Hydrochemistry
Lecture No. 2
Water molecule geometry
Three quarter of the earth is covered with water, which circulates in a closed loop called
hydrological [Link] is now recognized that the quality of water is just important as its quantity.
From the chemical view point, the water is a pure compound. The chemistry of rain, surface and
groundwater changes by solution of gases, minerals, organic and inorganic substances and
environment. The changes could be also geographically. The water chemistry is function of
number of factors (pH, redox potential Eh, osmotic press., carbon dioxide content, number of
minerals, chemical ions and bacteria) all of them complicates the chemical structure of water
solution.
Hydrogeochmical cycle:
The water cycle has an alternative cycle undergoes parallel to its mechanism and circulation and
has influence to the water quality and chemistry as it goes from one stage to another, it called
geochemical water cycle as shown in Fig (1):
Water molecule geometry:
The molecular structure of water is not as it exists in nature as aqueous solution state but it is a
chemical substances have a chemical formula (H2O or HOH). The chemical structure of water is
illustrated in fig (2) which shows two Hydrogen atoms bounded asymmetrically (covalent bonds)
to an Oxygen atom with a bond angle of (104.450o, approximately 105o).
The shape results from the geometry of the electron orbits involved in the bonding Oxygen
(negative charge) has a much higher electronegativity than Hydrogen (positive charge) and pulls
the bonding electrons toward itself and away from the hydrogen atom creating a dipole or
electrical charges of equal magnitude and opposite sign a small distance apart .as a consequence,
the opposite charges of water molecules attract each other to form clusters of molecules (fig. 3 ),
through a type of interaction known as Hydrogen Bonding.
The size of the clusters increases with decreasing temperature reaching a maximum at 4 Co.
when water is cooled from 4 Co to 0 Co the size of the clusters creates a more open structure and
the water becomes less dense. And more expansion on freezing. Hence, ice has a lower density
than liquid water (Fig 4).
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 Sulphates,
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).
Groundwater and Sea Water
