Experiment No 1: Turbidity of water

The cloudiness or haziness of water, caused by suspended particles and colloids that are
invisible to naked eyes, is known as turbidity.
Turbidity measurements is performed using Nephelometric instruments. The Nephelometric
apparatus is designed to measure the suspended particles present in water samples that scatter a
portion of the light pass through the water. The scattered light is captured by a photodiode kept at
90 in the light path produce electronic signals that converted into turbidity in comparison with a
reference standard.
The Formazin solution is used as a standard for turbidity measurements as the particles of Formazin
are uniform in size and shape. The stock standard of 400 NTU.

Experiment No 2: Alkalinity
The alkalinity is defined as the amount of hydrogen ions (in moles) required to neutralise the
proton acceptor in 1 L of water.

if Phenolphthalein indicator is added to a sample with pH greater than 8.3, the colour of the sample
will turn to pink due to the presence of OH ions. If pH of the sample further reduced by adding a
sulphuric acid - H2SO4, the pink colour disappears at a pH of 8.3 due to the neutralization of OH
ions. Further, if Bromocresol green indicator is added to the sample at this point, colour will turn to
green, and titrated against H2SO4 the colour will from green to reddish violet at pH of 4.3 where all
the remaining chemical species contributing alkalinity will be neutralized.

Experiment No 3: Dissolved Oxygen Measurement Using Winkler Method

The DO is defined as the amount of oxygen gas (O2 in millilitres) dissolved per litre of water.
Dissolved molecular O2 is incapable of reacting with iodide, therefore, an O2 carrier such as
Manganese Hydroxide (Mn(OH)2) is used. (Mn(OH)2) is produced by the action of Potassium
Hydroxide (KOH) on Manganese Sulphate (MnSO4). So obtained Mn(OH)2) reacts with dissolved
molecular O2 to form a brown precipitate of Manganese Oxide (MnO(OH2). (MnO(OH2) then reacts
with concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and liberate nascent oxygen. Nascent oxygen results in the
oxidation of potassium iodide (KI) to Iodine (I2). The liberated iodine is then titrated against standard
thiosulfate solution. The end point is then determined using starch as an indicator. The amount of
O2 dissolved in water can be calculated from the titre; 1 mole of O2 reacts with four moles of
thiosulfate.

Experiment No 4: Biochemical Oxygen Demand

The BOD is a chemical procedure to estimate how fast bacteria can use up the DO in the water,
indirectly estimating the “food” available in the sample. The more “food” present in the water, the
more DO will be required for aerobic bacteria for the organic matter decomposition.

Reagents
Winkler Reagent – I (Manganese Sulphate, MnSO4 solution)
Winkler Reagent – II (Alkaline Potassium Iodide, KI, solution)
Sulphuric acid (H2SO4)
Sodium Thiosulfate solution
Potassium Iodate standard
Starch Indicator solution
In two BOD bottles, fill them with water sample. fix one of the BOD bottles, by adding 1 mL of
Winkler Reagent – I and Winkler Reagent – II a brown precipitate will form (Initial DO)
Allow the precipitate to settle two third of the way to the bottom. Add I mL of sulphuric acid through
the wall of the bottle to dissolve the precipitate completely. Keep the other BOD bottle for
incubation at 20oC for 5 days. After five days of incubation, repeat the steps above steps and titrate
the sample. Take 50-mL of sample in flask. Check the burette to ensure that it is filled with of
thiosulfate solution. Place the flask under the burette and add thiosulfate solution drop-by-drop until
the solution turn pale yellow colour - STOP titration
Add 3 drops of starch solution into the flask, continue to titrate by adding thiosulfate
drop-by-drop just until the solution turns clear and colourless
Record the volume of thiosulfate added.
BOD = DO(in) – DO(final).

Experiment No 5: Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) is an important structural and functional element in
aquatic ecosystems. The quantity, quality and origin of SPM in each water body is specific and
influenced by the geology, land use, urbanisation, state of waste, water treatment technology,
etc. in the water body. The amount of SPM is determined by filtering the water
samples through filters capable of collecting particles of μm size and weighing the filters for
particulate matter collected.
Weight of SPM (gram/volume) = [Final weight – Initial weight] / [volume (ml)] × 1000

Experiment No. 6: Hardness of Water

The presence of bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium ions give total
hardness to water. The total hardness of water is estimated by titrating the water sample against
standard EDTA solution using Eriochrome Black-T (EBT) indicator.
The presence of bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium ions results in the temporary hardness of
water. It can be removed by boiling. When water is boiled, temporary hardness producing
substances (bicarbonates) are precipitated as insoluble carbonates or hydroxides.

Initially EBT forms a weak EBT-Ca2+/Mg2+ complex that provide wine red colour with Ca2+/Mg2+
ions present in the hard water. On addition of EDTA solution, Ca2+/Mg2+ ions preferably form a
stable EDTA Ca2+/Mg2+ complex with EDTA, leaving the free EBT indicator in solution which is steel
blue in colour in the presence of ammonia buffer.
Vol of EDTA solution consumed (mL) × 1000
Total Hardness (ppm) = ---------------------------------------------------------
Volume of water taken (mL)
Temporary hardness = Total hardness - Permanent hardness (ppm)
Experiment No 7: Iron concentration in water
WHO limit the amount of iron to less than 0.3 ppm (0.3 mg/L) in drinking water.
A commonly used method for the determination of trace amounts of iron involves the
complexation of Ferrous ion (Fe2+) with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) to produce an intensely
red orange coloured complex:
Fe2+ + 3 phen → Fe(phen)32+
The determination of the iron-phen complex is performed with a spectrophotometer at a fixed
wavelength of 510 nm using external calibration based on iron standard solutions.