5 WATER TECHNOLOGY

1. SOURCES OF WATER
1. Surface water:
a) Rain water: It is the purest form of water
b) River water :Contains considerable amounts of dissolved and suspended impurities
c) Ocean water: It is the most impure form of water. It contains many dissolved salts.
d) Pond water: It contains large amount of organic matter

2. Ground Water: It occurs in the form of spring water and well water.

2. TYPES OF WATER
A. SOFT WATER
The water which forms lather (or foam) easily with soap is called soft water
Eg, Rain water, distilled water

B. HARD WATER
The water which doesn’t form lather easily with soap and forms a white curd precipitate
is called hard water
Egg, Ground water, seawater

3. CAUSES OF HARDNESS OF WATER

Presence of dissolved salts like bicarbonates, chlorides & sulphates of calcium and
Magnesium causes hardness to water.

1.)Ca(HCO3)2, 2.) Mg(HCO3)2, 3) CaSO4 4). MgSO4 5) CaCl2, 6)MgCl2,

4. ACTION OF SOFT AND HARD WATER WITH SOAP

A. SOFT WATER
Soaps are sodium salts of fatty acids
. Eg. Sodium stearate
Soft water reacts with soap (sodium stearate) to form stearic acid which causes the
formation of foam.

C17H35COONa+H2O → C17H35COOH + NaOH

Sodium stearate Stearic acid

B. HARD WATER
The calcium and magnesium salts presenting in hard water first react with soap to form
calcium/magnesium stearate, which is curd precipitate. Afterwards the water reacts
with soap to form stearic acid and produces foam

2 + CaSO4 (C17H35COO)2Ca+ Na2SO4

C17H35COONa →
Sodium stearate calcium stearate(white ppt)

C17H35COONa+H2O → C17H35COOH + NaOH

Sodium stearate stearicacid
5. TYPES OF HARDNESS

A. TEMPORARY (CARBONATE)HARDNESS
It is due to presence of dissolved bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium.
Ca(HCO3)2, Mg(HCO3)2
Temporary hardness can be removed by boiling the hard water.
On heating hard water the Ca(HCO3)2 and Mg(HCO3)2 convert in to CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2
insoluble white solids respectively

Ca(HCO3)2 →Heat CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O

Mg(HCO3)2 →Heat Mg(OH)2 + 2CO2

B. PERMANENT (NON-CARBONATE) HARDNESS

It is due to presence of chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium
(CaCl2, MgCl2,CaSO4,MgSO4)
Permanent hardness can’t be removed by boiling. It is removed by special methods.

6. DISSADVANTAGES OF USING HARD WATER IN INDUSTRIES

1. Laundry: If hard water is used for washing in Laundry, more soap is consumed.Ca,
Mg soap sad here on the cloth and gives spots & streaks.
2. Textile industry: Causes wastage of soap. The precipitates of Ca and Mg soap sad
here to the fabrics and do not produce exact shades of color in dyeing
3. Dyeing Industry: Ca, Mg salts react with dyes and spoil the desired shade
4. Paper Industry: Ca and Mg salts of hard water spoil the quality of paper
5. Sugar industry: Causes difficulty in the crystallization of sugar.
The sugar produced may be deliquescent
6. In Concrete making: Hard water affects the hydration of cement and final strength of the
hardened concrete.
7. In Pharmaceutical industry: If hard water is used in the preparation of drugs,
injections, tonics, etc. it may produce undesirable products.
8. Boilers:-Forms scales and sludge -Causes wastage of fuel
-Causes corrosion of boiler material-Causes explosion of boiler

7. DEGREEOF HARDNESS
“The amount of hardness causing substances present in water in terms of CaCO3
equivalents is called Degree of Hardness of Hard water”
Degree of Hardness = Weight of the salt x 100
in terms of CaCO3 equivalents GMW of Salt

8. UNITS OF DEGREE OF HARDNESS

A. PPM (PARTS PER MILLION)

It is the number of parts by weight of CaCO3 eqts hardness present in one million
(106) parts by weight of water.
B. Mg Per Liter
It is defined as the number of milligrams of CaCO3 equivalents present in one liter of
water.
9. REMOVAL OF TEMPORARY HARDNESS
 a) Removal of temporary hardness by boiling. : When water is boiled, the
soluble bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium decompose to form insoluble
carbonates (precipitate), which are removed by filtration.
Ca(HCO3)2 ------- CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 -------MgCO3 + CO2 + H2O

b) Removal of temporary hardness by Clark's method.

In Clark's method calculated amount of slaked lime ( Calcium hydroxide ) is added to
water. The bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium react with lime and form insoluble
carbonates, which are removed by filtration.
Ca(HCO3 )2 + Ca(OH)2 ----- 2CaCO3 + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 ------- MgCO3 + CaCO3 + 2H2O

10. REMOVAL OF PERMANENT HARDNESS

a) ZEOLITE (PERMUTIT) METHOD-SOFTENING OF HARD
WATER
 Zeolites (Na2Ai2Si2O8) are also called as Sodium zeolites and represented as Na 2Z.
 Permutit is packed in a suitable container.
 Hard water is passed through the Zeolite bed. TheCa+2andMg+2 ions are converted in
to CaZ and MgZ and retained in the bed. The water obtained is soft water.

CaCl2 + Na2Z  CaZ +2NaCl

MgSO4 + Na2Z  MgZ + Na2SO4

* Once Na2Z is completely converted to CaZ or MgZ, it is said to be exhausted. It is

necessary to regenerate.
 Now10%NaCl(Brine) solution is passed through the exhausted zeolitebedandNa 2Zis
regenerated for further use.

CaZ +2NaCl → Na2Z+CaCl2

MgZ+2NaCl → Na2Z+MgCl2
b) ION-EXCHANGE METHOD FOR SOFTENING OF HARD WATER

 Ion exchange resins are insoluble cross linked long chain organic polymers with
microporous structure.

 Hard water is passed through abed of acid resin (cation exchange resin R-COOH).
The cations like Ca+2, Mg+2are exchanged with H+ ions of the resin.

 *Then it is passed through basic resin (Anion exchange resin R/-OH) .All the anions
like Cl-ions are exchanged with OH-ions of the resin.

 *Both the H+ and OH-ions combine to give water molecules.

The water thus obtained is perfectly softwater

Cation exchanger
2R-COOH+Ca+2 → (R-COO)2Ca+2H+

2 R-COOH + Mg+2 → (RCOO)2Mg + 2 H+

Anion exchanger
R/-OH + Cl- → R/-Cl +OH-
R/-OH +SO4-2 → R/2SO4+2OH-
* Regeneration of Resins
After sometime, the two resins will be exhausted. Dil. HCl and dil. NaOH solutions are
passed through the two exhausted beds to regenerate the Acidic and Basic resins
respectively.

(R-COO)2Ca+2HCl → 2 R-COOH +CaCl2

(RCOO)2Mg +2HCl → 2 RCOOH
+MgCl2
R/-Cl + NaOH → R/-OH+NaCl
R/2SO4+2 NaOH → 2 R/-OH +Na2SO4
11. ESSENTIALQUALITIESOF DRINKINGWATER
1. The Drinking water should be clear, odorless and colour less.
2. It should be pleasant in taste.
3. Its PH should be between 7 and 8.
4. Its total dissolved solids should be less than 500 ppm.
5. It should be free from disease producing Microorganisms.
6. It should not have suspended impurities.
7. It should not have objection able minerals such as Hg, As, Pb, Cr and Mn salts.
8. It should not have objection able dissolved gases likeH2S.
9. Its turbidity should not exceed 10 ppm.

12. TREATMENT OF WATER FOR DRINKING PURPOSE

The municipal Water Treatment is carried out in 3steps.

1. Sedimentation
Water is allowed standing for a few hours in big tanks. The bigger sized suspended
impurities settle down slowly at the bottom, due to the force of gravity and can be removed.
This process of settling down of suspended impurities is called Sedimentation
If water contains fine clay particles, some coagulant like alum is added in the tank and mixed
thoroughly. Alum forms gelatin precipitate (Al(OH) 3)called floc. This flocent angles fine
suspended particles to form big flocs, which settle rapidly.

2. Filtration

The water from the sedimentation tank is passed over the filter beds. The filter beds
are made up of layers of coke, fines and, courses and gravel. Colored substances, colloidal
matter and most of the bacteria will be removed in this process.

3. Sterilization[Disinfection]

“The process of killing of harmful micro-organisms is called Sterilization.”

Sterilization can be carried out by:

A. Chlorination
Chlorine (or Bleaching powder)is added to water. It reacts with water to form n ascent
Oxygen which kills the micro-organisms.
Cl2 +H2O → HCl+HOCl

HOCl → HCl+(O)
Bacteria + (O) → Bacteria are killed

B. Ozonization
Ozone is passed directly into water. It dissociates to given ascent oxygen which kills the
Micro-organisms.
O3 → O2+(O)
Bacteria+(O) → Bacteria are killed
 C. Aeration
Water is exposed to air by sprinkling through fountain pumps. The oxygen and UV
rays in the air kill the micro-organisms.

D. Boiling
Water is boiled for10–15 min. All the disease producing bacteria and other
microorganisms are killed. Water becomes safe for use.

13. A.OSMOSIS
The process of transfer of solvent from dilute solution to a concentrated solution
through a semi-permeable membrane is called Osmosis
Eg. Plants absorb water from the soil by the osmosis process

C. REVERSE OSMOSIS
The process of transfer of solvent from a solution of higher concentration to
a solution of lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane is
called Reverse Osmosis
This is opposite process of Osmosis and occurs by applying high pressure on
the high concentration side. It is a type of filtration method.
 C.A DVANTAGES OF REVERSE OSMOSIS

 This method removes all impurities like ionic, non-ionic, colloidal organic and other
impurities.
 The process is cheap and easily carried out.
 The semi-permeable membrane can be replaced within few minutes.
 This process is used for converting sea water into drinking water. 5) This technic is used in
dialysis, desalination etc. .
D. APPLICATIONS OF REVERSE OSMOSIS
 Reverse osmosis is used in the process of concentration of fruit juices.
 It is used in the desalination process
 .It is used in the dialysis process.
 It is used in the dairy industry.
14. Desalination of sea water by electro dialysis:
It is the process of removing salts from the sea or brackish water by electrodialysis.
Principle: Electrodialysis is used to transport cations and anions from one solution to
another solution through ion exchange membranes by using anode and cathode
electrodes.
This equipment contains both cation and anion exchange membranes which are
alternately placed between cathode and anode.
When a direct electric current is passed through the water, the cations present in the
water moves towards cathode through the cation exchange membrane and the anions
present in the water moves towards anode through the anion exchange membrane. As
a result, desalinated water is formed between the membranes, which is collected.
 USES: To remove salts from sea water, brackish water
• to regenerate water from waste water
• in food processing industry
• Glycol desalting, glycerine purification

15. DEFLUORIDATION [NALGONDA TECHNIQUE]

The process of removal of naturally occurring fluorides from water is called defluoridation
Nalgonda technique:-
 This method was introduced by the National Institute of Environmental Engineering
Research Institute NEERI in Nagpur and was first used in Nalgonda . The following
steps involved in this process.
 Rapid mix, Flocculation, Sedimentation, Filtration, Disinfection
 In this technique alum, lime, and bleaching powder are added to water, stirred, and
allowed to settle.
 The fluorides in water are precipitated as calcium aluminum fluoride. This process is
called flocculation.
 Then the water is subjected to sedimentation and filtration to get pure water.

Advantages of Nalgonda technique:

1. Chemicals required are readily and cheaply available
2. Treated water contains a permissible level of fluorides (1.5ppm)
3. Water does not contain acids and bases.
4. No wastage of water.
5. Useful for domestic and community use.
6. Requires minimum mechanical and electrical equipment.
7. From sludge (floc) alum can be regenerated.
8. Design, construction, operation and maintenance is simple
9. Local semiskilled people can operate it.
10. Water can be treated in batches or continuously

PROBLEMS
Hints:
I Degree of Hardness in terms
ofCaCO3eqts = Mass of saltX100 / Mol.wt of salt

II. Molecular weights:

Ca(HCO3)2-162 CaCl2-111 CaSO4-136

Mg(HCO3)2-146 MgCl2 -95 MgSO4-120

1. A sample of hard water contains 8.1 mg/lit. of Ca(HCO3)2and 18 mg/lit of MgSO4.

Calculate its temporary, permanent and Total Hardness?

a)Hardness due to Ca(HCO3)2 = Weight of the saltx100

In terms of CaCO3 equivalents GMW of Salt
= 8.1 x100
162
= 5 mg/lit[5 ppm] Temp. hardness

b).Hardness due to MgSO4 = 18x100 = 15mg/lit[15ppm] Permhardness

120

Total hardness in terms of CaCO3 equivalents =5 +15=20ppm