Water chemistry and Microbiology

Poonam Baidya (Ph.D.)

Asst. Professor,
Department of Applied Sciences and Chemical Engineering
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric
Vaporization precipitation-evaporation balance
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Melting Point and Boiling Point of First Row Elements
CH4 NH3 H2O HF
Melting point -182 -33 0 -83
(°C)
Boiling point -164 -78 100 20
(°C)

• Not only does water melts and boils at higher temperature

than other hydrides,
• It also has a larger range where it remains in liquid state
• One of the most suitable characteristic or property that
makes earth habitable

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric
Vaporization precipitation-evaporation balance
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric
Vaporization precipitation-evaporation balance
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
High Specific Heat for environmental temperature moderation
Specific heat is the amount of energy required to
change 1 gram of a substance 1 °C

• Water has a relatively high specific heat

• This means that it will absorb a lot of heat energy before
raising the temperature of the water
• roughly 4.2 J/g °C
• The water absorbs a lot of the heat, making air temperature
milder than it is inland
• At night the water slowly releases the heat that it has
absorbed during the daytime
• The night air temperature is warmer than the air inland

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric balance,
Vaporization evaporative cooling
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
• Water has a high heat of vaporization that helps us to cool down upon
exposure to high temperature
• It requires 2260 KJ per Kg to vaporize completely into steam
• Sweat consists of water that evaporates from our skin by absorbing the
heat
• It carries away the excessive heat
• This process is known as evaporative cooling

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric balance,
Vaporization evaporative cooling
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Prevents lakes from totally freezing so aquatic animals can survive
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric balance,
Vaporization evaporative cooling
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Surface Tension: "The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an
external force, due to the cohesive nature of its molecules."

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

 Cohesion and Adhesion

Capillarity and Evapotranspiration

• Capillarity is the movement of water within narrow spaces
due to surface tension cohesion and adhesion
• Cohesion plays key role in movement of water against gravity
• Adhesion results in clinging to the surface as water molecule
adhere to the surfaces

Evapotranspiration

Water Meniscus Capillarity

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric balance,
Vaporization evaporative cooling
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Property Comparison with Normal Significance
Liquids
State Liquid rather than gas, like Provides life, media
H2S H2Se, and H2Te
Latent Heat of Fusion Very high Moderating effect, tends to stabilize liquid state
Heat capacity Very high Moderates environmental
temperatures, good heat transport medium
Latent Heat of Very high Moderation effect, important in atmospheric balance,
Vaporization evaporative cooling
Density Anomalous maximum of 4°C Freezing from the surface and controls temperature
(for pure water) distribution and circulation in bodies of water
Surface Tension Very high Important in surface phenomena, droplet formation in
the atmosphere, and many physiological processes
including transport through biomembranes
Polarity Very high Good solvent

Hydration Very extensive Good solvent and mobilizer of environmental pollutants

Dissociation Very small Provides a neutral medium but with some availability of
both H' and OH ions
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Water (H2O) contains both H+, hydrogen ions and OH-,
hydroxide ions
• “pH” is an abbreviation for the French expression,
“Pouvoir Hydrogene,” meaning “the power of
Hydrogen”
• It measures the H+ ion concentration of substances
and gives results on a scale from 0 to 14
• Water that contains equal numbers of H+ than OH- Normal
ions is considered neutral (pH 7) precipitation

• If a solution has more H+ than OH- ions, it is

considered acidic and has a pH less than 7
Vinegar Acid Rain
• If a solution contains more OH- ions than H+ ions, it is
considered alkaline (basic) with a pH greater than 7
/ Battery acid

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

The pH scale is logarithmic
Thus, it is important to remember that every one-unit change on the pH scale is a ten-fold
change of the sample
Examples:
• An increase in pH from 7.0 to 8.0 means the water is 10 times more basic
• An increase in pH from 7.0 to 9.0 means the water is 100 times more basic
• An increase in pH from 7.0 to 10.0 means the water is 1,000 times more basic
• Most organisms have adapted to life in water of a specific pH and may die if the pH
changes even slightly
• At extremely high or low pH values (11.0 or 4.5) the water becomes lethal to most
organisms
• pH is also important because of how it affects other pollutants in the water
• Waters that are very acidic are corrosive, can cause metals such as zinc, aluminum, and
copper to be released and dissolved more
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
 Alkalinity of water
• Basically, it is the measure of how alkaline the water is
• Total alkalinity is the measure of how stable the pH is
• It measures the water’s buffering capacity to resist pH changes
• Without control of the total alkalinity, the pH will rise and fall abruptly
• Acid neutralizing capacity of water
Basic species responsible for alkalinity of water are hydroxide ion, carbonate ion and
bicarbonate ion
Caustic alkalinity
1
4
Carbonate alkalinity
2
Bicarbonate alkalinity
5
3

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Method of determining Alkalinity
• Measured volumetrically through titration
against N/50 H2SO4
• double indicator titration is performed
• Using phenolphthalein and Methyl red or Methyl
orange
• In the first phase pH is lowered till 8.3 end point
for phenolphthalein is called as Phenolphthalein
alkalinity
• In second phase pH is lowered till 4.5 and
termed as Total alkalinity

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Double indicator titration method

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Expressing Alkalinity as total and phenolphthalein Alkalinity or individual species
• Alkalinity is expressed in terms of CaCO3

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Calculations
Alkalinity due to CO3-- ions
Volume of acid consumed = (2P)
= 2X 0.5= 1 ml
Normality of water wrt CO3 ions
S1V1=S2V2
1x 0.02 N= S2x 100
S2=0.002N
Concentration in gm/ltr = N x eq wt of CO3
=0.002x 30 gm/ltr
= 0.002x 30 gm/ltr
= 0.06 gm/liter
= 0.06x1000mg/ltr

alkalinity in terms of CaCo3= 60 x (50 / 30) mg/ltr

= 100mg/ltr or 100ppm 1 Clark = 14.3 ppm
=6.99 Clark
Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Calculations
Alkalinity due to HCO3-- ions
Volume of acid consumed = (M-2P)
= 8.3-2X 0.5= 7.3 ml
Normality of water wrt CO3 ions
S1V1=S2V2
7.3x 0.02 N= S2x 100
S2=0.00146N
Concentration in gm/ltr = N x eq wt of HCO3
=0.00146x 61 gm/ltr
= 0.00146x 61 gm/ltr x 50/61 as of CaCO3
= 0.073 gm of CaCO3 in liter
= 0.073x1000mg/ltr as of CaCO3
= 73ppm
= 5.104 Clark 1 Clark = 14.3 ppm

Total Alkalinity = 6.99+ 5.104

= 12.09 Clark Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023
Application of alkalinity data

• When water is too alkaline, it reduces the effectiveness of chlorine

• high also can cause skin rashes, cloudy water and scaling on equipment
• Alkaline water due to hydroxide may react with chemical coagulants to form precipitate,
hence alkalinity acts as buffer where coagulants can be effective
• Alkalinity data is effective in corrosion control
• It is prohibited to discharge waste water containing caustic alkalinity in sewers

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023

Poonam Baidya 01/06/2023