LABORATORY REPORT

LAB 5a: Color and Turbidity

LAB 5b: HARDNESS





SUBMITTED BY:
MR. BISHAL BHARI (115461)


SUBMITTED TO:
DR. OLEG SHIPIN
MISS SALAYA PHUNSIRI




ED 78.01: ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY AND LABORATORY
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Color, Turbidity October 2, 2013

1

1. Introduction
Color in water is essentially due to humic substance which is caused due to the decay of organic
debris. Color in water is divided into two types of color. Color caused by suspended matter is
referred to as apparent color. Color due to vegetable or organic extract, which is colloidal, is
called true color. In water analysis, it is important to distinguish apparent color and true color.
Color serves as an important parameter in the water supply as the consumer needs to be supplied
with aesthetically pleasing water thought the natural color arising from substance undergoing
decay in swamps and forest are generally not harmful. Color can also denote the formation of
undesired product of disinfectant like trihalomethane which is carcinogenic in nature.
Turbidity is caused by the suspended particle that range from colloidal to coarse in size.
Turbidity is an important operational and regulatory parameter in drinking water supply and
waste water treatment facilities. Presence of turbidity denotes presence of inorganic and organic
matter which is the reason of bacterial growth and algal bloom in the water. Thus turbidity is an
important consideration in public water, which effect on health and costly to treatment.
2. Objective
1) Determination of color (apparent and true color) of the sample using the following
method
i) Color measurement by spectrophotometer
ii) Standard color solutions

2) Determination of the turbidity of the sample using the following equipment
i) Turbidity Bottle Standards
ii) Hach Turbidimeter
3. Methodology
3.1 Color Determination
3.1.1 Apparent color determination

a) Standard color solutions
The empty color-comparison tube was rinsed with distilled water and then the tube
was filled with sample for the comparison
The color of the sample was then compared with the known standard color solution
3.1.2 True color determination

a) Standard color solutions
Color, Turbidity October 2, 2013

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The sample was centrifuged for 15 minutes to remove the suspended particles
The empty color-comparison tube was rinsed with distilled water and then the tube
was filled with sample for the comparison
The color of the sample was then compared with the known standard color solution

b) Spectrophotometer
The sample was centrifuged for 15 minutes to remove the suspended particles
The tubet was rinsed by distilled water and then filled with the sample and ran in
spectrophotometer
The absorbance level was noted and then the color was calculated using the
calibrated graph equation
3.2 Turbidity Determination
3.2.1 Standard turbidity bottle
The empty turbidity comparison tube was rinsed with distilled water and then the tube
was filled with sample for the comparison
The turbidity of the sample was then compared with the known standard turbidity
solution neglecting the color present in it.
3.2.2 Hach Turbidity
Hach Turbidity meter was calibrated using turbidity standard.
The sample cell was rinsed with distilled water
The sample cell was then filled with sample and inserted in the cell holder.
The reading was then taken
4. Presentation of Results
4.1 Color Determination (Sample No. CT18)

4.1.1 Apparent color determination
Method Sample No. CT18
1. Standard color solutions 50 units

4.1.2 True color determination
Method Sample No. CT18
1. Standard color solutions 50 units
3. Spectrophotometer 165.11 mg/l

Color, Turbidity October 2, 2013

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Calculation:
Given,
C (mg/l) = k*Abs + B
Abs= Absorption was calculated from the spectrophotometer to be 0.037
K= 4560.9(From graph)
B= -3.64 (From graph)
Therefore,
C (mg/l) = k*Abs + B
= 4560.9 * 0.037 3.64
= 165.11
4.2 Turbidity Determination (Sample No. CT18)
Method Sample No. CT18
1. Standard turbidity bottle 10 NTU
2. Hach Turbidity 7.13NTU
5. Discussion of Result
5.1 Color Determination

Standard color solution and spectrophotometer was used for the determination of color. Only
standard color solution was used for the determination of apparent color resulting from sediment
particles while spectrophotometer and standard color solution was used for the determination of
true color resulting from organic extract. 50 unit of color was observed for both true and
apparent color using standard color solution while 165.11 mg/l of true color was observed using
spectrophotometer for true color measurement. True color less than the apparent color as after
centrifugal the suspended matter settles down
True color in this case was observed to be little high than the apparent color when measured by
spectrophotometer. This might be due to the following reason
1) Calibration error in the spectrophotometer
2) Since the tubet was made of plastic it might have produced erroneous result
To minimize the error of the data following steps needs to be taken:
1) The color comparison tube and the tubet must be well rinsed before the sample is filled in
it
Color, Turbidity October 2, 2013

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2) The sample must be well mixed for a uniform sample
3) The centrifuging tube must be well rinsed with distilled water before its use.
4) The sample must be centrifuged prior to the true color measurement
5) The tubet must not be touched in the plain sided and it must be well cleaned if any water
lies in its surface
6) The sample must not be filtered after centrifugal process for the removal of suspended
particle as it might pose the threat to adsorb color on filtration medium.
5.2 Turbidity Determination
The turbidity determination was conducted with the use of standard turbidity bottle and hach
turbidity. The turbidity for CT18 using standard turbidity bottle was found to be 10 NTU and
using the Hatch Turbidity was found to be 7.13 NTU. Hatch turbidity measurement was found
to be more accurate due to the visual difficulties associated with the standard turbidity bottle test.
Possibility source of error related to the turbidity measurement can arise from the possibility of
The turbidity measurement form the standard bottle is quiet difficult as color, a important
parameter of water, must be visually neglected and only the turbidity must be considered.
The tube must be properly rinsed with distilled water to remove all the suspended
particles from its surface
The sample must be well shaken for the uniformity of sample as suspended matter can
settle down making the lower portion of the bottle more turbid while the upper portion
less turbid.


References
AIT, SERD, EEM, Course ED 78.01-Environmental Chemistry and Laboratory,
Laboratory Instruction Sheet 5a: Color and Turbidity;2013
Sawyer C.N et.al, Chemistry for Environmental Engineering: 5
th
edition Mc.Graw-
Hill;2002
Hardness October 2, 2013

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1. Introduction

Hard water is generally considered to be those waters that require considerable amount of soap to
produce foam. Hardness water can produce scale and deposit in hot water pipes, boiler and other
units that operate at high temperature. Hard water is caused by multivalent metallic cations, the
principal hardness - causing cations are calcium, magnesium, strontium, ferrous ions and
manganese ions. Such ions are capable of reacting with soap to form precipitate and with certain
anions present in water to form scale. The hardness in water is divided into two types.
Temporary hardness: The hardness causes by HCO
3
-
, CO
3
2-
. Sometimes, it is called carbonate
hardness. Temporary hardness is easy to get when subjected to prolonged boiling water.
Permanent hardness: The hardness is caused by ions of divalent metal such as Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, Sr
2+

etc. These ions can combine with onions that they associated with such as HCO
3
-
, SO
4
2-
,Cl
-
, etc.
Hardness of water is important parameter in determining the suitability of water for domestic and
industrial use. Hardwater data is used to suggest the softening process and the degree of
softening.
2. Objective

1. To determine pH and alkalinity of sample.
2. To determine total hardness and calcium hardness of a sample by EDTA method.
3. Methodology
3.1 pH Determination
The pH of the sample was determined using pH meter
3.2 Alkalinity Determination
50 mL of the sample was pippeted to an Erlenmeyer flask.
2-3 drops of methyl orange indicator was added into the flask and it was mixed
thoroughly.
It was then titrated with 0.02 N H
2
SO
4
until the color changed
Calculation
Alkalinity, mg/L as CaCO
3
= (mL of 0.02 N H
2
SO
4
)*1000
mL of sample

Hardness October 2, 2013

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3.3 Total Hardness Determination
50 mL of the sample was pippeted into 250 mL flask.
1-2 mL of buffer solution was added and it was mixed thoroughly.
0.1 - 0.2 g of total hardness indicator was then added and it was mixed thoroughly
The purple color sample after the addition of indicator was then titrated with EDTA until
the blue color end point was observed.
Calculation
Total Hardness, mg/L as CaCO
3
= (mL of 0.01 M EDTA)*1000
mL of sample
3.4 Calcium Hardness Determination
50 mL of the sample was pipetted into 250 mL flask.
2 mL of 1 N NaOH was added in the sample
0.1- 0.2 g of calcium hardness indicator was then added and it was mixed thoroughly.
Pale pink colored sample was then titrated with 0.1 M EDTA until the light purple end
point was observed

Calculation
Calcium Hardness, mg/L as C = (mL of 0.01 M EDTA)*400.8
mL of sample
4. Presentation of Results

Sample No. HN31
4.1 pH of HN31
Reading pH level Temperature(c)
1 6.71 25.5
2 6.80 25.6
Average 6.755 25.55
Thus the pH of the sample was 6.755 at 25.55 degree Celsius.


Hardness October 2, 2013

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4.2 Alkalinity
Sample
HN31
Volume of sample
(mL)
Volume of 0.02 N H
2
SO
4
(mL)
1 25 1.35
2 25 1.38
3 25 1.25
Average 1.32
Total alkalinity (mg/L as CaCO
3
) 52.8

Calculation:
Total alkalinity = ml of 0.02 N H
2
SO
4
x 1,000
ml sample

= (1.32 * 1000)/25
=52.8 mg/l as CaCO
3
4.3 Total Hardness
Sample
HN31
Volume of sample
(mL)
Volume of 0.01 N EDTA

(mL)
1 50 5.21
2 50 4.93
3 50 5.13
Average 5.09
Total Hardness (mg/L as CaCO
3
) 101.8

Calculation
Total Hardness = ml of 0.01 N EDTA x 1,000
ml sample

= (5.09 * 1000)/50
=101.8 mg/l as CaCO
3




Hardness October 2, 2013

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4.4 Calcium Hardness
Sample
HN31
Volume of sample
(mL)
Volume of 0.01 N EDTA

(mL)
1 50 3.36
2 50 3.6
3 50 3.4
Average 3.45
Total Hardness (mg/L as Ca) 27.65
Total Hardness (mg/L as CaCO
3
) 69

Calculation
Calcium Hardness = ml of 0.01 N EDTA x 400.8
ml sample

= (3.45 * 400.8)/50
= 27.65 mg/l as Ca

Calcium Hardness = ml of 0.01 N EDTA x 1,000
ml sample

= (3.45 * 1000)/50
= 69 mg/l as CaCO
3
4.5 Magnesium Hardness
Magnesium hardness = Total hardness - Calcium hardness
=(101.8 69) as CaCO
3

=32.8 mg/l as CaCO
3

4.6 Carbonate and Bicarbonate Hardness
Total Alkanet = 52.8 mg/l as CaCO
3
Total Hardness = 101.8 mg/l as CaCO
3
When,
Alkalinity < Total Hardness
Hardness October 2, 2013

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i) Carbonate Hardness = Total alkalinity = 52.8 mg/l as CaCO
3

ii) Non-carbonate Hardness = Total Hardness Total Alkalinity
= (101.8 52.8) mg/l as CaCO
3

= 49 mg/l as CaCO
3
Summary table:
Parameters Values
pH 6.755 @ 25.55
o
C
Alkalinity Alkalinity 52.8 mg/L as CaCO
3

Hardness
Total hardness 101.8 mg/L as CaCO
3

Calcium hardness 69 mg/L as CaCO
3
27.5 mg/l as Ca
Magnesium hardness 32.8 mg/L as CaCO
3

Carbonate hardness 52.8 mg/L as CaCO
3

Noncarbonate
hardness
49 mg/L as CaCO
3

5. Discussion of Result
This sample (HN31) has total hardness 101.8 mg/l. Therefore, it is classified to be moderately
hard water (Moderately hard water: 75-150mg/l as CaCO
3
).
Calcium and magnesium hardness occupies the greatest portion of hardness. Since most of the
hardness in the water is caused by calcium and magnesium cation, calcium hardness can be
simply subtracted from total hardness to calculate magnesium hardness.
Carbonate hardness is the part of the total hardness that is chemically equivalent to bicarbonate
plus carbonate alkalinities present in water. Since alkalinity and hardness are both expressed in
terms of CaCO
3
, the carbonate hardness can be found as follow :
When alkalinity Total hardness,
Carbonate hardness (in mg/L) = Alkalinity (in mg/L)

Hardness October 2, 2013

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When alkalinity Total hardness,
Carbonate hardness (in mg/L) = Total hardness (in mg/L)
Moreover, Carbonate hardness was formerly called temporary hardness because it can be caused
to precipitate by prolonged boiling.
Noncarbonate Hardness is the amount of hardness that remains after subtracting Carbonate
hardness from Total hardness. It is also called permanent hardness because it cannot be removed
or precipitated by boiling.
Sodium by the virtue of its characteristic, interfere with the normal behavior of soap. But sodium
ion is not itself a hardness and the presence of it is termed as pseudo hardness
The things to be considered that could lead to erroneous result are as follow:
1) Well mixing of the sample
2) Addition of indicator of total hardness determination in small amount
3) Addition of buffer solution for the calcium determination to neutralize magnesium
hardness
4) Titration with large representative sample
5) Color change from pale pink to light purple is difficult to be recognized and needs special
care.

References
AIT, SERD, EEM, Course ED 78.01-Environmental Chemistry and Laboratory,
Laboratory Instruction Sheet 5b: Hardness;2013
Sawyer C.N et.al, Chemistry for Environmental Engineering: 5
th
edition Mc.Graw-
Hill;2002
Problem October 2, 2013

1

Problem
1) What is used as the standard unit of color?
The color produced by 1 mg/L of platinum (in the form of K
2
PtCl
6
) is taken as the standard unit
of color.
2) Discuss briefly the cause of color in water and how can it be removed?
The color in water is mainly due to the humic substance resulting from the contact of organic
debris such as leaves, needles of conifer and wood all in various stage of decomposition. It
consists of vegetable extracts of the considerable variety. In additional to the humic substance
the color of water is caused by suspended particles of both organic and inorganic nature
In general, the color of water can be divided into 2 types:
SN Type Cause Removal
1 Apparent Color Suspended matter Coagulation and chlorination
2 True color Humic substance resulting from
organic debris and vegetable
extract
Carbon Adsorption and macroponous
resins

3) Discuss why turbidity in general cannot be correlated with the weight concentration of
the suspended matter in water samples?
Because turbidity may be cause by a wide variety of materials, which range in size from
colloidal to coarse dispersions, depending upon the degree of turbulence. So turbidity doesnt
depend on the weight concentration of suspended solids but depend on the size of suspended
matter interfering with the passage of light through the water.
4) What is hardness in water and by what it is caused?
Hardness is considered as capacity of water to precipitate soap (or amount of soap to produce
foam).
The hardness in water is mainly caused by 2 ways.
1) Carbonate and Noncarboate Hardness: This type of hardness is caused by bicarbonate and
carbonate alkalifies present in the water. This hardness is called Carbonate hardness or
Temporary hardness as it can be overcome by boiling.
2) Calcium and magnesium hardness: This type of hardness is caused by divalent calcium
and magnesium ions. Since, the calcium and magnesium constitute the major portion of
hardness, total hardness is said to be the sum of its concentration. This hardness is called
the permanent hardness.
Problem October 2, 2013

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5) A water has the following analysis
Parameter mg/l.
pH 7.8
Na
+
25
K
+
10
Ca
2+
30
Mg
2+
5
Cl
-
40
HCO
3
-
70
CO
3
2-
0
SO
4
2-
10
NO
3
-
5

What is the total Hardness, Carbonate hardness, and Noncarbonate hardness in mg/l. as
CaCO
3
?
Answer
Total alkalinity
pH = 7.8 < 8.3 hence the above sample containing only bicarbonate alkalinity.
We Know,
mg/l HCO
-
3
= mg/l bicarbonate alk.* 1.22
mg/l alkalinity = mg/l bicarbonate alkalinity
= mg/l HCO
-
3
/1.22
= 70/1.22 = 57.37 mg/l.
Total hardness
Hardness (mg/l as CaCo
3
) = M
2+
(mg/l) x 50
E.W. of M
2+


Where M
2+
represents any divalent metallic ion
Only the divalent can cause hardness

Problem October 2, 2013

3

Ca
2+
hardness = 30 x 50 = 75 mg/l as CaCO
3

20

Mg
2+
hardness = 5 x 50 = 20.8 mg/l as CaCO
3

12

Total hardness = Ca ion hardness + Mg ion hardness =75 + 20.8 = 95.8 mg/l as CaCO
3


Because
Total hardness > Alkalinity so:
Carbonate hardness = Alkalinity = 57.37mg/l as CaCO
3

Noncarbonate hardness = Total hardness - Carbonate hardness
= (95.8 - 57.37) as CaCO
3

= 38.43 mg/l as CaCO
3