CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY VII (EP 329)

NO. OF EXPERIMENT: 1 & 2

TITLE OF EXPERIMENT: ANALYSIS OF WATER SAMPLES AND
HARDNESS OF WATER
NAME: MOHAMAD TASLIN SHAH BIN IBRAMSHAH
ID: 1001748107
GROUP: 1
DATE OF EXPERIMENT: (25/1/2021) & (8/2/2021)
TUTOR: Ms. RAFIZAH BINTI ZAITON

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & BUILT
ENVIRONMENT

2021

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Table Contents
1.Problem Statement .................................................................................................................................... 1
2.Hypothesis................................................................................................................................................ 1
3.Objectives ................................................................................................................................................ 1
4.Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1
5.Materials & Apparatus .............................................................................................................................. 2
6.Procedures……. ....................................................................................................................................... 3
7.Results & Calculations.............................................................................................................................. 3
8.Discussion ................................................................................................................................................ 4
9.Limitation/Precaution ............................................................................................................................... 8
10.Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………….8
11.References…………………………………………………………………………………………………..8

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1. Problem Statement

What are the differences in the properties (pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and hardness) of
the three water samples and what are the impacts from differences in these parameters
among the samples.

2. Hypothesis

The purity and the hardness of water to be determine by testing the pH, dissolves oxygen,
turbidity and the presence of Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions in the water.

3. Objectives
- To identify pH, Turbidity and Dissolved Oxygen.
- To identify the hardness of water samples
- To identify the impacts due to unclean and hard water

4. Introduction

Water covers about three-quarters of the earth's surface and it is essential for all known
forms of life. Water is a habitat for a variety of plants and animals which have special
adaptations to survive in their habitats. Some of the characteristics that control the quality of
water are the turbidity of water, pH of water and different types of plants and animals and
their density.

pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of the water as ranked on a scale of 1.0
to 14.0. The lower the pH of water, the more acidic it is. The higher the pH of water, the
more basic, or alkaline, it is. pH affects many chemical and biological processes in the water
and different organisms have different ranges of pH within which they flourish. The largest
variety of aquatic animals prefer a pH range of 6.5 - 8.0. pH outside of this range reduces
the diversity in the stream because it stresses the physiological systems of most organisms
and can reduce reproduction. Low pH can also allow toxic elements and compounds such as
heavy metals to become mobile and "available" for uptake by aquatic plants and animals.
Again, this can produce conditions that are toxic to aquatic life, particularly to sensitive
species like trout. Changes in acidity can be caused by atmospheric deposition (acid rain or
acid shock from snowmelt), surrounding rock, and wastewater discharges. Technically, the
pH scale measures the logarithmic concentration of hydrogen (H+) and hydroxide (OH-)
ions, which make up water (H+ + OH- = H20). When both types of ions are in equal
concentration, the pH is 7.0 or neutral. Below 7.0, the water is acidic (there are more
hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions). When the pH is above 7.0, the water is alkaline, or
basic (there are more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions). Since the scale is logarithmic, a
drop in the pH by 1.0 unit is a 10-fold increase in acidity. So, a water sample with a pH of
5.0 is ten times as acidic as one with a pH of 6.0. pH 4.0 is 100 times as acidic as pH 6.0.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important indicators of water quality. It is

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 essential for the survival of fish and other aquatic organisms. Oxygen dissolves in surface
water due to the aerating action of winds. Oxygen is also introduced into the water as a
byproduct of aquatic plant photosynthesis. When dissolved oxygen becomes too low, fish
and other aquatic organisms cannot survive. The colder water is, the more oxygen it can
hold. As the water becomes warmer, less oxygen can be dissolved in the water. Salinity is
also an important factor in determining the amount of oxygen a body of water can hold;
fresh water can absorb more oxygen than salt water. Oxygen levels also may be reduced
when there are too many bacteria or algae in water (Biochemical Oxygen Demand). After
the algae complete their life cycle and die, they are consumed by bacteria. During this decay
process the bacteria also consume the oxygen dissolved in the water. This can lead to
decreased levels of biologically available oxygen, in some cases leading to fish kills and
death to other aquatic organisms.

Turbidity is caused by suspended materials which absorb and scatter light. These colloidal
and finely dispersed turbidity-causing materials do not settle under quiescent conditions and
are difficult to remove by sedimentation. Turbidity is a key parameter in water supply
engineering, because turbidity will both cause water to be aesthetically unpleasant and cause
problems in water treatment processes, such as filtration and disinfection. Turbidity is also
often used as indicative evidence of the possibility of bacteria being present. Turbidity
measurements performed using proprietary nephelometric instruments are expressed as
Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). The nephelometric apparatus is designed to measure
forward scattering of light at 90o to the path of an incandescent light beam. Suspended
particles present in a water sample reflect a portion of the incident light off the particle
surface. The light reflected at 90o is measured by a photoelectric detector and is compared
against light reflected by a reference standard. No interference exists for the turbidity test

Water hardness is mainly caused by calcium and magnesium salts. It is also caused by iron
aluminum and other metals but only to an extent. Water hardness that is caused by
bicarbonates and carbonates from the calcium and magnesium are called temporary
hardness. This means that they can be removed by boiling the water. This softens the
carbonates in the water. Another type of hardness is residual hardness (noncarbonate) in
other words permanent water hardness. To soften this type of hardness is to add sodium
carbonate, lime, filtration through natural zeolites. Natural zeolites absorb the hardness in
water hardness which then produce metallic ions and then release sodium ions to the water.
Hardness is usually expressed as the equivalent of calcium carbonate in grains per gallon (or
ppm).

5. Materials & Apparatus

- Rain water
- Tap water
- Drain water
- pH meter
- DO meter
- Turbidimeter
- 3 × 200mL beaker
- Ca2+/Mg2+ indicator
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 - EDTA solution
- EGTA solution
- Sodium Hydroxide Solution
- Stirring plate
- Colorimeter DR900
- 3 glassware sample cells

6. Procedures

Analysis of water sample:

1. The samples were poured into 3 different beakers until 200mL.

2. The 3 beakers were labeled as Beaker 1(Drain water), Beaker 2(Rain water) and Beaker
3(Tap water).
3. The pH of the three samples were measured using pH meter.
4. The Dissolved Oxygen for the three samples were measured using DO meter.
5. The turbidity for all three samples were measured using turbidimeter.
6. All the results were recorded in the table below.

Hardness of water:

1. 100 mL of drain water was taken and poured into a beaker.

2. 1 mL of each Mg2+ and Ca2+ indicator was added and stirred into the solution using a
dropper.
3. 1 ml of NaOH solution was added into the mixture using a dropper and the final solution
was shaken well.
4. The solution was then poured into 3 different glassware sample cells.
5. In the first sample cell, 1 drop of EDTA solution was added and swirled to mix well,
followed by EGTA solution in the second sample cell, leaving the third unchanged.
6. The samples have been thoroughly cleaned using paper towel.
7. The blank inserted into cell holder and pushed zero.
8. The Magnesium sample cell was inserted, read, and stored.
9. For the calcium program, step 8 was repeated with the Calcium sample cell.

7.Results & Calculations

Water Sample pH reading Average

Rain water 7.1 6.9 7.15 7.05
Tap water 8.3 8.6 7.9 8.27
Drain water 5.5 6.0 5.9 5.80

Water Sample DO reading (mg/L) Average

Rain water 6.5 7.2 7.6 7.1
Tap water 10.5 10.7 11 10.73
Drain water 4.6 5 4.6 4.73

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 Water Sample Turbidity reading (NTU) Average
Rain water 210 205 206 207
Tap water 82 86 84 84
Drain water 1570 1577 1575 1574

Hardness Rain water

st nd
(mg/L CaCO3) 1 reading 2 reading 3rd reading
Calcium (Ca2+) 3.63 3.59 3.55
Magnesium 1.69 1.71 1.72
(Mg2+)
Total Hardness 5.32 5.3 5.27
Average 5.3

Hardness Tap water

st nd
(mg/L CaCO3) 1 reading 2 reading 3rd reading
Calcium (Ca2+) 1.81 1.92 1.85
Magnesium 1.06 1.10 1.15
(Mg2+)
Total Hardness 2.87 3.02 3.0
Average 2.96

Hardness Drain water

st nd
(mg/L CaCO3) 1 reading 2 reading 3rd reading
Calcium (Ca2+) 3.39 3.65 3.52
Magnesium 3.54 3.78 3.71
(Mg2+)
Total Hardness 6.93 7.43 7.23
Average 7.2

8.Discussion

1. Discuss the results obtained for pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen in different water
samples.

The readings of pH obtained from the experiment shows that on average, the rainwater
has pH of 7.05, Tap water is 8.27 and drain water 5.80. The rainwater should have
pH value of between 5.0 and 5.5, which is slightly acidic. The principal cause of alkaline
rain are emissions from factories and waste deposits. Mineral dust containing large
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 amounts of alkaline compounds such as calcium carbonate can also increase the pH of
precipitation and contribute to basic rain. The normal range for pH in tap water systems
is 7.01 to 8.0, which is more likely to alkaline. The pH for tap water slightly have
variation for different locations. Drain water has pH within a range from 6.5-8.5, but the
reading obtained from the experiment shown that it’s more acidic.

The average DO reading for tap water is the highest at 10.73, which can result from the
aerating during the water treatment process. The rapid water flowing into the tank and
carries air with it, which is then plunged into the water. At greater depths and thus
greater hydrostatic pressures, this entrained air is forced into solution, potentially raising
saturation levels over 100%. The rainwater has an average DO reading of 7.1. The
dissolved oxygen is not the same as the oxygen in the water molecule. Dissolved oxygen
is present in all rainwater and surface supplies due to contact with the atmosphere. Drain
water obtained the lowest reading of DO content which is about 4.73, this is due to
increase in nutrients and organic materials from industrial wastewater, sewage
discharges, and runoff from the land. Excessive plant and algae growth and decay in
response to increasing nutrients in drain waterways can significantly affect the amount
of dissolved oxygen available.

The last parameter that determines from the experiment is turbidity of the samples. The
turbidity of the rainwater, tap water and drain water are 206, 84 and 1575 respectively.
The turbidity of tap water is lowest because it’s undergoes water treatment process
which remove the contamination before being supplied to the consumers. Whereas for
the drain water, has highest turbidity level due to the discharge of untreated waste and
toxic compound to the drainage system. The turbidity of rainwater moderate, because
the possibility to the impurities from atmosphere diffuse into the rain droplets occur
during the rain falls only.

2. Explain the importance of the parameters to marine ecosystems and domestic water
supply.

Water quality testing is an important part of environmental monitoring. When water

quality is poor, it affects not only aquatic life but the surrounding ecosystem as well.
These properties can be classified into physical and chemical factors. Physical properties
of water quality include turbidity. Chemical characteristics involve parameters such as
pH and dissolved oxygen. These parameters are relevant not only to surface water
studies of the ocean, lakes and rivers, but to groundwater and industrial processes as
well.

pH is a determined value based on a defined scale. it is a figure between 0 and 14

defining how acidic or basic a body of water is along a logarithmic scale. The lower the
number, the more acidic the water is. The higher the number, the more basic it is. A pH
of 7 is considered neutral. If the pH of water is too high or too low, the aquatic
organisms living within it will die. pH can also affect the solubility and toxicity of
chemicals and heavy metals in the water ¹². The majority of aquatic creatures prefer a
pH range of 6.5-9.0, though some can live in water with pH levels outside of this range.
As pH levels move away from this range (up or down) it can stress animal systems and
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 reduce hatching and survival rates. The further outside of the optimum pH range a value
is, the higher the mortality rates. The more sensitive a species, the more affected it is by
changes in pH. In addition to biological effects, extreme pH levels usually increase the
solubility of elements and compounds, making toxic chemicals more “mobile” and
increasing the risk of absorption by aquatic life.

Dissolved oxygen refers to the level of free, non-compound oxygen present in water or
other liquids. It is an important parameter in assessing water quality because of its
influence on the organisms living within a body of water. In limnology (the study of
lakes), dissolved oxygen is an essential factor second only to water itself. A dissolved
oxygen level that is too high or too low can harm aquatic life and affect water quality.
Dissolved oxygen is necessary to many forms of life including fish, invertebrates,
bacteria and plants. These organisms use oxygen in respiration, similar to organisms on
land. Fish and crustaceans obtain oxygen for respiration through their gills, while plant
life and phytoplankton require dissolved oxygen for respiration when there is no light
for photosynthesis. The amount of dissolved oxygen needed varies from creature to
creature. Bottom feeders, crabs, oysters and worms need minimal amounts of oxygen (1-
6 mg/L), while shallow water fish need higher levels (4-15 mg/L). Microbes such as
bacteria and fungi also require dissolved oxygen. These organisms use DO to
decompose organic material at the bottom of a body of water. Microbial decomposition
is an important contributor to nutrient recycling.

Turbidity can also inhibit photosynthesis by blocking sunlight. Halted or reduced

photosynthesis means a decrease in plant survival and decreased dissolved oxygen
output. The higher the turbidity levels, the less light that can reach the lower levels of
water. This reduces plant productivity at the bottom of an ocean, lake or river. Without
the needed sunlight, seaweed and bay grasses below the water’s surface will not be able
to continue photosynthesis and may die.

While humans have a higher tolerance for pH levels (drinkable levels range from 4-11
with minimal gastrointestinal irritation), there are still concerns. pH values greater than
11 can cause skin and eye irritations, as does a pH below 4. A pH value below 2.5 will
cause irreversible damage to skin and organ linings. Lower pH levels increase the risk of
mobilized toxic metals that can be absorbed, even by humans, and levels above 8.0
cannot be effectively disinfected with chlorine, causing other indirect risks.

3. Why the hardness of the water is important to be known. Give an example.

Hard water can have some benefits to the humans. Humans need minerals to stay
healthy, and the World Health Organization (WHO) states that drinking-water may be a
contributor of calcium and magnesium in the diet and could be important for those who
are marginal for calcium and magnesium intake.

In the industries, some hardness is needed in plumbing systems to prevent corrosion of

pipes.

Calcium and magnesium are essential nutrients for aquatic plants and animals. For
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 example, fish need calcium for bone development, because bone consists largely of
calcium phosphate. In fertilized ponds, the amount of phosphate fertilizer necessary to
maintain an adequate phytoplankton bloom can be greater in water of high calcium
concentration, especially if pH is elevated. For example, about three times as much
phosphate fertilization was required in ponds in Israel where hardness was over 300
mg/L to give the same amount of tilapia production as achieved in ponds in Alabama,
USA, with a hardness of about 45 mg/L.

4. Compare the hardness of the water samples. Explain.

The average hardness of drain water approximately 7.2 and for the rainwater, tap water
5.3 and 2.96 respectively. From the results we can compared that the hardness of rain
water greater than tap water, this due to the tap water undergoes water treatment before
it is consume by the users. In the water treatment process, the unnecessary contaminate
in the water will be removed. Whereas the rainwater falls, it is naturally soft. However,
as water makes its way through the ground and into our waterways, it picks
up minerals like chalk, lime and mostly calcium and magnesium and becomes hard
water. The hardness of drain water is greatest among the three samples, this is due to it
being in contact with sites high in Mg2+ and Ca2+ ion concentrations.

5. Discuss the health impact on the over exposure of water hardness.

Hard water, particularly very hard water, could provide an important supplementary
contribution to total calcium and magnesium intake. The health effects of hard water are
mainly due to the effects of the salts dissolved in it, primarily calcium and magnesium.

In most large-scale studies, an inverse relationship between the hardness of drinking-

water and cardiovascular disease has been reported. The concentration of magnesium in
striated muscle has been used as a marker to evaluate the ion content in the soft tissue.

One of the most obvious effects of hard water is skin irritation and Eczema is an
example to it. Using hard water not only makes your skin dry but also leads to bumpy
patches on the skin. These skin problems are caused by the presence of excessive
minerals in the water.

Another harmful effect of hard water is hair loss. The presence of magnesium, silica,
and calcium in the water can lead to breakage, dryness and thinning of hair. Not only
this, but the regular usage of hard water can also destroy your hair follicles and this can
even lead to the formation of dandruff.

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9.Limitation/Precaution

The limitations in this experiment were the results that obtained from the experiment which
is limited to the scope of Malaysia. The procedures to carried out the experiments were
more or less provided relevant results, but the parameters tested will undoubtedly differ
based on different locations. This is due to the variation of environmental temperature,
cleanliness of the environment and the mineral rich sites.

Apart from that, the human error is also should be considered, such as during recording the
results. This can be fixed with rinse the electrode with distilled water before measure each
of the samples. During hardness test, wipe the cells with paper towels or cloth before placed
in the calorimeter. Ensure the substances well mixed to get more accurate results.

10.Conclusion

In the conclusion, the objectives of the experiments were achieved as the parameters like
pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity of the samples measured within the limits of error and
able to determine the impacts from the hardness of water as well.

11.Reference

1. “Tap Water, RO Water, Softened Water, Rain Water - What Are the Differences?” Garden

Fundamentals, 22 Jan. 2020,

www.gardenfundamentals.com/tap-ro-softened-rain-water/.

2. “Why Is Hardness Important to Me?” Aqua Systems, 18 June 2019,

www.ilovemywater.com/hard-water/why-is-hardness-important-to-me/.

3. Oram, Brian. “Water Research Center - Drinking Water Hardwater Hardness Calcium

Magnesium Scale Stained Laundry.” Water-Research.net, 2018,

water-research.net/index.php/water-treatment/tools/hard-water-hardness.

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4. KENT RO SYSTEMS. “Possible Health Effects of Using Hard Water on Human Body.”

Www.kent.co.in, 13 Oct. 2020, www.kent.co.in/blog/possible-effects-of-using-hard-water-

on-human-body/.

5. Rahmanian, N., et al. “Analysis of Physiochemical Parameters to Evaluate the Drinking

Water Quality in the State of Perak, Malaysia.” Journal of Chemistry, vol. 2015, 2015, pp.

1–10, www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2015/716125/, 10.1155/2015/716125.