General chemistry 2
Helicoverpa armigera
Lesson 3: Water Chemistry
Deliver by: Dr. Feras Afifi
Concepts
Ø Water pollution
Water pollution
Ø Water pollution : Any physical or chemical change in water that adversely affects
the health of humans and other organisms.
Ø Water quality: It is important to utilize a good quality and unpolluted water. The
quality criteria may vary depending on the use.
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Environmental Water Quality Parameters
Physical Properties: Color, smell, temperature, solids (residues), turbidity, oil content, and grease content.
Chemical Properties : pH - Conductivity - Dissolved oxygen (DO) - Nitrate - Orthophosphate – Pesticides
Figure1: pH meter Figure 2:Digital conductivity meters
Biological Properties : Bacteriological parameters: coliforms, fecal coliforms, specific pathogens, and viruses.
Some Key water-quality parameters
1- pH
pH : is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in the water.
This measurement indicates the acidity or alkalinity of the water.
pH is an intensity factor.
1- pH = 7: Neutral 2- pH < 7: Acidic 3- pH > 7: Alkaline or basic
- Naturally occurring fresh waters have a pH range between 6.5 and 8.5.
- At pH <4.0, severe danger of health effects due to dissolved toxic metal ions are expected. Water
tastes sour.
- At pH>11.0 – severe danger of health effects due to deprotonated species. Water tastes soapy.
- Deprotonation is the removal of proton from any atom, ion or molecule
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2- Conductivity
Conductivity is the ability of the water to conduct an electrical current
and is an indirect measure of the ion concentration.
Ø The more ions present, such as that of carbonate, bicarbonate,
chloride, sulphate, nitrate, Na, K, Ca, and Mg, the more electricity
can be conducted by the water.
Ø This measurement is expressed in microsiemens per centimeter
(uS/cm) at 25°C. The target water quality range is 0 – 70
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3- Turbidity
- Turbidity is a measure of the clarity of the water
- Turbidity it is the amount of solids suspended in the water
- It is a measure of the light scattering properties of water, thus an increase in the amount
of suspended solid particles in the water may be visually described as cloudiness or
muddiness
There are several methods of measuring turbidity and, in the past, the results were
frequently expressed in different units. Nowadays, nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)
are almost always used.
4- Colour
Colour is a measure of the light absorbed by the water.
Colour is measured by comparing the sample against a set of standard colour solutions. There
are also automated instruments which measure colour directly. Normally, colour is very pH
dependent and it is good practice to also report pH value.
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5- Temperature
Temperature affects physical, chemical, and biological processes in water
Ø Chemical example: DO (Dissolved Oxygen) decreases as temperature
increases (raising the temperature of a freshwater stream from 20°C to 30°C will
decrease the DO saturation level from about 9.2 to 7.6 ppm )
6- Phosphorus (P)
Ø Total phosphate is used as an indicator of pollution from run-off in
agricultural or domestic sewage.
Ø Concentrations of 0.2 mg/L are common.
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Water Pollution
Water Pollution two major classifications:
• Point Source • Non-point Source
Point Sources: • Non-point Sources
• Single large source • Diffuse source or many smaller
point sources
• Can localize it to one spot
• Cars
• Industrial waste.
• Fertilizer on fields
• Sewage pipes.
Water Pollution Comes from Point
Point sources
• Located at specific places
• Easy to identify, monitor, and regulate
• Examples:
Oil Tanker Spill Sewage spills into the water
Water Pollution Comes from Nonpoint Sources
• Nonpoint sources
• Broad, diffuse areas
• Difficult to identify and control
• Expensive to clean up
• Examples:
Figure1. Acid rain by Industrial emission
