NAME: NOORYUSMIZA ARYANIE BINTI

HAMBI
MATRIC NUMBER: S45915
TITLE: DETERMINATION OF WATER
QUALITY AT KUALA TERENGGANU
ESTAURY
LECTURER: DR.KESAVEN BHUBALAN
1. INTRODUCTION

Kuala Terengganu Estuary is situated on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia facing
the South China Sea. The maximum depth at this area ever recorded is 6 m and the average
depth is 4 m. Two river systems are channel into this estuary that is Nerus River and
Terengganu River. The major waste waters discharged into the estuary come partially from
treated domestic waste.

Phosphate is naturally formed from the phosphorus. Phosphate enters into water
from human and animal waste. Phosphate is common element in the agriculture fertilizer
and organic waste in sewage and industrial effluent. Phosphate also available in tap water
as a rust inhibitor and to prevent dissolves lead and copper inside the plumbing. Phosphate
gets into surface of water from runoff and tends to attach to the soil particles. Phosphate can
also be found in laundering and commercial cleaning fluids. The phosphate content in Kuala
Terengganu Estuary may contributed by agricultural farm and residential area nearby.

Phosphate will stimulate the growth of plankton and aquatic plants and thus provide
food for the fish. This can lead to increase of fish population and overall will improve the
water quality. The low level of phosphate limits the production of freshwater systems. The
phosphate are not toxic to people or animals unless there are high levels of phosphate.

The excess of phosphate can also cause trouble in the water system. Excess
phosphate can cause the algae and aquatic plant grows rapidly, clog the waterways and use
large amount of oxygen. This situation is called eutrophication. The oxygen depletion
occurs when the algae and aquatic life die because they will use up the oxygen for decaying
process. Low dissolved oxygen level can lead to death of aquatic life and encourage the
growth of bacteria. The concentration of phosphate that may trigger the algal bloom in water
is around 0.05 mg/L.

The phosphate can be measured by gravimetric, volumetric or colorimetric method.

The gravimetric method is for higher concentration of phosphate which is rarely in water.
Volumetric methods can measure about 50 mg/l of phosphate which it involves titration,
filtration and careful washing and the titration take a long if time. Thus this method is not
much popular. The colorimetric and spectrophotometric method is quite accurate and fast
because it can detect even a small concentration of phosphate. It is important to monitor the
level of phosphate to make sure there is no excess phosphate in the water. By monitoring
the level of phosphate, the disruption of ecosystems and depletion of oxygen level water can
be controlled.
2. OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the water quality at Kuala Terengganu Estuary based on standard

method.
2. To observed the level of phosphate at different location.
3. To study the correct way of sampling design.

3. APPARATUS

UV spectrophotometer Pipette
Test tube Distilled water
Test tube rack Conical flask
Cuvette Van Dorn Water Sampler
Volumetric flask Burette
Polyethylene Bottle

4. CHEMICAL REAGENT

Potassium dihydrogenphosphate
Ammonium molybdate solution- prepared by dissolving 7.5g ammonium
paramolybdate in 250 ml distilled water. The solution is stored in a bottle out of
sunlight.
Sulphuric acid- prepared by adding 70 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid to 450 ml
of distilled water. Allow the solution to cool and stored it inside a glass bottle.
Potassium antimonyl tartrate solution - is prepared by dissolving 0.34 g of
potassium antimonyl tartrate in 250 ml of warm distilled water and stir. The solution is
then store in a plastic bottle.
Ascorbic acid solution- prepared by dissolving 13.5 g of ascorbic acid in 250ml of
distilled water. The solution is store in a plastic bottle in a freezer.
Hydrochloric acid
5. METHODOLOGY

Sampling Station

The sampling station is at Kuala Terengganu Estuary located at coordinate 5.32-

5.35N, 102.95-103.15E. Kuala Terengganu Estuary is situated on the east cost of
peninsular Malaysia facing the South China Sea. The total area of the estuary is
approximately 8 km2. The maximum depth recorded is 6m with the average depth of 4 m.
The sample of water will be taken from five stations at Kuala Terengganu Estuary. The
sample water is taken by using Van Dorn water sampler at depth of 2m. The samples water
is then transfer into Polyethylene bottle. Add hydrochloric acid ph less than 2 and cool to 4
C for the preservation of the phosphate. The water is taken to the lab for further
examination.

Figure 1: Sampling station at Kuala Terengganu Estuary

 Figure 2: Illustration how to take water sample.

Experimental procedure

Before starting the experiment, the glass ware that wants to be use must be wash
thoroughly with the hot water and rinsed with the distilled water. Do not wash the using the
detergents containing phosphate to clean the apparatus use in this experiment.

A standard solution is prepared by 0.717g dissolving potassium

dihydrogenphosphate (KH2PO4) inside a 500ml volumetric flask. The standard solution is
then make into a series of diluted solution. The series diluted solution is divided into different
concentration that is 0.1 ppm, 0.3 ppm, 0.50 ppm, 0.7 ppm and 1.0ppm inside a conical
flask. For each concentration, 25 ml of sample is titrate into test tube for the analysis using
the spectrophotometer. The sample for every concentration is duplicate 3 times. 25 ml of
purified water is save aside and will be use as blank.

4ml of combined reagent is added to each sample. The combined reagent contained
sulphuric acid, potassium antimonyl tartrate, ammonium molybdate and ascorbic acid. The
solution is left for 10-30 minutes. The solution will converted into blue coloured complex in
the presence of ascorbic acid. This occurs due to the reaction of potassium antimonyl
tartrate and ammonium molybdate in the presence of sulphuric acid will develop antimony-
phospho-molybdate complex.

While waiting for the blue colour to develop, set the 880mm wavelength on the
spectrometer. To set the spectrometer to read the zero absorbance, blank solution is used.
Transfer the each sample solution into the cuvette after the blue colour is developing.
Measure the absorbance of the blue sample.

Place in 25 ml of water sample form Kuala Terengganu Estuary that want to be

analyzed into test tube. Each sample for every station is duplicate 3 times. Pipette the
combined reagent that consists of ammonium molybdate, sulphuric acid, ascorbic acid and
potassium antimonyl tartrate into the each test tube. Swirl and mix the solution inside the test
tube. Blue complex coloured will formed. The spectrophotometer was set to zero
absorbance reading by filling the sample cell with the solution and a blank. Put the blank
sample in the spectrophotometer holder and put the water sample one by one. The
absorbance for each sample is measured.

Construct the calibration curve by plotting absorbance value against the

concentration of the standard solutions. From the calibration graph the concentration of the
phosphate in Kuala Terengganu Estuary was obtained. It is necessary that all the results of
the standards solution absorbance have a linear relationship.

6. RESULT

Concentration Absorbance Average Absnet

(ppm) 1 2 3 (Abs-Absblank)
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
1.0
Table 1: Absorbance of water sampler
 concentration vs absorbance
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Absorbance

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 1
Concentration(ppm)

Figure 3: Graph of absorbance vs concentration

a) Calculation using standard curve:

From the formula of standard curve;

y = mx
Whereas:
y = absorbance of water samples (AbsAbsblank);
m = a standard curve slope; and
x = phosphate water samples concentration (in mg/L or ppm).

The absorbance of the solution can be expressed by straight line equation:

Absorbance = (slope x concentration) + intercept

Rearrange the equation; the concentration will be expressed as:

Concentration = (absorbance intercept) slope

By using above equation, amount of phosphate presence in the solution can be calculated.
 Sampling station Phosphate concentration

1 2 3 Average
Station 1
Station 2
Station 3
Station 4
Station 5
Table 3: Concentration of phosphate using spectrometer

7. Reference

1. Law Ah Theem, (2006, 21 May) Kuala Terengganu Estuary. Retrieved from

http://nest.su.se
2. P. Howard, (2016, 2 Dec) Phosphorus and water. Retrieved from
https://water.usgs.gov
3. Brian Oram, (2014) Phosphates in environment. Retrieved from http://www.water-
research.net
4. DMCA, (2017) what is eutrophication. Retrieved from
https://www.eartheclipse.com
5. European Commission, (2011, 20 July) Water safety: adding phosphates reduces
lead and copper. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu
6. T.L Pedersen, (1997, June) Phosphates. Retrieved from http://extoxnet.orst.edu
7. Yanguang Chen, (2015, 4 May) Distribution Characteristics of Phosphorus in the
Sediments and Overlying Water of Poyang Lake. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
8. Sanjay D.Pagar, (2009, 20 May) Determination of Phosphate in Water Samples
of Nashik District (Maharashtra State, India) Rivers by UV-Visible Spectroscopy.
Retrieved from http://www.e-journals.net
9. EPA, (1978), Method 365.3: Phosphorous, All Forms (Colorimetric, Ascorbic
Acid, Two Reagent). Retrieved from www.epa.gov.