ENEN 603: Principles of

Environmental Engineering

Sathish Ponnurangam

(Reading: Chapter-2 from Mihelcic & Zimmerman)

(Tutorials-1: 2.1, 2.5, 2.14, 2.29)
Dimensions, Units, and Conversions
• Difference between a dimension and a unit?
• Dimension?
• Measurable aspect of any object or system.
• E.g., Length, time, mass, temperature, electric current,
amount of substance, luminous intensity
• Can also be obtained by multiplying and dividing other
dimension
• Force?
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
• 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × =
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

• Units?
• SI (MKS), Imperial Units, US customary units, CGS
System of Units
• Fundamental and derived units

System Length Mass Time Temperature Force Energy

SI m kg s K or oC N J

US ft lbm s, hr oR, oF lbf BTU

Imperial ft slug s oR, oF lbf BTU ft.lb

CGS cm g s K or oC dyne J or Cal

Prefixes - SI Prefix Factor
terra 1012
giga 109
mega 106
kilo 103
deka 101
deci 10-1
centi 10-2
milli 10-3
micro 10-6
nano 10-9
pico 10-12
Mass concentration units
• Chemical concentration – a key unit
• Drives mass transfer (chemical potential difference) in
environmental systems
• Controls rate of reaction
• Determines levels of toxicity, climate change etc..,
Mass/Mass units
• Commonly expressed as parts per million, parts
per billion, etc..,
• ppm, ppb, ppt (or ppmm, ppbm, pptm)

• 𝑧 𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 1 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒

𝑥 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠
• = 𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 × 106

𝑥 𝑚𝑔 6 𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
• 𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑚 = × 10 (𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑚 𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑟 )
𝑦 𝑚𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑔 𝑘𝑔

• ppmm is number of mg of a substance per kg of the

sample mixture
Example
• 0.5 kg of soil has 5 mg of trichloroethylene (TCE)
• Express in ppmm and ppbm

𝑚𝑖 6 5𝑚𝑔 6 5𝑚𝑔
•= × 10 = 106 𝑚𝑔
× 10 = × 106 = 10𝑝𝑝𝑚m
𝑚𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 0.5 𝑘𝑔× 5×105 𝑚𝑔
1𝑘𝑔

𝑚𝑖 9 5𝑚𝑔
•= × 10 = 106 𝑚𝑔
× 109 = 10000 𝑝𝑝𝑏𝑚
𝑚𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 0.5𝑘𝑔×
1𝑘𝑔
Mass/Volume units
• For fluids, common to use mass/volume
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔 𝜇𝑔 𝜇𝑔
• , 3, 3,
𝐿 𝑚 𝑚 𝐿

• Converting from ppmm to mg/L for aqueous system

𝑎 𝑚𝑔
• 𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑚 =
𝑏 𝑘𝑔
• For aqueous solution
1𝑔 1 𝑘𝑔
• 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 ~ =
𝑚𝐿 𝐿
𝑎 𝑚𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎 𝑚𝑔 𝑎 𝑚𝑔
• 𝑧 𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑚 = 𝑚𝑔
× 106 = 𝐿 𝑚𝑔
× 106 = 𝑏𝐿
(𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠)
𝑏 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 106 1𝑘𝑔 𝑏 𝑘𝑔× 1𝑘𝑔 106 1𝐿

𝜇g
• For gases, concentration is expressed or ppmv is also used
𝑚3
𝑉𝑖
• parts per million on a volume basis, 𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑣 = × 106
𝑉𝑇
Example 2.3
𝑢𝑔
• Express CO concentration in given that in 10 L of
𝑚3
gas mixture contains 10-6 moles of CO
10−6 𝑚𝑜𝑙
•
10 𝐿
• Need to make numerator in mass and denominator in m3
• CO MW?
• 1 mole of CO = 12+16 = 28 g
• 1 𝐿 = 10−3 𝑚3
10−6 𝑚𝑜𝑙
•
10 𝐿
10−6 𝑚𝑜𝑙 28𝑔 106 𝜇𝑔 1𝐿 𝜇𝑔
•= × × × = 2800 3
10 𝐿 1𝑚𝑜𝑙 1𝑔 10−3 𝑚3 𝑚
 • SF6 gas: used to prevent short circuits and accidents in wind power stations

• 23,500 times more warming than carbon dioxide (CO2) and persists for 1000
years

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49567197
Mole, Atomic weight and Molecular weight
• Molecular weight of CaCO3 and NaHCO3

• CaCO3 = 40.08+12.01+16x3=100.09
• NaHCO3 = 22.99+1.01+12.01+16x3 = 84.01

• What is a radical (free radical)?

• Reactive element, compound, ion that has unpaired
electron in its outermost shell (H•, F•, Cl•)
• Which is a radical OH vs. OH-
Ideal gas law and mass-volume concentration
• Ideal gas law?
• PV=nRT
• R – gas constant = 8.314 J/(mol.K)
• P = pressure (N/m2 or Pa)
• V = volume (m3)
• T = temperature in K
• n = moles
𝑛𝑅𝑇
•𝑉 =
𝑃
• Volume occupied by an ideal gas depends just depends on n,
T, P
• For n=1, T=273.15 K, P=1 atm (1.0133 x 105 N/m2)
• V=22.4 L
Example 2.4
• A gas mixture has 0.001 mol of SO2 and 0.999 mol of air.
Find SO2 in ppmv
vSO2
• 𝑆𝑂2 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑝𝑚v = × 106
vT
𝑅𝑇
• vSO2 = 0.001 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑆𝑂2 ×
𝑃
𝑅𝑇
• v 𝑇 = (0.999 + 0.001) ×
𝑃
vSO2 6 𝑛𝑆𝑂2 6 0.001
• × 10 = × 10 = × 106 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒑𝒑𝒎𝒗
vT 𝑛𝑇 1

𝒗𝒊 𝒏𝒊
• 𝒑𝒑𝒎𝒗 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝒗𝑻 𝒏𝑻
Example 2.5: ppbv to ug/m3
• Given: SO2 concentration in air is 100 ppbv at 1 atm and 28 oC.
Convert to ug/m3
100 𝑚3
• 100 𝑝𝑝𝑏𝑣 = × 109
109 𝑚3 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟

100 𝑝𝑝𝑏𝑣 100 𝑚3

• 𝐹𝑜𝑟 1 𝑚3 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = =
109 109 𝑚3 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟

• convert to numerator to mass units assuming ideal gas

𝑁
101330 2 ×100 𝑚3 64 𝑔 106 𝜇𝑔
• 𝑓𝑜𝑟 100 𝑚3 𝑆𝑂2 : 𝐽
𝑚
𝑚𝑜𝑙 × ×
8.314 × 273.15+28 𝐾 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑂2 1𝑔
𝑚𝑜𝑙.𝐾
• 100 𝑚3 𝑆𝑂2 = 2.59 × 10 11
𝜇𝑔
100 𝑚3 2.59×1011 𝜇𝑔 𝜇g
• 𝐹𝑜𝑟 1 𝑚3 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = = = 259
109 𝑚3 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 109 m3 m3
• Partial pressure?
• The pressure that would be exerted by a single
component in a gas mixture if it alone occupied the
entire volume
𝑛𝐴
• 𝑃𝐴 = 𝑅𝑇
𝑉
𝑛𝐴 𝑅𝑇 𝑉𝐴 ×𝑃𝑇 𝑉𝐴 nA
•= = = × 𝑃𝑇 = × 𝑃𝑇
𝑉 𝑉 𝑉 n

• Dalton’s Law of partial pressures?

𝑛𝑖 𝑅𝑇 𝑅𝑇 nRT
• 𝑃 = Σ𝑖 𝑃𝑖 = Σ𝑖 = Σ𝑖 𝑛𝑖 =
𝑉 𝑉 V
𝑃𝐴 𝑛𝑖
• = = 𝑦𝐴
𝑃 𝑛
= 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (or volume fraction)
Example 2.6 concentration as partial pressure

• Concentration of PCB (MW=325 g/mol)) in air (at

0 oC and 1 atm) = 450 pg/m3
Find its partial pressure?
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑛𝐴 450×10−12 𝑔× 𝐽
325 𝑔
• 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐵 = × 𝑅𝑇 = × 8.314 .𝐾 × 273.15 𝐾
𝑉 1 𝑚3 𝑚𝑜𝑙

−9 𝑁 −9 𝑁 1𝑎𝑡𝑚
• 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐵 = 3.144 × 10 = 3.144 × 10 × 𝑁 = 3.144 × 10−14 𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑚2 𝑚2 1.0133×105 2
𝑚
Example 2.7: correction for moisture
• What is partial pressure of CO2 if the barometer reads
29 𝑖𝑛. 𝐻𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝐻 𝑖𝑠 80%, 𝑇 = 70 𝑜 𝐹
• Given,
• concentration of CO2 on dry air basis is 391 ppmv
𝑙𝑏
• Vapor pressure of water at 100 % saturation is 0.36 𝑖𝑛2

• Partial pressure of CO2 in this dry air pressure

𝑛𝐶𝑂2 𝑉𝐶𝑂2 391 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑂
2
• 𝑃𝐶𝑂2 = × 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑉 × 𝑃𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 106𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟 × 𝑃𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑉 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟

• 𝑃𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 𝑃𝑇 − 𝑃𝐻2𝑂

𝑙𝑏 29.9 𝑖𝑛.𝐻𝑔
• Partial pressure of water vapor, PH2 O = 0.36 𝑙𝑏 × 0.8
𝑖𝑛2 14.7 2
𝑖𝑛
𝑙𝑏 29.9 𝑖𝑛.𝐻𝑔
• Pressure of dry air = 29 𝑖𝑛. 𝐻𝑔 − 0.36 𝑙𝑏 × 0.8 = 28.4 𝑖𝑛. 𝐻𝑔
𝑖𝑛2 14.7 2
𝑖𝑛

391 1𝑎𝑡𝑚
• 𝑃𝐶𝑂2 = × 28.4 𝑖𝑛. 𝐻𝑔 × = 3.7 × 10−4 𝑎𝑡𝑚
106 29.9 𝑖𝑛.𝐻𝑔
Derived quantities
𝑚
• 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑏𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, 𝜌 =
𝑉
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
• 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑀) =
𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
= × 1000 𝑚𝐿 = × 1000 𝑚𝐿
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝐿 𝑉 𝑚𝑙
Example 2.8: Molarity
• Convert 5 ppm of TCE in units of M (MWTCE=131.5
g/mol)
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
• 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑀) = = × 1000 𝑚𝐿 = × 1000 𝑚𝐿
𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝐿 𝑉 𝑚𝑙

5 𝑚𝑔
• 5 𝑝𝑝𝑚 =
𝐿
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙
5×10−3 𝑔× 𝑚𝑜𝑙
131.5 𝑔
• = = 3.8 × 10−5 = 3.8 × 10−5 M
𝐿 𝐿

5×10−3 𝑔
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑔
𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 131.5
• 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑀 = 𝑉 𝑚𝑙
× 1000 𝑚𝐿 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙
1000 𝑚𝑙
× 1000 𝑚𝐿 = 3.8 × 10−5 M
Equivalent weight (EW) Ions MW EQ
• Incorporates information (g/mol) (g/eq)
about reactivity HCO3- 61 61
𝑀𝑊
• 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝐸𝑊 = , CO32- 60 30
𝑧
• Units g/eqv NH4+ 18 18
• where MW is the molecular weight
(g/mol) SO42- 96 48
• z is valence of that molecule(eqv/mol) 3-
PO4 95 31.7
• Equivalent number of H+ or OH- or e-
Other definitions of equivalent weight
• In acid-base reactions (involving H+ or OH-):
• Weight of compound that contains one equivalent of proton (for acids) or
one equivalent of hydroxide (for bases)
𝑀𝑊
• 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝐸𝑊 = ,
𝑧
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑧 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒
• Let us say, 1 mole of H2SO4 (= 98.07 g) has two equivalents of H+ (2 moles)
• Weight of H2SO4 for 1 equivalent of H+ = 49.035 g of H2SO4
• In redox reactions
• Equivalent weight that uptakes or releases one mole of electron
• 𝑁𝑎 → 𝑁𝑎+ + 𝑒 −
𝑀𝑊 23 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝐸𝑊 = 𝑧
= 1
= 23 𝑒𝑞𝑣

• Charge neutrality condition for a solution

• Σ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = Σ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
21
Example 2.10
• Find EW for HCl, H2SO4, NaOH, CaCO3, and aqueous CO2
𝑔
36.5 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑊𝐻𝐶𝑙 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑒𝑞𝑣 = 36.5
1𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑣

𝑔
98𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑊𝐻2𝑆𝑂4 = 𝑒𝑞𝑣 = 49
2𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑣

𝑔
40𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑊𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 = 𝑒𝑞𝑣 = 40
1 𝑒𝑞𝑣
𝑚𝑜𝑙

𝑔
100𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑊𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 = 𝑒𝑞𝑣 = 36.5
2 𝑒𝑞𝑣
𝑚𝑜𝑙

• Aqueous CO2
• 𝐶𝑂2 + 𝐻2 𝑂 → 𝐻2 𝐶𝑂3 → 2𝐻 + + 𝐶𝑂32−
𝑔
44 𝑔
• 𝐸𝑊𝑎𝑞.𝐶𝑂2 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝑒𝑞𝑣 = 22
2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑣
Normality
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠
•𝑁 = = 𝐸𝑊
𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿

• relationship between molarity and normality?

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
𝑧×
•𝑁 = 𝐸𝑊
= 𝑀𝑊
=𝑧×𝑀
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿
Example 2.11
• Normality of 1 M HCl and H2SO4?
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
𝑧×
•𝑁 = 𝐸𝑊
= 𝑀𝑊
=𝑧×𝑀
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿
• 1M HCl
• 𝑁 = 1 × 1 𝑀 = 1𝑁
• 1 M H2SO4
• 𝑁 = 2 × 1 𝑀 = 2𝑁
Example 2.12
• Please double check if your lab technician did proper analytical
determination of anions and cations in a given solution:
• All in mg/L:
• [Ca2+]= 2.9; [Mg2+]= 2.0; [Na+]= 11.5; [K+]= 3.3
• [SO42-]=4.7; [F-]=0.09; [Cl-]=7.7;
• Charge neutrality condition for a 1 L solution
• Σ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = Σ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
• Σ 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = Σ 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠

𝑚𝑔 10−3
• 𝑁 = 𝑧×𝑀 =𝑧× ×
𝐿 𝑀𝑊

10−3 10−3 10−3 10−3 𝒆𝒒𝒗

• Cations: 2 × 2.9 × + 2 × 2.0 × + 1 × 11.5 × + 1 × 3.3 × = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑
40 24.3 23 39 𝑳
10 −3 10 −3 10 −3 𝒆𝒒𝒗 𝒆𝒒𝒗
• Anions: 2 × 4.7 × + 1 × 0.09 × + 1 × 7.7 × = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑
80 19 35.5 𝑳 𝑳

• So, difference is greater 5%, probably HCO3- is missing

Concentrations expressed as common
constituent
• How to capture different phosphorus compounds in
water in one term?
• 𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠: 𝐻3 𝑃𝑂4 , 𝐻2 𝑃𝑂4− , 𝐻𝑃𝑂42− , PO3−
4 , HPO2−
4
• 𝑃𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠: 𝐻4 𝑃2 𝑂7
• 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠, 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠

• Just use mg/L of phosphates

• For example convert g/L of PO3−
4 into g/L of P
𝑔 32 𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑃
• 𝑜𝑓 𝑃 = g/L of PO3−
4 ×
𝐿 96 𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑂43−
Example
• Convert the two nitrogen species in water to a common unit of
mg/L of N
𝑚𝑔
• 𝑁𝐻3 : 30
𝐿
𝑚𝑔
• 𝑁𝑂3− : 5
𝐿
𝑚𝑔
• 𝑁2 𝑂3 : 6
𝐿

𝑚𝑔 mg 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑×14

• 𝑜𝑓 𝑁 = Σ of N species ×
𝐿 L 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒×𝑀𝑊𝑁 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠

14 14 2×14 𝒎𝒈
• = 30 × +5× +6× = 𝟐𝟖 𝒐𝒇 𝑵
17 62 76 𝑳
Alkalinity or hardness of water
• Hardness causing cations
(𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝐶𝑎2+ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑔2+ 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝐹𝑒 2+ , 𝑀𝑛2+ , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑟 2+ )
• Can be expressed as mg/L of CaCO3 equivalents
𝑚𝑔
• 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑔2+
𝐿
• By definition of equivalents,
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
𝑥 𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑀2+ 𝑦 𝐿 𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
• 𝑔
= 𝑔
𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝑀2+ 𝑒𝑞𝑣
𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 𝑒𝑞𝑣

𝑔
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
𝑒𝑞𝑣
• 𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 = 𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝑀2+ × 𝑔
𝐿 𝐿 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝑀2+ 𝑒𝑞𝑣

𝑔
𝑚𝑔 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 𝑒𝑞𝑣
• =𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑔2+ × 𝑔
𝐿 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑔2+ 𝑒𝑞𝑣
Example 2.14
• Determine water’s hardness
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
• 𝐶𝑎 2+
= 15 ; 𝑀𝑔 2+
= 10 ; 𝑆𝑂42− = 30 ;
𝐿 𝐿 𝐿

𝑔
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
𝑒𝑞𝑣
• 𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 = Σ 𝑜𝑓 𝑀2+ × 𝑔
𝐿 𝐿 𝐸𝑊 𝑜𝑓 𝑀 2+
𝑒𝑞𝑣

50 50 𝑚𝑔
• =15 × + 10 × = 79 𝑎𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
20 12.15 𝐿
Example 2.15 & 2.16 Carbon equivalents as
common constituent
𝑔 𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑂2
• 𝐺𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑂2𝑒 = 𝐺𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑠 ×
1 𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠

• 𝐺𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑂2𝑒 = 𝐺𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑠 × 𝐺𝑊𝑃

CO2 equivalents for GHG

• Read section 2.5.3 for general treatment on

green house gas emissions and climate change
Particle concentrations in air and water?

• Air:
• Pull a known volume of air through a filter with known
filter opening
• Measure the increase in the weight of the filter
• Total suspended particulates (g/m3 or μg/m3)
• Water:
• Filters are typically of 0.45 μm (450 nm) filter opening.
• Particles smaller than this size is considered dissolved phase
and larger is called suspended phase
• Each of these phases can be divided into fixed vs. volatile
fractions
Example 2.17
• 50 mL of wastewater has the following
• TS= 200 mg/L
• TSS = 160 mg/L
• FSS = 40 mg/L
• VSS = 120 mg/L
1) Find TDS?
• 𝑇𝐷𝑆 = 𝑇𝑆 − 𝑇𝑆𝑆 = 200 − 160 = 40 𝑚𝑔/𝐿
2) If the wastewater is filtered and filter is subjected
to 550 oC overnight, what is the expected weight
• FSS = 40 mg/L
40𝑚𝑔
• 𝐹𝑆𝑆 𝑓𝑜𝑟 50 𝑚𝐿 = × 50 𝑚𝐿 = 2 𝑚𝑔
1000𝑚𝐿
3) Estimate the organic content of the original
sample and is the sample turbid?
• Organic content is the volatile fraction.
• Dissolved solids does not contribute to turbidity
• VDS is impossible to determine
• VSS = 120 mg/L,
• Sample is turbid
Representation by effect
• In some situations, the effect of a chemical is
more important than their exact chemical
structure and valency
• For e.g., oxygen depletion due to biological or chemical
decomposition of chemicals (e.g., organics)
• Identifying specific chemical structures of these organics to
accurately model their oxidation is nearly impossible task
• Hence, we measure BOD, COD
• mg of O2 consumed in a given period of time..,
Precision, bias, and accuracy
• Accuracy?
• How close the measured value is to the true value
• Calibration and standards affect accuracy
• Precision?
• How well the property is measured
• Depends on reproducibility
• Bias?
• Difference between average of measured value and true
value
 Figure 2.3 Illustrating the concepts of accuracy and precision: (a) accuracy, (b) precision, (c) accuracy with precision.
From, Introduction to Environmental Engineering, by Mines and Lackey
Tutorials
• 2.1, 2.5, 2.14, 2.29