Environmental Chemistry CEE 201

Fall 2021
(BEng CEE program)

Week 12
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
2 Electrical properties of colloids

• Majority of particles in water have negative charge

• Colloids have size of 1 nm to 1 µm; examples: ???

Membrane Filtration Spectrum
4 Electrical properties of colloids

• Stern layer – dense layer of ions strongly adsorbed to the surface

• Diffuse layer – follows Stern layer , it is layer of loosely bound ions
• Electric Double Layer = Stern layer + Diffuse layer
5 Electrical properties of colloids
As particles approach each other
the electric double layers overlap
and cause repulsion

Electric double
layer

Increased ionic
strength
In increased ionic strength
the electric double layers shrink
which allows the particles
to get closer without being
repelled

Influence of ionic strength on the EDL

6 Electrical properties of colloids

• Influence of pH: colloids’ charge arising from ionization

(deprotonation) of functional groups, i.e. carboxyl and
amino- groups
7 Electrical properties of colloids

Typical charge – pH function for colloidal particles

8 Electrical properties of colloids

Ionic strength Ionic strength is a measure of the

concentration of ions in a solution.
zi - charge of ion i
CM – molar concentration of ion i

EDL thickness

ε – dielectric permittivity of medium

KB – Boltzmann constant
T- temperature
e – elementary charge
z - valency of electrolyte
n – bulk concentration of ions
 Problem 1
Calculate ionic strength of the following
solutions:
1) 0.5844 g/L sodium chloride; 0.01 mol/L
2) 1.42 g/L sodium sulfate; 0.03, 0.025 M

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 Problem 2
Calculate ionic strength of the following solutions:

a) 3.5 g/L calcium chloride; 0.175, 0.079, 3.125,

0.189, 2.25 x 10-3, 0.142, 0.274, 0.0946 mol/L

b) 1.25 ppm manganese sulfate; 3.31x10-5, 0.0715 M

c) 12 mM copper nitrate; 0.03, 0.024, 0.054, 0.048,

5.71x10-4, 0.025, 8.3 M

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 Problem 3
Compute thickness of EDL of a colloid in:

a) 0.01 g/L calcium sulfite; 4.39 x 109 ; 2.3 x 10-8 nm;

2.9 nm; 0.0015 m; 4.53 x 10-9 m; 6.4 x 10-19 m; 8.17
x 10^-11 m; 3.56 x 10-5 m; 5.65 x 10-3 m; 5.95 mm

b) 0.01 M copper sulfate; ? x 10-23 m; 33.3 nm; 1.23 x

10-4 m; 2.61 x 10-7 m; 3.47 nm; 1.3 x 10-22 m;

n = Na * CM = 5.02x 10^22 mol/m3; 1/m3; 5.02x

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12 Topics

Partitioning of
Chemical Substances
13 Distribution of contaminants in the environment

air

contaminant
plant water

soil

Fate of contaminant depends on:

• its chemical characteristics
• nature of medium
• environmental conditions
14
Partitioning of chemical substances between soil and water

Ks-w= Cs/Cw; L/kg

Ks-w – soil-water partitioning coefficient

Cw – the equilibrium concentration of the chemical in water
Cs – the equilibrium concentration of the chemical in soil

Ks-w = mol/kg / mol/L = [L/kg]

Soil contains both organic (humic acid) and inorganic (minerals, salts)
fractions

Sorption of organic chemicals (contaminants) occurs on the organic

fraction of a soil

Cs = Com * fom
Com - concentration of chemical in the organic matter of soil
fom - fraction of organic matter in soil
 15
Partitioning of chemical substances between air and water

The partitioning of chemical between water and air is described by Henry’s law

The law states: at equilibrium the partial pressure of chemical is linearly proportional to the
concentration of the chemical in the aqueous phase

P = k•C
P - partial pressure
k - Henry’s law constant
C - concentration of chemical in aqueous phase

Partial pressure – a pressure of individual gas component in the mixture

PA= (nA/n)•P

PA - partial pressure of gas A

nA - number of moles of gas A
n - total number of moles of gas in the mixture
P - total pressure of the mixture of gases
16
Henry’s law constant

 
KH′′ = 1/KH′

H = Cair/Cw

H = KH′/RT
 
17

• Cair > Cwater  a chemical prefers to be in air rather

than water
• Cair < Cwater  a chemical prefers to be in water rather
than air

Students’ ideas
• Water: aquaphil; waterfan; waterlover; aquatic;
hydropil;
• Air: aerophil;
• Soil: geophilic; soiliker; soildirected;