Postlab

1. Explain the mechanism responsible for the stability of lyophilic and lyophobic colloidal dispersion
2. Describe the role of colloids in waste water treatment
3. Describe some of the colloid-related principles involved in food chemistry, such as the stabilization
of milk and mayonnaise, the preparation of butter and the various ways of cooking eggs
4. Assuming your calcium sample source contain Cu2+ or Mg2+, how would the effect be eliminated or
at least minimised
5. What is complexometric titration
6. What is Tyndall effect
7. Mention two properties of suspension
8. Mention four (4) water treatment parameters under physical and chemical properties
9. Mention all possible water indicators parameters with their specific instrument (s) used to measure
their quantities under the broad classification; physical, Chemical and biological.
10. Could we have used a different indicator, besides Erichrome Black T in complexometric titration
11. Explain the mechanism involve in complexometric titration
12. What is a jar test in water treatment
13. State the beer- lambert law
14. at what pH is calcium titration carried out.

Responses
1. Lyophobic colloids are those colloids in which there is little mutual attraction between the
dispersion medium and the dispersed phase, and therefore the colloidal particles exist independent of
the dispersion medium. In lyophobic colloids (suspensoids) stability of their products is usually very
difficult due to their smaller size, and will not settle on standing or go to the bottom of their containers
by gravity. However, when they come together to form larger masses, precipitation would occur. But
since all the particles bear the same charge, they repel one another and coagulation is not possible if
the charges on the colloids are not reduced or neutralised. The addition of electrolytes to the colloidal
suspension would coagulate the lyophobic colloids since the dispersed phase will get attracted from
the solution to ions whose charges is opposite to that on the colloid. The colloidal charges then get
neutralised and coagulation occurs (possible), again the appropriate mixture of positively -charged
and negatively charged colloids will cause the suspensoids to be destabilised and hence can be
precipitated. It is therefore evident that the stability of a lyophobic colloid depends on the charge on
the colloid, and this is easily removed or decreased by the addition of electrolytes. In Lyophilic
colloids (colloids that have a strong attraction between the dispersed phase and the dispersion
medium. Here there is no interference between the two phases and therefore the ability of these
colloids to reflect light is low) precipitation requires much larger quantities of electrolytes, because it
has a twofold function to play.

Firstly, the electrolyte has to convert the lyophilic (emulsoids) to a suspensoids (lyophobic) by
destroying the sheath of dispersion medium around the colloidal particle. Secondly, the electrolyte
then neutralises the charge on the lyophobic (suspensoids) colloid formed. For instance, addition of
alcohol to an aqueous emulsoid like oil-based paints will remove the layers of water molecules around
the colloidal particles thus converting the emulsoid into a suspensoids. Subsequent addition of a small
quantity of an electrolyte will cause flocculation. When larger quantities of the electrolyte are added
to precipitate the lyophilic colloids, the process is known as salting-out.

2.
4. The use of ion exchangers
5. A complexometric titration is a type of volumetric analysis in which the reaction involves the
formation of an inorganic complex. In other they are titrations that are marked by change in colour,
which is then used to indicate the end point of the titration.

6. when a beam of sunlight is allowed into a dark room through a small hole and the beam is viewed
at right angles to the direction of the beam, dust particles are seen dancing erratically in the beam.
These colloidal dust particles are not normally visible to the eye. They are only visible when they
scatter light and the small particles appear as a big bright ball. If strong light is passed through a
colloidal solution, light is scattered by the colloidal particles. The scattering of light is what is known
as the Tyndall effect

7. A suspension is defined as a heterogeneous mixture in which the solid particles are spread,
throughout the liquid without dissolving in it. Properties of a suspension include
i. A suspension is a heterogeneous in nature
ii. The particles of a suspension does not pass through a filter paper. Hence a property employed to
separate such mixtures (Filtration)

8. a. Physical water treatment parameters include

i. Colour
ii. Temperature
iii. Transparency
iv. Odour

b. Chemical water treatment parameter

i. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
ii. Electrical Conductivity (E.C)
iii. pH
iv. Calcium Hardness

9. Broad classifications of water treatment parameters and their measuring instrument / equipment.
Parameter measured Instrument (s)
A. PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
i Colour Visual comparison with distilled water

ii. Temperature Thermometer- 0.1° C division

iii. Transparency Secchi disk

iv. Odour Human nose and the olfactometer

v. Turbidity Nephelometer or turbidimeter

B. CHEMICAL PARAMETERS

i. pH pH meter, or colorimetric methods

ii. Electrical conductivity Conductivity meter

 iii. Total solids Turbidimeter or turbidity sensor

iv. Total dissolved solids (TDS) TDS meters, also known as TDS testers or indicators

v. Total suspended solids Filtering and weighing a water sample

vi Total hardness Colorimetric titration with an EDTA solution

vii. Heavy metals and Fluorides Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS)

viii Na and K Flame photometer

vix Dissolved oxygen Dissolved oxygen meter

x Sulphates Nephelometer

xi. Chemical oxygen demand Proteus multiparameter sensor

xii. Phosphates Field spectrophotometer

C. BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS

i. Plankton analysis Microscope and counting

10. Yes, but only limited to the following Fast Sulphon Black, Eriochrome Red B, Patton Reeder,
or Murexide.
11. Assuming we are presented with a sample (eg water, drinks, etc),

12. Jar test is a pilot-scale laboratory test that simulates coagulation or flocculation with differing
chemical doses. The purpose of the jar test is to estimate the minimum coagulant dose required to
achieve certain water quality goals. It does so by helping us to determine the right amount of
treatment chemicals: the lowest dose of chemicals that provides satisfactory settling is the dose used
to treat the water

13. Beer’s Lambert Law, we know that the absorbance (A) is related to concentration (c) and path length
(l) of the sample as:

1
𝐴 = 𝜀𝐶𝐿 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔
𝑇

ε is the molar extinction coefficient and T is the transmittance of the solution.

14. At a pH of 10