Lab. No.

1:
Concentration Units used in
Hydrochemistry
The Chemical composition of water can be divided into the
following constituents according to their concentrations:
1- Major ions ( > 5 mgL-1);Carbonate , Bicarbonate , Chloride , Sulphate ,
Sodium , Calcium ,Magnesium , Potassium .

2- Minor ions (0.01 – 10.0 mgL-1 ): Nitrate , Fluoride , Phosphate ,

Strontium , Iron ,Boron .

3- Trace constituents ( < 0.1 mgL-1) : Aluminum , Manganese , Arsenic ,

Nickel , Barium, Radium, Cadmium, Chromium , Lead, Uranium,
Zinc ,Tin , Silica ,Cobalt , ………..

4- Dissolved gases (trace – 10 mgL-1 ); Nitrogen , Oxygen , Carbon

Dioxide ,Hydrogen Sulphide , Methane , Nitrous Oxide , ……
Concentration is a measure of the relative amount of solute (the dissolved organic and
inorganic compounds) to the solvent (Water).
The various types of concentration units as follows:-

1- Molarity (M) number of moles of solute dissolved in (1 liter) of

solution ( mol.L-1 ), for example ,if we have 10 gm of potassium
nitrate (KNO3) which will be in moles equal to:
(10gm / 101 gm mol-1) = 010 moles of KNO3 …Were (101 gm mol-1) is
molar mass of KNO3. If we place this in a flask and add water until the
total volume will be equal to one liter we would have .
2- Molality (m)
number of moles of solute dissolved in (1 Kg) of solvent
((mol.Kg-1 )) .

if we were to place 10 gm of KNO3 (0.10 moles ) in a flask and

add 1 Kg of water we will have a (0.5) molal solution .
3- Mass concentration:
this unit is used to express the concentration of very dilute
solutions in units of parts per million (ppm) or more
commonly (mg.L-1), since the amount of solute relative to the
solvent is very small (Note : for large amount concentrations
is measured by units of grain/ gallon where 1 grain / gallon =
17.1 ppm ) . so
Ppm= mg of solute / Liter of solution
Ppm= mg of solute / Kg solution
4- Chemical Equivalent :
this concept takes into account ionic charge and its useful when
investigating the proportions in which substances react.

Equivalent per liter (eq.L-1) = number of moles of solute

multiplied by the valence of the solute in 1 liter of solution .

Epm = meq. L-1 = mg. L-1 x ( valence / atomic weight )

 Example :
• when a fresh groundwater in
contact with a rock is able to
exchange a chemically equivalent
amount of calcium (Ca++ with
atomic weight =40 gm)with sodium
(Na+ with atomic weight=23 gm)
contained within the aquifer .if the
ground water has an initial calcium
concentration of 125mgL-1 and
sodium concentration of 12mgL-1 ,
what will be the new groundwater
sodium concentration if all the
calcium were exchanged with the
clay material;
• initial calcium concentration
= 125mgL-1 x (2/40) =6.25 meq. L-1
• initial sodium concentration
= 12mgL-1 x (1/23) = 0.52 meq.L-1
• new sodium concentration after ion
exchange
= 6.25 + 0.52 = 6.77 meq.L-1
= 6.77 x (23/1) = 155.71 mgL-1
• Therefore, the extra sodium
contributed to the ground water by
ion exchange is ( 143.77) mgL-1 .
Symbol Atomic Atomic Symbol Atomic Atomic
Number weight Number weight

H 1 1.008 S 16 32.06
B 5 10.81 Cl 17 35.45
C 6 12.01 K 19 39.10
N 7 14.01 Ca 20 40.08
O 8 16.00 Br 35 79.91
F 9 19.00 Sr 38 87.62
Na 11 22.99 Cd 48 112.4
Mg 12 24.31 Ba 56 137.3
P 15 30.97 Cs 55 132.9
Home Work

• 1- Calculate number of moles of the 10 gm of H2BO3 .

• 2- What will be the molarity (M) of the H2BO3 .
• 3- Calculate the meq.L-1 for the following ion concentration (ppm) :
(714 ppm of Ca) ,( 420 ppm of SO4 ) , ( 27 ppm of K )
• 4- when a fresh rain water in contact with a rock is able to exchange a
chemically equivalent amount of magnesium (Mg++ ) with calcium (Ca+
+ ) contained within the aquifer .if the ground water has an initial
calcium concentration of 95mgL-1 and magnesium concentration of 125
mgL-1 , what will be the new groundwater magnesium concentration in
the aquifer if all 50% of the calcium content were exchanged in the
aquifer .