p

4. THE LANGUAGE OF WATER CHEMISTRY

In order to treat water, we must understand
it and be able to describe it in as much detail
as possible. Certain expressions used in water
treatment are far removed from usual scientific
terminology. The most common of these are
listed below.
. Turbidity
Together with the measurement of
suspended solids, this gives an initial
indication of the level of colloidal matter of
inorganic or organic origin. Turbidity is
judged either by comparing the specimen with
reference opalescent solutions (formazin,
mastic, etc.) or by measuring the limit of
visibility using a well-defined object (a
platinum wire or a Secchi disc).
. The Fouling index
It is a measure of the fouling potential of
water. It is also linked with suspended solids
and is involved in water treatment by
membranes.
. Suspended solids (SS)
This includes all matter suspended in water
that is large enough to be retained on a filter
with a given porosity.
. Colour

True colour after filtration is due most often

to the presence of dissolved or colloidal
organic matter. There is no relationship
between the colour and the quantity of organic
matter. Colour is measured by comparing the
specimen with a reference solution (PlatinumCobalt method).
. Concentration (by volume)
This is a measure of the quantity of matter
dissolved or dispersed in a given volume of
water. As an example, it is indicated as mg.l-1 ,
g.m-3 , g.l-1 etc.
. Gramme-equivalent
The gramme-equivalent is equal to the
molar weight of a substance divided by the
number of charges of the same sign carried by
the ions released by a molecule of that
substance in an aqueous solution.
For instance, a molecule of orthophosphoric
acid, H3 PO4 , releases three positive charges
and three negative charges. One grammeequivalent of H3 PO4 is therefore equal to one
third of the weight of one mole of H3 PO4 .
. Normality
A normal solution is one containing one
gramme-equivalent of the relevant

4. The language of water chemistry

substance per litre. Multiples and

submultiples of the normal solution are also
used (2N, N/10, N/25, N/50, N/100, etc.
solutions).
In general, when a volume V1 of an
electrolyte of normality N1 is acted upon by
another electrolyte of normality N2 , the
volume V2 is determined from the relation:
N1 V1 = N2 V2
. Milliequivalent per litre
The unit often used in practice is the
milliequivalent per litre (meq.l-1 ) which is
obtained by dissolving a quantity of the
electrolyte equal to one thousandth of its
gramme-equivalent in one litre of water.
This is the concentration of an N/1000
solution.

(A) Total TH: content of Ca and Mg.

(B) Calcium TH: content of Ca.
(C) Carbonate hardness: content of
bicarbonates and carbonates of Ca and Mg.
It is equal to the M alk. (see below) if the
TH exceeds the M alk., or to the TH if the
M alk. exceeds the TH.
(D) Noncarbonate hardness (permanent
hardness): indicates the content of Ca and
Mg corresponding to strong anions. It is
equal to the difference between A and C.
. Phenolphthalein alkalinity (P alk.) and
methyl orange alkalinity (M alk.)
The relative values of P alk. and M alk.
indicate the quantities of alkaline or
alkaline-earth hydroxides, carbonates or
bicarbonates in the water (see table page
18).
The P alk. value therefore includes all
the hydroxide content but only half the
carbonate content.
The M alk. therefore indicates the
bicarbonate content.
In
some
very
polluted
waters
(wastewaters) the M alk. also covers
organic acids (acetic, etc.).

. The French degree

The unit used in practical water
treatment is the French degree which
corresponds to the concentration of an
N/5000 solution.
1 (meq.l-1 ) = 5 French degrees
Example: A solution of a calcium salt at
25 French degrees contains in calcium Ca
(of molar weight 40 g and valency 2):
. Measurement of salts of strong acids
(SSA)
Natural waters contain no free strong acids
(free mineral acidity, or FMA) but only
their salts, in particular the sulphates and
. The equivalence of various degrees
1 French degree = 0.56 German degree = chlorides of calcium, magnesium and
sodium. The SSA expresses the total
0.7 English degree = 10 ppm CaCO3
1 German degree = 1.786 French degrees content of these salts of strong acids.
= 1.25 English degrees = 17.86 ppm CaCO3
1 English degree = 1.438 French degrees . Salinity
The overall salinity of water corresponds
= 0.8 German degree = 14.38 ppm CaCO3
to the total number of cations and anions as
1 ppm CaCO3 = 0.1 French degree =
-1
0.056 German degree = 0.07 English expressed in mg.l .
degree.
. Permanganate value
Grouped under this heading are all
. Titration for hardness (TH)
The titration for hardness indicates the substances susceptible to oxidation by
concentration of alkaline-earth ions in potassium permanganate (KMnO4 ).
Various methods of analysis are used
water.
depending on the temperature, the type of
environment and the procedure.
The various types:

Chap. l: Water, a fundamental element

Dissolved
salts

OHCaO
Ca(OH)2
MgO
Mg(OH)2
NaOH
CO3 2CaCO3
MgCO3
Na 2 CO3
HCO3
Ca(HCO3 )2
Mg(HCO3 )2
NaHCO3

Value
of degree
in mg.l-1

3.4
5.6
7.4
4.0
5.8

if
P alk.
=0

Respective values of P alk. and M alk.

if
if
if
P alk.
P alk.
P alk.
< M alk.
= M alk.
> M alk.
2
2
2

if
P alk.
= M alk.

2 P alk.
-M alk.

M alk.

2 P alk.

M alk,

2(M alk.
-P alk.)

M alk.

M alk.-2
P alk.

8
6
10
8.4
10.6
12.2
16.2
14.6
16.8

Chemical oxygen demand (COD)

The COD indicates the total hot oxidation
by potassium dichromate and covers the
majority of organic compounds as well as
oxidizable mineral salts.
France sometimes uses the CODAD which
corresponds to chemical oxygen demand
after a sample has been allowed to settle for
two hours.
.Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
This is the quantity of oxygen consumed at
20C and in darkness during given period
to produce by biological means oxidation

of the biodegradable organic matter present

in water. By convention, BOD5 is used,
which is the quantity of oxygen consumed
after five days incubation. BOD5 normally
represents
only
the
biodegradable
carbonaceous organic pollution.
. Total organic carbon (TOC)
This indicates the content of carbon linked to
organic material by measuring the CO2 after
complete oxidation.
Although this means is quick and- requires
only a small specimen, it is difficult to
correlate it with the preceding

4. The language of water chemistry

measures. On the other hand, in most

often mistakenly called total nitrogen.
cases, the suspended solids must be
removed prior to measurement.
. Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)
TKN groups organic nitrogen with
ammonia nitrogen. This procedure is

. Total nitrogen (TN)

This applies to all forms of nitrogen
in water, such as organic nitrogen,
ammonia nitrogen, nitrites and
nitrates. It is an extension of TKN
with the addition of oxidized forms of
nitrogen.