Nitte international

school

Academic year: 2019-2020

Chemistry project
Topic: analysis of hard water

Submitted to- Mrs. Aruna

Submitted by- Aditya
Class XII
Roll no:
 Certificate
This is to certify that Aditya a student of class
XII (science) has successfully completed his
project work under the guidance of subject
teacher Mrs. Aruna during the year 2019-2020
from NITTE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL in
practical fulfillment of Chemistry practical
exam conducted by CBSE.

Principal’ signature External Examiner

Teacher’s signature
 Acknowledgement

The success and final outcome of this project

required a lot of guidance and assistance from
many people and I am extremely fortunate to
have got this all along the completion of my
project work. Whatever I have done is only due
to such guidance and assistance and I would
not forget to thank them. I respect and thank
Mrs. Aruna for giving me an opportunity to do
this project work and providing us all support
and guidance which made me complete the
project on time. At last but not the least I
would like to thank all my friends who
supported me all the way and my parents who
helped me financially and encouraged me
throughout in the completion of the project.
 Contents
 Introduction
 Experimental observation
 Result
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
 Introduction
Hard water is the water containing the dissolved salts of calcium,
magnesium and iron ions. Theses ions are called hardening ions.
In low concentrations, these ions are not considered harmful for
domestic use, but when present in higher concentrations, these
ions interfere with the cleansing action of soaps and accelerate
the corrosion of steel pipes, especially those carrying hot water.
Hard water prevents soaps from lathering and causes scale built
up in pipes and appliances such as hot water tanks, boilers,
shortening their life span and affecting their efficiency.
Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of higher fatty acids such as
stearic acid, C17H35COOH. Soaps, such as C17H35COO-Na+, are very
effective cleansing agents so long as they remain soluble in water.
Hardening ions, such as Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe3+ react with soaps and
form insoluble compounds and thus interfere in the cleansing
action of soap.
2 C17H35COO-Na+(aq) + Ca2+(aq)  ( C17H35COO)2Ca(s) + 2Na+(aq)
Hard water is also responsible for the formation of “boiler scale”
on tea kettles and vessels used for heating water. The boiler scale
reduces the efficiency of transferring heat because it is a bad
conductor of heat. Formation of boiler scale in the pipes carrying
hot water reduces the rate of flow of water in them. In extreme
cases, due to overheating of boiler or the pipes, may break due to
overheating. The boiler scale consists primarily of the carbonates
of hardening ions.
Ca2+(aq)+2HCO3-(aq)  CaCO3(s)+CO2(g)+H2O(l)
The hardening ions enter into water as a result of reaction
between slightly acidic rain water and mineral deposits. Ground
water becomes hard as it flows through underground limestone
deposits. The water from deep wells has higher degree of
hardness as compared to water from shallow wells because of
greater interaction with limestone. Similarly, surface water
receives hardening ions as it flows over limestone deposits. CO2
dissolved in water makes it slightly acidic and helps in dissolved
limestone deposits.

CO2(aq)+ CaCO3(s) +H2O(l)  Ca2+(aq) +2HCO3-(aq)

The degree of hardness in water depends on the extent of
hardening ions present in water. The concentration of hardening
ions in a water sample is generally expressed as though the
hardness is due exclusively to CaCO3. The unit of hardness is mg
CaCO3/ litre which is same as ppm CaCO3. A general classification
of hard water is given below in tabular form:
 Hardness (ppm CaCO3) Classification
<15 ppm Very soft water
15 – 50 ppm Soft water
50 – 100 ppm Medium hard water
100 – 200 ppm Hard water
>200 ppm Very hard water

Typically, hardness is treated with a water softener that removes

the calcium and magnesium ions when the water passes through
a tank containing a softening resin. The chemical process that
occurs replaces the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions
in a process called ion exchange. When the sodium ions supply is
exhausted, the unit is regenerated by passing sodium chloride
solution through the exchange material. The hardness ions are
then washed away in the rinse water. Units can be regenerated
manually or automatically.

Types of hard water

Hard water can be classified into two:-
 Temporary Hard water
 Permanent Hard water

Temporary hardness
Temporary hardness is caused by a combination of calcium ions
and bicarbonate ions in the water. It can be removed by boiling
the water or by the addition of lime (calcium hydroxide). Boiling
promotes the formation of carbonate from bicarbonate and
precipitates calcium carbonate out of the solution, leaving water
that is softer upon cooling.
The following is the equilibrium reaction when calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) is dissolved in water.
CaCO3(s) + CO2(g) +H2O(l) Ca2+ (aq) + 2HCO3-(aq)
Upon heating, less CO2 is able to dissolve into the water. Since
there is not enough CO2 around, the reaction cannot proceed
from left to right, and therefore the CaCO3 will not dissolve
rapidly. Instead, the reaction is forced to the left to re-establish
equilibrium, and solid CaCO3 is formed.
Boiling the water will remove hardness as long as the solid CaCO3
that participates out is removed. After cooling, if enough time
passes, the water will pick up CO2 from the air and the reaction
will again proceed from left to right, allowing the CaCO3 re-
dissolve into the water.
Permanent hardness
Permanent hardness is hardness that cannot be removed by
boiling. It is usually caused by the presence of calcium and
magnesium sulphates and or chlorides which become more
soluble as the temperature rises. Despite the name, permanent
hardness can be removed using a water softener or ion exchange
column, where the calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged
with the sodium ions in the column.
Hard water causes scaling, which is the left–over mineral deposits
that are formed after the hard water had evaporated. This is also
known as lime scale the scale can clog pipes, ruin water heaters,
and coat the inside of tea and coffee pots and decrease the life of
toilet flushing units.
Hardening must be constantly monitored to avoid costly
breakdowns in contact with water. Hardness is controlled by the
addition of chemicals and by large-scale softening with zeolites
(Na2Al2SiO8.xH2O) and ion exchange resins.

Effects of hard water

These are advantages and disadvantages for people who live in
hard water areas.
Disadvantages of hard water
 It is difficult to form lather with soap.
 Scum may form in a reaction with soap thus wasting soap.
 Lime scale (a hard crust) forms inside kettles. This wastes
energy whenever you boil a kettle.
 Hot water pipes fur up. Lime scale starts to coat the inside of
the pipes which eventually can get blocked up.
Advantages of hard water
 Some people prefer the taste.
 Calcium ions in the water are good for children’s teeth and
bones.
 It helps to reduce heart disease.
 A coating of lime scale onside copper pipes or especially old
lead pipes sops poisonous salts dissolving into water

EFFECTS ON SKIN

Some confusion may arise after a first experience with soft water.
Hard water does lather well with soap and leaves a “clean
feeling”. Soft water lathers better than hard water but leaves a
“slippery feeling” on the skin after use with soap. Some providers
of water softening equipment claim that the “slippery feeling”
after showering in soft water is due to “clean skin” and absence of
friction causing soap scum.
However, the chemical explanation is that softened water,
because of its sodium content, has a much reduced ability to
combine with the soap film on the body; therefore, the soap is
much more difficult to rinse off. Solutions are to use less soap or a
synthetic liquid body wash.
SOFTENING
It is often considered desirable to soften hard water. This is
because the calcium and Magnesium ions block the oil emulsifying
action of soap due to the formation of insoluble scum. Large
amount of soap have to be used to counteract this. Most modern
soaps and detergents contain ingredients that at least partly
prevent this effect and detergents are available that are
chemically completely unaffected by the hardness. This makes
hardness removal/softening an optional rather than a necessary
water treatment except possibly in the case of extremely hard
water. Where softening is practiced it is often recommended to
soften only the water sent to domestic hot water systems so as to
prevent damage due to scale formation in water heaters. Another
reason for this is to avoid adding sodium or potassium from the
softener to cold water taken for human consumption while still
providing softening for hot water used in washing and bathing.
 Experiment

Aim-
To determine the hardness of a water sample
Requirements-
250ml conical flask, funnel, beaker, burette, pipette. Standard EDTA
(Na2H2Y) solution, buffer solution (pH=10), Erichrome Black T (EBT)
indicator
Theory
The concentration of hardening ions in water can be determined by a
titration technique, the titrant is the disodium salt of ethylene-

diaminetetraaceticacid
In aqueous solution Na2H2Y dissociates into Na+ and H2Y2- ions.Ca2+ and
Mg2+ react with H2Y2- to form stable complexes in a solution having pH of
about 10.a buffer solution containing ammonia and ammonium ions is
used to maintain the pH of the solution around 10.
For the detection of the end point Erichrome Black T (EBT) is used as
indicator EBT forms complex ions with Ca2+ and Mg2+, but binds more
strongly to Mg2+ ions. Since only a small amount of EBT is added, only a
small amount of Mg2+ ions is used in the formation of complex and no
Ca2+ ions are used.

EBT indicator is sky-blue in solution but its complex with Mg2+ ions, [Mg-
EBT]2+, is wine red
Mg2+ (aq) + EBT (aq) [Mg-EBT]2+ (aq)
Sky-blue wine red
Thus, during titration when indicator is added to hard water, the initial
colour is wine red.
When the titrant is added, H2Y2- complexes with free Ca2+ and Mg2+
present in water and finally removes Mg2+ ions from the [Mg-EBT]2+
complex ions. As a result the colour of the solution from wine red to sky
blue.
[Mg-EBT]2+ (aq) + H2Y2-(aq) MgY2- + 2H+(aq) + EBT(aq)
Wine red sky blue
It may be mentioned here that for the end point to appear, Mg2+ ions
must be present in the solution. Therefore, a small amount of Mg2+ (as
same salt) is added to the buffer solution and an equivalent amount of
Na2H2Y is also added so that the added Mg2+ ions do not affect the
amount of H2Y2- used during titration.
Indicator
Erichrome Black T (EBT)
End point
Wine red to sky blue colour.
Procedure -
 Take about 100ml of the water sample to be analyzed. If the
water sample contains suspended impurities, it should be
subjected to simple filtration. If the water sample is acidic to
litmus, add 1M NH3 drop wise until it becomes basic to
litmus.

 Rinse the burette with Na2H2Y solution and then fill it with
the solution. Record the initial reading.

 Pipette out 25.0ml of the given sample of water in the

conical flask. Add 1ml of the buffer (pH=10) solution and 2
drops EBT indicator. The colour of the solution becomes wine
red at this stage.

 Titrate the above solution with standard Na2H2Y solution. At

the end point the wine red colour disappears and the
solution becomes blue (or purple) in colour. Note the final
reading of the burette. Repeat the titration 3 to 4 times to
get a concordant reading.

Observations
Morality of the standard Na2H2Y solution =0.01M.
Volume of water taken for each titration = 20.0ml.
Burette readings
 tap water

S no. Initial Final Volume of

reading reading Na2H2Y used
1 0.0 4.4 4.4ml
2 4.4 8.9ml 4.5ml
3 8.9 13.4ml 4.5ml

Concordant readings – 4.5ml

 Pool water

S no Initial Final Volume of

reading reading Na2H2Y used
1 0.0 6.3 6.3ml
2 6.3 12.7 6.4ml
3 12.7 19.1 6.4ml
Concordant readings – 6.4ml
  Sea water

S no Initial Final Volume of

reading reading Na2H2Y used
1 0.0 79.9 79.9ml
2 0.0 80.0ml 80.0ml
3 0.0 80.0ml 80.0ml

Concordant readings – 80.0ml

Calculations

 tap water

Let the volume of titrant used be = 4.5 ml

Morality of titrant solution= 0.01M
Moles of titrant used = M x V
1000
=0.01 x 4.5
1000
= 45 x 10-6

Mass of Na2H2Y = Moles of Ca2+ = 0.01 x 4.5 = 45 x 10-6

1000

Mass of equivalent CaCO = 0 .01 x 4.5 x100g = 45x10-6x102

1000
=45x10-4 mg
Mass of CaCO3 per litre = 45 x 10-4 x 1000
20
=50 x 45 x10-4
=225 x 10-3mg/l

Hardness = 225 x 10 -3 x 106

103
 = 225 ppm
Calculations
 Pool water
Let the volume of titrant used be = 6.4 ml
Morality of titrant solution = 0.01M

Moles of titrant used =MxV

1000
= 0.01 x 6.4
1000
= 64x 10-6

Mass of Na2H2Y = Moles of Ca2+ = 0.01 x 6.4= 45 x 10-6

1000

Mass of equivalent CaCO3 = 0 .01 x 6.4x 100g = 64 x 10-6 x102

1000
=64x10-4 mg
Mass of CaCO3 per litre = 64 x 10-4 x 1000
20
=50 x 64 x10-4
=320 x 10-3mg/l

Hardness = = 320 x 10 -3 x 106

= 320x 10 -3 x 106
103
= 320 ppm

Calculations
 Sea water
Let the volume of titrant used be = 80 ml
Morality of titrant solution = 0.01M
Moles of titrant used = M x V
1000
=0.01 x 80
1000
= 80 x 10-5
Mass of Na2H2Y = Moles of Ca2+ = 0.01 x 80 = 80 x 10-5
1000
Mass of equivalent CaCO3 = 0 .01 x 80 x100g = 80x10-5x102
1000
=80x10-3 mg

Mass of CaCO3 per litre = 80 x 10-3 x 1000

20
=50 x 80 x10-3
=4000 x 10-3mg/l

Hardness = 4000 x 10 -3 x 106

= 4000 x 10 -3 x 106
103
= 4000 ppm
Result

The degree of hardness of the following water samples are:-

 Tap water - 225ml

 Pool water - 320ml
 Sea water - 4000ppm
 Bibliography
 BOOKS-
1. Comprehensive Chemistry Lab Manual for class XII
2. Together with Chemistry Lab Manual for class XII
 WEBSITES-
1. www.wikipedia.org
2. www.google.co.in