

produced by aquatic plants.
• Aerobic bacteria consumes DO to degrade biodegradable
organic materials in water.
o High temp. in water, low DO (more evaporation of O2)
o Low DO values → insufficient O2 to support fish and aquatic animals
o High DO values → causes gas bubble disease in fish and
invertebrates

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 HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY
Eutrophication

Excessive amount Increase in population Decrease in O2

of plant nutrients of aquatic plants levels

• Stimulates excessive • Increase in amount • Death of aquatic

growth of aquatic of decaying plant animals
plants matter

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HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY
➢ Source of phosphorus –
soaps and detergents,
fertilizers, and industrial
wastes
➢ Source of nitrogen –
animal and human
wastes

Image source: https://earthhow.com/eutrophication-

causes-process-examples/
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HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND WATER QUALITY

© Fotolia

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WATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES
➢ Water quality fit for consumption is a major concern of the society today.

➢ In the Philippines, the DENR sets regulatory limits of parameters and

other contaminants to consider water as fit for human consumption.
o Water from dams and other sources must go through purification
processes and must be checked regularly.

➢ On the other hand, industrial wastes must also be treated first before
these are released to the environment.

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WATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES
I. Desalination (removal of salts from water)
➢ Distillation - separation by difference in
boiling point
➢ Reverse osmosis – the solvent passes
from a more concentrated into the more
dilute solution

Image source: https://puretecwater.com/reverse-

osmosis/what-is-reverse-osmosis

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WATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES
II. Water treatment (public use)

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WATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES
II. Water treatment (public use) : Basic steps
1. Coarse filtration – removal of particles with large particle sizes
2. Sedimentation
3. Addition of coagulants such as CaO + Al2(SO4)3, to coagulate fine
particles and allow them to settle.
4. Filtration – sand bed
5. Aeration – spraying into the air to hasten oxidation of inorganic ions
of Fe and Mn, and reduce levels of H2S and NH3
6. Treatment with chemical agent (ozone, O3 or Cl2) to kill bacteria
o Cl2 are effective in killing bacteria, however, chlorination of water
produces trihalomethanes which are carcinogenic.

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WATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES
Coarse filtration

Sedimentation

Addition of coagulants

Filtration

Aeration

Treatment with chemical

agent
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