Water Treatment

Sources of water
1.Surface water- rivers, lakes, reservoirs etc.

2.Underground water – wells and springs

3.Rain water

4. Sea water
 Surface water
 River water – dissolved minerals
Cl-, SO42-, HCO3- of
Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Fe2+
suspended impurities- Organic matter,
sand, rock

composition is NOT constant – dep on the contact

with soil.
 Lake water: High in organic and less in minerals.
composition is constant.
 Rain water – pure form
dissolved organic and inorganic particles
and dissolved industrial gases CO2,
NO2,SO2 etc

 Underground water- free from organic

impurities due to filtering action of the soil

 Sea water – very impure; too saline for

industrial use except cooling
 Impurities in water
 Suspended impurities
inorganic (clay, sand) organic (oil,plant,
and animal matter)
 Colloidal impurities- finely divided silica and
clay
 Dissolved impurities – salts and gases
 Microorganisms – bacteria, fungi and algae
 Hardness of water
 Hardness prevents the lathering of soap.
due to the presence of salts of Ca, Mg, Al, Fe and
Mn dissolved in it.

Soap – Na or K salts of long chain fatty acids

C17H35COOH

2C17H35COONa + CaCl2 → (C17H35COO)2Ca↓ + 2NaCl

2C17H35COONa + MgSO4 → (C17H35COO)2Mg↓ + Na2SO4

The Cleansing Action of Soap

12.8
 Hard Water  Soft Water
Does not produce lather with Produces lather easily with
soap soap

Contains Ca and Mg salts Does not contain dissolved

Ca and Mg salts
Soap is wasted and cleaning Cleaning quality of soap not
quality is depressed depressed.

Boiling point elevated, more Less fuel and time required

time and fuel for cooking for cooking
 Types of Hardness
 Temporary Hardness- caused by
dissolved bicarbonates of Ca and Mg
Also known as ‘alkaline or carbonate
hardness’

 Permanent Hardness – dissolved Cl- and

SO42- of Ca, Mg, Fe and Al etc
 Temporary Hardness
caused by dissolved bicarbonates of Ca and Mg
Temporary hardness can be removed by boiling of
water
Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3↓ + H2O + CO2↑

Mg(HCO3)2 → Mg(OH)2↓ + 2 CO2↑

Also known as ‘alkaline or carbonate hardness’

Determined by titration with HCl using methyl orange
as indicator
 Permanent Hardness
CaCl2, MgCl2, CaSO4, MgSO4, FeSO4,
Al2(SO4)3

Cannot be destroyed on boiling the water

Also known as non-carbonate or non alkaline hardness

non alkaline hardness = Total hardness – alkaline

hardness
 Hard Water
 Advantages  Disadvantages

Tastes better no taste, produces scum

with soap
Ca in water helps produce
strong teeth and bones Boiler feed water should be
free from hardness or even
Hard water coats lead pipes explosions can occur
with layer of insoluble
CaCO3, preventing any
poisonous lead dissolving
in drinking water
 Degree of Hardness
 Hardness is expressed as equivalent
amount (equivalents) of CaCO3
Reason: Molar mass is exactly 100, and is the most insoluble salt that
can be precipitated in water treatment.

Equvalents of CaCO3 =
( mass of hardness producing substance in mg/L) x100 / (eq.wt of
substancex2)

units – mg/L = ppm

6
parts of CaCO3 equivalents in hardness in 10 parts of water
 Equivalent weight
 Eq. wt = Molar mass/ no of charge on ion

CaCO3 MM/2
NaCl MM/1
AlCl3 MM/3
Al2(SO4)3 MM/6
 Example 1:
 A water sample contains 408 mg of CaSO4
per liter. Calculate the hardness in terms of
CaCO3 equivalents
Hardness = mg/L of CaSO4 x 100/MM(CaSO4 )
= 408 mg/L x 100/136
= 300 mg/L = 300 ppm
 Example 2
 How many grams of MgCO3 dissolved per
liter gives 84 ppm of hardness?
Hardness = mg/L of MgCO3 x 100/MM(MgCO3)

84 ppm = ppm of MgCO3 x 100/84

ppm of MgCO3 = 84 ppm x (84/100)
= 70.56 ppm
= 71 mg/L
 Calculation of hardness caused by each ion.
Na+ - 20 mg/L Ca2+ - 15 mg/L
Mg2+ - 10 mg/L Sr2+ - 2 mg/L
Al3+ - 0.3 mg/L
Equvalents of CaCO3 =
( mass of hardness producing substance in mg/L) x100 / (eq.wt of
substancex2)
Cation Eq.wt Hardness
Ca2+ 40.0/2 37.5
Mg2+ 24.4/2 41.0
Sr2+ 87.6/2 2.3
Al3+ 27.0/3 1.7
Total hardness = 82.5 ppm
 Potable Water (Drinking water)
 Colorless and odorless; good in taste
 Turbidity should be less than 10 ppm
 No objectionable dissolved gases like H2S
or minerals such as Pb, As , Cr, Mn salts.
 Alkalinity should not be high; pH 7.0 – 8.5
 Total hardness less than 500 ppm
 Free of harmful microorganisms.
 Cl-, F-, and SO42– less than 250, 15 and
250 ppm, respectively
 Methods of disinfection of water
1. Bleaching powder (CaOCl2)
CaOCl2+H2O → Ca(OH)2 + HCl + HOCl
Enzymes of microorganism get deactivated by HOCl
 Excess imparts bad taste and smell
 Not stable during storage
 Introduces Ca to water and thus increases
hardness
 2. Chlorination
 Commonly used disinfectant in water
used directly as a gas or conc. solution.
It produces HOCl, a powerful germicide.

0.3 0.5 ppm chlorine is sufficient

 3. Disinfection by ozone
 O3 → O2 + O
oxygen atom is a
powerful oxidizing
agent.

2 – 3 ppm is injected
10 – 15 min contact time

Expensive method
 Alkalinity
 The capacity of water accept H+ is called alkalinity
 The basic species responsible are
1. HCO3- + H+ → H2O
2. CO32- + H+ → HCO3-
3. OH- + H+ → H2O
Different from basicity; high pH
pH is an intensity factor
alkalinity is a capacity factor
1.00x10-3 M NaOH - pH=11;neutralize 1.00x10-3 mole acid
0.100 M NaHCO3 - pH = 8.34, 0.100 mole acid
 Alkalinity of water is attributed to presence of

i. caustic alkalinity (due to OH- and CO32- ions)

ii. Temporary hardness (due to HCO3- ions)

i. [OH-] + [H+] → H2O -P -M

ii. [CO32-] + [H+] → [HCO3- ] -P -M
iii. [HCO3- ] + [H+] → H2O + CO2 -M

P = OH- + ½ CO32-
M = OH- + CO32- + HCO3-
Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
 BOD is the quantity of dissolved O2 required
by aerobic bacteria for oxidation of organic
matter under aerobic conditions.
source of effluent BOD(ppm)
Domestic sewage 320
Cow shed sewage 3010
Paper mill 8190
BOD indicator of organic pollutants
Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
 Defined as the oxygen consumed in the
oxidation of organic and oxidizable inorganic
matter.
Use a strong oxidizing agent like K2Cr2O7
COD > BOD (O2 is a weak oxidizing agent)

COD test does not differentiate between bio-inert

and bio degradable materials