CE39011 Water and Wastewater Engineering Laboratory:

pH, Electrical Conductivity, Turbidity, and Color

SUDHA GOEL
PROFESSOR, ENVIRONMENTAL ENG AND MNGMT
CIVIL ENG. DEPT., IITKGP, KHARAGPUR 721 302
ted-Best- Use Class of Criteria
water
water source A 1.Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be ≤ 50
nventional 2.pH between 6.5 and 8.5
but after 3.DO value ≥ 6 mg/l
n 4.BOD5 value ≤ 2 mg/l
bathing
d)
B 1.Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be ≤ 500
2.pH between 6.5 and 8.5
Water body
3.DO value ≥ 5 mg/l classificatio
water source C
4.BOD5 value ≤ 3 mg/l
1.Total coliforms organism MPN/100 ml shall be ≤
CPCB
ventional 5000
and 2.pH between 6 and 9
n 3.DO value ≥ 4 mg/l
4.BOD5 value ≤ 3 mg/l
on of wildlife D 1.pH between 6.5 and 8.5
ies 2.DO value ≥ 4 mg/l
3.Free ammonia (as N) ≤ 1.2 mg/l
Industrial E 1.pH between 6.0 and 8.5
Controlled 2.Electrical Conductivity at 25° C micro mhos/ cm,
posal Max. 2250
3.Sodium absorption ratio Max. 26
4.Boron Max. 2 mg/l
 pH
ical water quality parameter that determines the usability of water.
efined as the negative logarithm of the activity of hydrogen ions.
pH = -[log H+] where [log H+] is the concentration of protons
ogen electrodes are used as an absolute standard for measuring pH
dissociation of pure water with measurements using an H2 electrode, the
ty of protons is 10-7 mol/L
H2O ↔ H+ + OH-
dissociation constant (Kw) for water is derived from this reaction,
[H+] * [OH-]/ [H2O] = 10-14 (pKw = 14) at 25 °C and the activity

2O is 1.0
rinking water, pH should be between 6.5 to 8.5.

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/ph-scale
  pKw at 0 °C is 14.943, at 50 °C is 13.262, and 100 °C is 12.31 which
shows the temperature dependence of Kw

T (°C) Kw (mol2 dm-6) pH pOH

0 0.114 x 10-14 7.47 7.47
10 0.293 x 10-14 7.27 7.27 pH
20 0.681 x 10-14 7.08 7.08
25 1.008 x 10-14 7.00 7.00
30 1.471 x 10-14 6.92 6.92
40 2.916 x 10-14 6.77 6.77
50 5.476 x 10-14 6.63 6.63
100 51.3 x 10-14 6.14 6.14

bretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_T
emistry)/Acids_and_Bases/Acids_and_Bases_in_Aqueous_Solutions/The_pH_Scale/Temperature_Dependence_of_the_pH
ter
 It measures the concentrations of all cations and anions present in water.
 It is a property of the solution, not of individual ions.
 Was first defined by Lewis and Randall in 1921.
Ionic strengt
I = ½ Σ CiZi2
where Ci = concentration of any ion i in moles/L; Zi = charge of any ion i
 Ionic strength calculations require complete characterization of the water sample
each individual cation and anion which can be done using instruments like ion
chromatograph.
 Ionic strength can also be estimated by multiplying the Total Dissolved Solids by 2
x 10-5 based on Langelier’s method.
 Electrical Conductivity (EC)
a measure of the concentration of all ions present in water;
ts are micro-Siemens/cm (µS/cm)
inverse of EC is electrical resistivity (ER) which has units of Mega-
ms-cm (MΩ/cm).
h values are generally reported for 25 °C.
a direct and inexpensive measure of the ionic strength of a
tion
nductivity serves as a convenient surrogate parameter for Total
olved Solids (TDS) which is a difficult and time-consuming
ameter to measure as per standard methodology.
 Electrical Conductivity (EC)
ductivity can be measured in the field instantaneously with a
able (pocket-size) probe.
ductivity and TDS are directly proportionate and can be
ressed as:
TDS (mg/L) = A* Conductivity
re, A = conversion factor ranging from 0.55 to 0.75 (mg-cm/ L-

ductivity is linearly related to ionic strength in dilute solutions with

0.1 M.
 SUSPENDED VERSUS DISSOLVED SOLIDS

nction between dissolved and suspended solids varies greatly in the literature.
There are no theoretical cut-offs for these particles
only have a cutoff defined based on operational convenience
Choice of filter pore size (anywhere from 1.5 micron to 0.2 micron) is based on operational requirem
or objective.
Colloids fall into either category ‘operationally’ speaking.
dard methods
Dissolved solids are measured after filtration through glass fiber filters (no ash residue on burning)
• Recommended filters: Whatman 934AH has nominal pore size of 1.5 micron
eriological requirements
Separation of bacteria from water (especially drinking water type samples) requires much smaller p
sizes
• 0.2 microns ensures bacterial removal
• 0.45 microns is often used by researchers 8
 LIGHT AND WATER

Attenuation due to
Absorption

Transmittance Reflectance or scatterin

particles; incident ligh
emitted light have the
wavelengths

Fluorescence: incident light and emitted light

have different wavelengths
LIGHT AND WATER
 LIGHT AND WATER: ATTENUATION IN WATER

• Wavelength
• Depth
• Light absorbing substances
• Organic matter – dissolved
• Particles – suspended solids
• Plankton

11
K = vertical extinction coefficient or attenuation coefficient

12

http://wow.nrri.umn.edu/wow/under/primer/page4.html
Coastal waters
Oceanic waters

13

http://hypnea.botany.uwc.ac.za/marbot/Physprop/thermal.htm
 Absorption spectra for pure water
wavelength, nm
1
Absorption coefficient (1/cm)

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
0.1

0.01 Pope and Fry, 1997

Hale and Querry, 1973

0.001
Tam and Patel, 1979

0.0001 Smith and Baker, 1981

Shifrin, 1988
0.00001
Segelstein, 1981

14
LIGHT ATTENUATION AT DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS
(BASED ON KORMANDY)

15
 LIGHT ATTENUATION AND MEASUREMENTS

ert's law of light absorption (SMP)

I0 e-k*d and T = I / I0
re I0 and I are light intensity entering and leaving the solution, respectively;
nsmittance of the sample
attenuation coefficient, and d = depth or path length
s Law to measure concentration of a particular substance

0 e-K*c and T = I / I0
ere I and I0 are light intensity entering and leaving the solution, respectively;
attenuation coefficient, and c = concentration in solution
pth (or light path length) is maintained constant in these measurements wi
ctrophotometer or turbidimeter or nephelometer. 16
 LIGHT ATTENUATION AND MEASUREMENTS

er-Lambert’s law
T = I/I0 = exp(–k’*c*d) and A = ln (I0/I) = –k’*c*d

MP) = Sawyer, McCarty and Parkin (2003) Chemistry for env eng and science, Tat
Graw Hill

17
 dity indicates the presence of light-scattering substances in water
associated with particles which may be substances like clay and silt, or
gical particles like bacteria or algae.
turbidity levels preclude light from penetrating deep into the water Turbidity
mn and result in a shallow photic (light) zone.
osynthesis organisms are capable of growing only in the photic zone since
photic (darker) zone cannot sustain their growth.
esults in the lack of oxygen generation in the aphotic zone; therefore low
ro DO levels in this zone.
bidity meter or nephelometer is used for measuring turbidity and is
d on measuring the intensity of light either transmitted or scattered by a
le, respectively.
instruments are compared to standard solutions of known turbidity for
ration.
ntensity of scattered light is a measure of the sample’s turbidity and is
ured in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).

eological Survey - U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=581276

 Turbidity

dity indicates the presence of light-scattering substances in

r
associated with particles which may be substances like clay and
or biological particles like bacteria or algae.
turbidity levels preclude light from penetrating deep into the
r column and result in a shallow photic (light) zone.
osynthesis organisms are capable of growing only in the photic
since the aphotic (darker) zone cannot sustain their growth.
results in the lack of oxygen generation in the aphotic zone;
efore low to zero DO levels in this zone.

eological Survey - U.S. Geological Survey, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=581276

 TURBIDIMETRY VS.
NEPHELOMETRY
https://www.bmglabtech.com/en/nephelom
 Color

or in water can be due to the presence of dissolved or particulate matter that may be either organic
ganic.
anic matter includes dissolved compounds like humic and fulvic acids which give water a light tea-like
ow color and particulate matter like phytoplankton which impart a green or yellow color to water.
ganic matter includes dissolved metals like iron, manganese and chromium which causes water to have
rs ranging from yellow to red.
als like iron and manganese precipitate slowly as they get oxidised in contact with atmospheric oxyge
ding to colored precipitates red or black.
asured in terms of Hazen units, platinum-cobalt units or APHA-Hazen units
Pt-Co scale is specific to the color yellow and is based on dilutions of a 500 ppm platinum cobalt sol
colour produced by one milligram of platinum cobalt dissolved in one liter of water is fixed as one un
r on the platinum-cobalt scale.

(2019) Water and Wastewater Engineering, Cambridge University Press, Delhi.

 REFERENCES

wyer CN, McCarty PL and Parkin GF (2003) Chemistry for Environmental Engineering and Science,
Graw Hill, New Delhi.
HA, AWWA, WEF (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, APHA, US
el S (2019) Water and Wastewater Engineering, Cambridge University Press, Delhi.