Environmental Chemistry

EVT 520

Aquatic Chemistry
Nor Fadilah Chayed
 Outline
• Types and Source of Water Pollution
• Effect of water pollution
• Water pollution of stream, lake & ocean
• Preventing and reducing water pollution
 Water Pollution

❑ Pollution - presence of substances at high enough levels to

harm health, survival, or humans activities or other living
organisms.

❑Water Pollution – Any chemical, biological and physical

change in water quality that has effect on living organisms.
 Types and source of water pollution
There are two sources of water pollution:
❑Point Source
• Single and identifiable sources of pollution
• e.g. factory, sewage/wastewater treatment plants, smokestacks,
vehicles
❑Non-Point Source
• Dispersed points, difficult to identify and cannot be traced to any
single site of discharge. It is pollution that comes from many
places
• e.g. agricultural runoff, pesticide spray, leaching from unsanitary
dumpsites
Types and source of water pollution
o Point Sources & Non-Point Sources
NONPOINT SOURCES

Rural homes

Urban streets Cropland

Animal feedlot

Suburban POINT SOURCES

development Factory

Wastewater
treatment
plant
 Water Pollution
Water quality parameters
• Physical parameters
• Chemical parameters
• Biological parameters
 Water Pollution
• Physical parameters
 Water Pollution
• Chemical parameters
 Water Pollution
• Biological parameters
Major Water Pollutants and Their Effects:
Major Water Pollutants and Their Effects

• A fecal coliform bacteria

test is used to indicate the
likely presence of disease-
causing bacteria in water.
 BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
❑Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Oxygen is removed from water when organic matter is consumed
by bacteria.
❑Sources of organic matter
• Natural - swamps, leaf fall
• Human – WWTP, food processing industries
• Nonpoint inputs - runoff from urban areas and agricultural areas
❑Low oxygen conditions may kill fish and other organisms
 Major Water Pollutants and Their Effects

• Water quality and dissolved oxygen (DO) content in parts per million (ppm) at 20°C.
• Only a few fish species can survive in water less than 4ppm at 20°C.
 Water
DO (ppm) at 20°C
Quality

Good 8–9

Slightly
polluted
6.7–8

Moderately
polluted 4.5–6.7

Heavily
polluted Below 4.5

Gravely
polluted Below 4
 Effects of Water Pollution
Inorganic plant nutrients
❑High nutrient concentrations can
cause Eutrophication of water bodies
❑Eutrophication is characterized by
rapid increase in plant life.
❑An example is the algae bloom
shown here.
 Effects of Water Pollution
How eutrophication may kill fish in water courses e.g. pond, lake
• Algae blooms block sunlight so plants below die.
• Decomposition of dead plants consumes oxygen.
• Low oxygen conditions may kill fish etc.
• Odour problem - bad smell
• Uptake and release of toxics
 Water Pollution
❑Water Pollution of Stream

❑Water Pollution of Lake

❑Water Pollution of Groundwater

❑Water Pollution of Ocean

 Water Pollution of Stream
❑ Rivers have been easy targets for dumping of sewage and industrial
wastes
❑ Many rivers that are in industrial areas are so polluted and low in
oxygen that very few species can live in them anymore
❑ In 2009, 54 out of 577 rivers in Malaysia which monitored by DOE
are polluted.
❑ In 2008, only 48 rivers in the polluted river list!!
Water Pollution of Stream
- Oxygen Sag Curve
 POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER STREAMS

• Flowing streams can recover from a moderate level of degradable water

pollutants if they are not overloaded and their flows are not reduced.

• In a flowing stream, the breakdown of degradable wastes by bacteria depletes

DO and creates and oxygen sag curve.
• This reduces or eliminates populations of organisms with high oxygen requirements.
 Water Pollution Problems in Streams

• Dilution and decay of degradable, oxygen-demanding wastes and heat in

a stream.
 POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER STREAMS

• Most developed countries have sharply reduced point-source pollution

but toxic chemicals and pollution from nonpoint sources are still a
problem.
• Stream pollution from discharges of untreated sewage and industrial
wastes is a major problem in developing countries.
Global Outlook: Stream Pollution in Developing
Countries
• Water in many of central
China's rivers are greenish
black from uncontrolled
pollution by thousands of
factories.
 Case Study: India’s Ganges River: Religion,
Poverty, and Health

• Religious beliefs, cultural traditions, poverty, and a large population interact

to cause severe pollution of the Ganges River in India.
• Very little of the sewage is treated.
• Hindu believe in cremating the dead to free the soul and throwing the
ashes in the holy Ganges.
• Some are too poor to afford the wood to fully cremate.
• Decomposing bodies promote disease and depletes DO.
Case Study: India’s Ganges River: Religion,
Poverty, and Health
• Daily, more than 1 million Hindus in
India bathe, drink from, or carry out
religious ceremonies in the highly
polluted Ganges River.
 Water Pollution of Lake
- Eutrophication
Discharge of untreated
municipal sewage Nitrogen compounds
(nitrates and phosphates) produced by cars
and factories

Natural runoff
Discharge of (nitrates and
detergents phosphates
( phosphates)

Manure runoff
From feedlots
(nitrates and
Phosphates,
Discharge of treated ammonia)
municipal sewage
(primary and secondary
treatment:
nitrates and phosphates)
Runoff from streets,
lawns, and construction
Lake ecosystem lots (nitrates and
nutrient overload phosphates)
and breakdown of
chemical cycling

Runoff and erosion

Dissolving of (from from cultivation,
nitrogen oxides mining, construction,
(from internal combustion and poor land use)
engines and furnaces)
 Water Pollution of Lake
- Eutrophication

How eutrophication may kill fish in water courses e.g. pond, lake
Algae blooms block sunlight so plants below die.
Decomposition of dead plants consumes oxygen.
Low oxygen conditions may kill fish etc.
 POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER LAKES
• Dilution of pollutants in lakes is less effective than in most streams
because most lake water is not mixed well and has little flow.
• Lakes and reservoirs are often stratified and undergo little mixing.
• Low flow makes them susceptible to runoff.
• Various human activities can overload lakes with plant nutrients, which
decrease DO and kill some aquatic species.
 Cultural Eutrophication
• Eutrophication: the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake,
estuary or slow moving stream, mostly from runoff of plant nutrients
from the surrounding land.
• Cultural eutrophication: human activities accelerate the input of
plant nutrients (mostly nitrate- and phosphate-containing effluents)
to a lake.
• 85% of large lakes near major population centers in the U.S. have some
degree of cultural eutrophication.
 POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER
• Groundwater can become contaminated with a variety of chemicals
because it cannot effectively cleanse itself and dilute and disperse
pollutants.
• The drinking water for about half of the U.S. population and 95% of those in
rural areas comes from groundwater.
 Polluted air

Pesticides
and fertilizers
Hazardous
waste
injection
Deicing well
Coal strip road salt Buried gasoline
mine runoff and solvent tanks
Pumping Gasoline station Cesspool,
well septic tank
Water
Waste lagoon pumping well
Sewer
Landfill Leakage
from
Accidental faulty
spills casing

Discharge
Confined
aquifer
Groundwater
flow
 Water Pollution of Groundwater

Hazardous waste injection well

Pesticides
Coal strip
De-icing Buried gasoline
mine runoff
road salt and solvent tank
Pumping Cesspool
well Gasoline station septic tank
Waste lagoon Water pumping Sewer
well Landfill
Accidental Leakage from faulty casing
spills
Discharge

Confined aquifer

Groundwater
flow
 Water Pollution of Groundwater
- Prevention Methods

❑ Monitoring aquifers
❑ Leak detection systems
❑ Strictly regulating hazardous waste disposal
❑ Storing hazardous materials above ground
 POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER

• It can take hundreds to thousand of years for contaminated

groundwater to cleanse itself of degradable wastes.
• Nondegradable wastes (toxic lead, arsenic, flouride) are there permanently.
• Slowly degradable wastes (such as DDT) are there for decades.
Leaking
tank

Water
table

Groundwater
flow Free gasoline
Gasoline dissolves in
leakage plume groundwater
(liquid phase) (dissolved Migrating
phase) vapor phase
Contaminant plume moves Water well
with the groundwater
Fig. 21-8, p. 502
 Solutions
Groundwater Pollution
Prevention Cleanup

Find substitutes for toxic Pump to surface,

chemicals clean, and return
to aquifer (very
Keep toxic expensive)
chemicals out of
the environment
Inject microorganisms
to clean up
Install monitoring contamination (less
wells near landfills expensive but still
and underground costly)
tanks
Require leak detectors on
underground tanks
Pump
Ban hazardous waste nanoparticles of
disposal inorganic
in landfills and compounds to
injection wells remove pollutants
(may be the
Store harmful liquids in cheapest, easiest,
aboveground tanks with leak and most effective
detection and collection systems method but is still
being developed)
Fig. 21-9, p. 504
 OCEAN POLLUTION

• Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are caused by explosive growth of harmful

algae from sewage and agricultural runoff.
Industry Cities Urban sprawl
Nitrogen oxides Toxic metals Bacteria and viruses Construction sites
from autos and and oil from from Sediments are washed into
smokestacks, streets and sewers and septic waterways, choking fish and plants,
toxic chemicals, parking lots tanks contaminate clouding waters, and blocking
and heavy metals in pollute waters; shellfish beds sunlight.
effluents flow into
bays and estuaries.
Farms
Runoff of pesticides, manure, and
fertilizers adds toxins and excess
nitrogen and phosphorus.
Red tides
Closed Excess nitrogen causes
shellfish beds explosive growth of
toxicmicroscopic algae,
Closed poisoning fish and
beach marine mammals.
Oxygen-depleted
zone

Toxic sediments
Chemicals and toxic
metals contaminate
shellfish beds, kill
spawning fish, and
accumulate in the tissues
of bottom feeders.
Oxygen-depleted zone Healthy zone
Sedimentation and algae Clear, oxygen-rich
overgrowth reduce sunlight, waters promote growth
kill beneficial sea grasses, use of plankton and sea grasses,
up oxygen, and degrade habitat. and support fish.Fig. 21-10, p. 505
 Water Pollution of Ocean
- Oil Spill

❑ Sources ➔ offshore wells, tankers, pipelines and storage tanks

❑ Effects ➔ death of organisms, loss of animal insulation and buoyancy,
smothering
❑ Significant economic impacts
❑ Mechanical cleanup methods➔ skimmers and blotters
❑ Chemical cleanup methods ➔ coagulants and dispersing agents
 Solutions
Coastal Water Pollution
Prevention Cleanup
Reduce input of toxic pollutants Improve oil-spill cleanup
capabilities
Separate sewage and storm lines

Ban dumping of wastes and sewage by

maritime and cruise ships in coastal
waters
Ban ocean dumping of sludge and
hazardous dredged material
Sprinkle nanoparticles over an oil or
sewage spill to dissolve the oil or
sewage without
creating harmful by-products
(still under development)

Protect sensitive areas from

development, oil drilling, and Require at least secondary
oil shipping treatment of coastal sewage

Regulate coastal development

Recycle used oil Use wetlands, solar-aquatic,

or other methods to treat sewage
Require double hulls for oil tankers
Preventing and reducing water pollution
Source
Regulations
Non-Point Sources Point Sources

• Reduce runoff • EQA, 1974

• Buffer zone vegetation
• Reduce soil erosion
• Manual Saliran Mesra Alam
(MSMA)
• Sewage Effluent Regulations,
2009
• Industrial Effluent Regulations,
2009
• Leachate Effluent Regulations,
2009
Mitigation
• The most important strategy for reducing marine pollution is
education
– Awareness
– Dissemination (buy in)
– Research – technology approaches
 Technology Approach
Sewage Treatment using Mechanical & Biological
Treatment
 Primary Secondary

Chlorine
Bar screen Grit chamber Settling tank Aeration tank Settling tank disinfection tank

To river,
lake,
Sludge or ocean
Raw sewage Activated sludge (kills bacteria)
from sewers

Air pump
Sludge
digester

Disposed of
in landfill or
ocean or applied
to cropland,
Sludge drying bed pasture, or
rangeland
 Manhole cover
(for cleanout)

Septic tank
Gas Distribution box
Scum
Wastewater
Sludge
Drain field
(gravel or
crushed stone)
Vent pipe
Perforated pipe
Dust Particles
Particles of dried sludge carry
viruses and harmful bacteria
that can be inhaled, infect cuts
or enter homes.
Odors
Odors may cause illness or
indicate presence of harmful gases.

BUFFER Exposure
ZONE Children may walk or
play in fertilized fields.

Livestock Poisoning
Sludge Cows may die after grazing
on sludge-treated fields.
Groundwater
Contamination
Harmful chemicals Surface Runoff
and pathogens Harmful chemicals
may leach into and pathogens may
groundwater pollute nearby
and shallow wells. streams,lakes, ponds,
and wetlands.
Technology Approach
Using Wetlands to Treat Sewage
 What Can You Do?
Water Pollution

• Fertilize garden and yard plants with manure or compost

instead of commercial inorganic fertilizer.

• Minimize your use of pesticides.

• Do not apply fertilizer or pesticides near a body of water.

• Grow or buy organic foods.

• Compost your food wastes.

• Do not use water fresheners in toilets.

• Do not flush unwanted medicines down the toilet.

• Do not pour pesticides, paints, solvents, oil, antifreeze, or other

products containing harmful chemicals down the drain or
onto the ground.
 Solutions

Water Pollution

• Prevent groundwater contamination

• Reduce nonpoint runoff

• Reuse treated wastewater for irrigation

• Find substitutes for toxic pollutants

• Work with nature to treat sewage

• Practice four R's of resource use (refuse,
reduce, recycle, reuse)

• Reduce air pollution

• Reduce poverty

• Reduce birth rates