Water

Hardness
Submitted by : Minahal Amin
(20012507-029)
Submitted To: Dr. Waseem Mumtaz

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 Water Hardness
Table of Contents: Topic Slide#

Water Hardness 3

Disadvantages of water hardness 8

Types of water hardness 9

Classification of water hardness 12

How to remove temporary water hardness? 13

How to remove temporary water hardness? 15

Sources of water hardness 16

References 19

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WATER HARDNESS
Hard water is water that contains polyvalent cations (with a
charge of +2), especially Ca2+ and Mg2+.

The hardness of water is due to the presence of soluble

bicarbonates, chlorides and sulfates of calcium and magnesium.
Water which does not give lather with soap is hard water.

The most common unit for expressing the level of hardness in

the water is’ ‘mg/L as CaCO3 , or ppm

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Water can be classified as hard water and
soft water :
Soft water:

It lathers with soap. Water which is obtained from the rains is soft water. This water is suitable
for household purposes for example laundry and cleaning.

Hard water:

It is known as hard water because of the presence of salts of calcium and magnesium. Hard water
does not lather with soap but instead forms a precipitate.

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Continue…..
 These polyvalent ions do not
pose any health threat, but they
can engage in reactions that leave
insoluble mineral deposits.

 These deposits can make hard

water unsuitable for many uses,
and so a variety of means have
been developed to "soften"
hard water; i.e., remove the
calcium and magnesium ions.

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Problems with
Hard Water
Mineral deposits are formed by ionic reactions
resulting in the formation of an insoluble
precipitate.

For example, when hard water is heated,

insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) deposit
is formed, as shown in Equation

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This precipitate, known as scale, coats the vessels in which the water is heated.

In small quantities, these deposits are not harmful, but they may be frustrating to try to clean.

As these deposits build up, however, they reduce the efficiency of heat transfer, so food may not cook as evenly
or quickly in pans with large scale deposits.

As scale builds up, water flow is impeded, and hence appliance parts and pipes must be replaced more often
than if Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions were not present in the water.

In addition; Hard water is safe to drink but using over a long interval of time can lead to many problems like:

1.Strains in skin 2.Water appliances work harder resulting in higher water bills

3. Spots appear on clothes.

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 Wastage of soap

Wastage of fuel

Formation of scales on metallic boilers.

Clothes look dull and feel rough.

Disadvantages
of Hardness: Ugly stains on white porcelain and scale build-up on faucets

Low water pressure from showers due to clogged pipes.

White residue or spots appear on dishes.

Strains appearing in the shower

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Types of Hardness of Water:

The hardness of water can be classified into two types:

1.Temporary Hardness

2.Permanent Hardness

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Temporary Hardness of Water:
The presence of magnesium and calcium carbonates in water makes it
temporarily hard.
In this case, the hardness in water can be removed by boiling the water.
When we boil water the soluble salts of Ca(HCO3 )2 is converted to
CaCO3 which is insoluble and hence gets precipitated and is removed. After
filtration, the water we get is soft water.

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Permanent Hardness of Water:
When the soluble salts of magnesium and calcium are present in the form of chlorides and
sulphides in water.

We call it permanent hardness because this hardness cannot be removed by boiling. We can
remove this hardness by treating the water with washing soda. Insoluble carbonates are formed
when washing soda reacts with the sulphide and chloride salts of magnesium and calcium and
thus, hard water is converted to soft water.

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Classificatio
n of water
hardness:

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How to Remove
Hardness of Water
(Temporary)
1. By Boiling:

Soluble bicarbonates are converted

into insoluble carbonates which are
removed by filtration.
Reactions:

Ca(HCO3 )2 → CaCO3↓ + H2O

+ CO2

Mg(HCO3 )2 → MgCO3↓ + H2O

+ CO2

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2. By Clarks Method:
Calcium hydroxide is Clark’s reagent.

It removes the hardness of water by converting bicarbonates into carbonate.

Reaction: Ca(OH)2 + Ca(HCO3 )2 → 2CaCO3↓ + 2H2O

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 1. Use of washing soda (sodium carbonate)

Permanent hardness can also be removed by using washing soda as follows:

How to CaSO4 + Na2CO3 → CaCO3 + Na2SO4

MgSO4 + Na2CO3 → MgCO3 + Na2SO4

Remove 2. Sodium aluminum ortho silicate Method: In this method, sodium

Permanent
aluminum ortho silicate is used to remove the permanent hardness of water.

Reaction: Na2 Al2 Si2 O8 .xH2O + Ca++→ 2Na+ + Ca Al2 Si2 O8 .xH2O

Hardness of 3. Ion Exchange Resin Method: In this method, the permanent hardness of
water is removed by using resins

Water? ⇒ 2RCOOH + Ca++ → (RCOO)2Ca + 2H+

⇒ RNH2OH + Cl– → RNH2Cl + OH–

⇒ H+ + OH– → H2O

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Sources of water hardness:
The principal natural sources of hardness in water are dissolved polyvalent metallic ions from;

1) sedimentary rocks,

2) seepage

3) runoff from soils.

Calcium and magnesium, the two principal ions, are present in many sedimentary rocks, the most common
being limestone and chalk.

The Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions enter in a water supply by leaching from minerals within an aquifer (The permeable
portion of rock that contain ground water)

Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum which are largely
made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates .

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These ions enter a water supply by leaching from minerals within an aquifer.
1. Common calcium-containing minerals are calcite and gypsum.
2. A common magnesium mineral is dolomite (which also contains calcium).
Rain containing dissolved CO2 can react with calcium carbonate and carry Ca2+ away
with it. Following equilibrium reaction describe the dissolution of CaCO3 .
CaCO3 + CO2 +H2O → Ca(HCO3 )2 →Ca2+ + 2HCO3 –
MgCO3 + CO2 +H2O → Mg(HCO3 )2 →Mg2+ + 2HCO3 -

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 1. Non-Point Sources

2. Point sources
The sources 1. Non-Point
of water Sources Are of two tyes:
hardness can i. Natural: Physical weathering of Ca2+ and Mg2+ strata can
also be contribute these polyvalent cations into surface and ground

categorized in water.

to two main ii. Anthropogenic: Anthropogenic/man made sources include

discharge of cations rich water from operating and abondand
types: rock quarries (mineral extracting place).

2. Point Sources Inorganic chemical industry may release

dissolved cations in effluent water.

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 References:
http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Water/FreshWat er/hardness.html (16/07/21
8:00 Am)
https://byjus.com/jee/hardness-of-water-types-and-removal/

World Health Organization Hardness in Drinking-Water, 2003

Jump up to:a b Hermann Weingärtner, "Water" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry,

2006[December], Wiley–VCH, Weinheim.
Christian Nitsch, Hans-Joachim Heitland, Horst Marsen, Hans-Joachim Schlüussler, "Cleansing
Agents" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley–VCH, Weinheim.
doi:10.1002/14356007.a07_137

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