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Boiled Feed Water
Boiled Feed Water
Plenty of water is available in nature. Water is obtained in nature from different sources. Depending
on the source water may be classified as:
(a) Under –ground water, (b) Surface water, (c) Sea water, and (d) Rain water.
(a) Under-ground water: Underground water or ground water is accumulated under ground through
seepage of surface water and rainwater forming different layers of water depending upon the
impervious strata of rock and soil. Sometimes this water exudes in the form of springs. Water of
some springs contains dissolved sulfur compounds. Such water may be used for curing some skin
disease and dandruff. Some time this water also contains soluble salts of calcium and magnesium
such as Ca(HCO3)2, CaCl2, CaSO4, Mg(HCO3)2, MgCl2, MgSO4.
(b) Surface water: Surface water may be classified as
(i) flowing water: The origin of this water is rain and snow of the mountain. In summer snow of the
mountain region melts and flows in the form of river. The rain of hilly area also comes down in the
form of river water. The original river water is pure, but it takes dissolved and suspended impurities
as it flows through plain lands. It also dissolves CO2 from the open atmosphere. This dissolved CO2
enables the water to dissolve carbonate salt as it comes in contact with it.
CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 ⟶ Ca(HCO3)2
(ii) Still water: Water of ponds, lakes and reservoirs is usually considered as still water. This water
varies widely in composition from locality to locality. It always contains fine mud as suspended
particles. The fine particles of mud can be settle down by using coagulants. Mud free still water
usually colourless and clear. The hardness of this water is also high but usually less than ground
water. The uses of this water causes scale formation in boilers, economizers, coolers etc. unless it is
treated properly.
(c) Sea water: Sea water may be considered as the vast reservoir of water. But this water is too saline
to be used as industrial water except as coolant. This water is also neither suitable for municipal use
nor for irrigation.
(d) Raind water: The purest form of water is the rainwater. It may be considered as the water distilled
by the natural process. However, this water is not suitable for industrial application. This is because of
its irregular supply and its collection is relatively expensive.
iv. Dissolved CO2: CO2 is the most highly soluble gas in water. CO2 present in water converts the
insoluble carbonates of Ca, Mg and Fe into their relatively more soluble bicarbonates.
CO2 + H2O ⟶ Ca(HCO3)2
Rocks containing minerals like silicates and aluminosilicates of Na, K, Ca and Fe are attacked by CO2
producing soluble carbonates, bicarbonates and silica.
K2O Al2O3 6SiO2 + H2O + CO2 ⟶ K2CO3 + Al2O3 2SiO22H2O + 4SiO2
Hardness of Water
Hardness of water may be defined as its incapability to produce lather /foam when treated with soap
or Water hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. The hardness of
water is caused mainly by the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in dissolved condition in water. The
incapability of forming lather/foam by soap is due to the fact that when hard water is treated with
soap, the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions react with soap and form insoluble scum of calcium and magnesium salts
of higher fatty acids. Ca and Mg salts of higher fatty acids are not soluble in water, thus do not have
any soap/detergent effect.
CaCl2/MgCl2 + 2C17H35COONa ⟶ (C17H35COO)2Ca/Mg + 2NaCl
Types of hardness
Temporary Hardness: Calcium and Magnesium salts when present in the form of bicarbonate, their
hardness are considered as temporary hardness. This is due to the fact that on simply boiling, calcium
and magnesium bicarbonates are precipitated out as calcium/magnesium carbonate.
Ca/Mg(HCO3)2 + heat ⟶ CaCO3/MgCO3 (ppt) + H2O +CO2
Permanent hardness: The hardness caused by the presence of dissolved chloride, sulphates and
nitrates of Ca2+, Mg2+ , Fe2+ and other heavy metal ions are refereed to as permanent hardness. These
can’t be remove by simple boiling. The summation of temporary and permanent hardness is refferd to
as total hardness.
Moreover, there are also alkaline and non alkaline hardness, alkaline hardness is due to the presence
of Mg, Ca, Fe, Al salts which imparts alkalinity to the water. Non alkaline hardness are due to the
presence of chlorides and sulphates of Mg and Ca salts which do not impart any alkalinity to the
water.
Expressed of hardness for calculation: Hardness of water is expressed as equivalent of CaCO3 . The
concentration of bicarbonate, sulfates and other salts are converted into equivalent of CaCO3 as
follows:
Ca(HCO3)2 ≡ CaCO3
(Mol. Wt. 162) (Mol. Wt. 100)
𝑥 ×100
x gm of Ca(HCO3)2 ≡ gm of CaCO3
162
Similarly,
CaSO4 ≡ CaCO3
(Mol. Wt. 136) (Mol. Wt. 100)
𝑦 ×100
y gm of CaSO4 ≡ gm of CaCO3
136
In similar manner, amounts of CaCl2, MgCl2, Mg(HCO3)2, Mgso4 etc. are also expressed as equivalent of
CaCO3.
Determination of temporary hardness (Hehner’s Method)
Temporary hard is due to the presence of bicarbonates of Ca and Mg. Temporary hardness can easily
be removed by simply boiling. On boiling CO2 evaporates out with the precipitation of carbonates.
Ca(HCO3)2 ⟶ CaCO3 + H2O + CO2
Mg(HCO3)2 ⟶ MgCO3 + H2O + CO2
Since bicarbonates imparts alkalinity to water, therefore, the temporary hardness can be
conveniently determined by titration with a standard solution of HCl before and after boiling. On
boiling removal of Ca and Mg-bicarbonates takes place as they are converted into insoluble
carbonates, hence the depletion of in alkalinity of sample water due to boiling can be taken as a
measure of temporary hardness.
Filtration
The sludge formed by sedimentation and coagulation is removed by filtration. Filtration is carried out
by passing water through a filtering bed. The filters bed are made of layers of sand and gravel, and in
some cases, crushed anthracite. Filtering bed consist of 3 feet fine sands below which one-foot thick
coarser sand which in turn is supported by 18 inches thick bed of different graded gravels. Below the
gravels there are drains for taking out water . After long use when a lot of precipitates deposit in
sands, the filtration process become slow. At this stage the sand bed is taken out, washed and is then
replaced again.
Filtration
Removal of soluble impurities or hardness
Boiling method
By simple boiling method, bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium can be removed. The soluble
bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium decompose on boiling and are precipitated as insoluble
carbonates and hydroxide respectively which are settled down and then filtered off.
Ca(HCO3)2 ⟶ CaCO3↓ +CO2 + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 ⟶ MgCO3 + CO2 + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + 2H2O ⟶ Mg(OH)2↓ + 2H2O + CO2
Clark Process of softening of water
In this process a calculate amount of lime is added. Lime converts bicarbonates of Ca and Mg into
insoluble CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 respectively, which are then easily removed by filtration.
H2O + CaO ⟶ Ca(OH)2
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 ⟶ CaCO3↓ + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 ⟶ MgCO3 + CaCO3↓ + 2H2O
MgCO3 + Ca(OH)2 ⟶ Mg(OH)2↓ + CaCO3↓
Ca(HCO3)2 + CaO ⟶ 2CaCO3↓ + H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + 2CaO ⟶ Mg(OH)2↓ + 2CaCO3↓
In the Clark process the bicarbonate hardness of water is reduced to 0.7-1.00 ppm. Hardness due to
Mg is removed if there is excess of OH-. The dissolved CO2 is also remove by the addition of lime
CO2 + CaO ⟶ CaCO3↓
The hardness caused by the presence of sulphates and chlorides of Ca and Mg cannot be removed
by this process. Thus the following two special methods are used for such cases.
Lime-Soda Process of softening of water
In this process soda ash is added after the addition of lime in the water. The lime removes
bicarbonates of Ca and Mg by converting them into insoluble CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 respectively. The
sulphate and chloride salts are removed by soda and lime by converting them into insoluble CaCO 3
and Mg(OH)2 respectively, as shown below.
MgCl2 + Ca(OH)2 ⟶ Mg(OH)2↓+ CaCl2
CaCl2 + Na2CO3 ⟶ CaCO3↓ + 2NaCl
CaSO4 + Na2CO3 ⟶ CaCO3↓ + Na2SO4
MgSO4 + Na2CO3 + Ca(OH)2⟶ CaCO3↓ + Mg(OH)2↓+ Na2SO4
Permutit or Zeolite Process of softening of water
Zeolite is a relatively open, three-dimensional crystalline structure and porous aluminosilicate, which
trapped water molecules in the gaps between them. There are two types of zeolite such as natural
or nonporous zeolite and synthetic or porous zeolites.
Natural Zeolite:
Thomsonite: (Na2O,CaO) Al2O3 2SiO2, 2.5 H2O
Natrolite: (Na2O), Al2O3 3 SiO2, 2 H2O
Stilbite: (Na2O,CaO) Al2O3 6 SiO2, 6 H2O
Synthetic Zeolite:
Permutit : Na2O, Al2O3 n SiO2, x H2O ( where, n = 5-13 and x – 3-4)
Permutit is more generally used than natural zeolite due to possessing porous and gel like structure.
Permutit is insoluble in water but can act as base exchanger when brought in contact with water
containing cations. The permutit or zeolite is placed in a suitable column in the filter. Hard water
containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ is allowed to percolate through it. During the percolation Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions
are taken up by zeolite. At the same time zeolite release equivalent amount of Na+.
When zeolite bed is saturated with Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions then
its water softening capacity is lost. It is then flashed with
saturated brine solution to regenerated zeolite bed.
MgZ/CaZ + NaCl ⟶ Na2Z + MgCl2/CaCl2
Advantages of Zeolite process
a) It removes hardness up to 10 ppm
b) It does not form any precipitate/sludge.
c) The maintenance and operation is easy and does not require special skills.
d) Requires less time for softening.
e) Equipment are compact and requires less space.
Priming:
When a boiler is steaming (i.e., producing steam) rapidly, some particles of the liquid water are
carried along-with the steam. This process of 'wet steam' formation is called priming. Priming is
mainly attributed to the presence of suspended impurities and to some extend dissolved impurities in
the water.. The other cause of priming are;
(i) high steam velocity
(ii) very high water level in the boiler
(iii) presence of foam on the surface of water
(iv) sudden increase in demand of steam and
(v) faulty boiler design
Determine the total concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in the water sample.
1. Calculate the moles of EDTA required to complex with the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions in the water.
concentration of EDTA = 0.010 mol L-1
volume of EDTA solution = average titrate = (10.14 + 10.10 + 10.12) ÷ 3 = 10.12 mL = 10.12 x 10-3 L
moles EDTA = concentration (mol L-1) x volume (L) = 0.010 x 10.12 x 10-3 = 1.012 x 10-4 mol
2. Write the equation for the reaction between EDTA and Ca2+ and Mg2+:Ca2+ + H2EDTA2- → CaEDTA2-
+ 2H+
Mg2+ + H2EDTA2- → MgEDTA2- + 2H+
Let M2+ = Ca2+ + Mg2+, then
M2+ + H2EDTA2- → MEDTA2- + 2H+
3. Calculate moles of M2+ (= Ca2+ + Mg2+) present in the 100.0 mL water sample From the balanced
chemical equation: 1 mole M2+ reacts with 1 mole EDTA
So 1.012 x 10-4 moles of EDTA react with 1.012 x 10-4 moles of M2+
4. Calculate the concentration of M2+ (= Ca2+ + Mg2+) in the water, concentration (M2+) = moles M2+ ÷
volume (L)
moles M2+ = 1.012 x 10-4 mol
volume = 100.0 mL = 100.0 x 10-3 L
concentration (M2+) = 1.012 x 10-4 ÷ 100.0 x 10-3 = 1.012 x 10-3 mol L-1
5. The total concentration of dissolved calcium ions and magnesium ions in the water is 1.012 x 10 -
3 mol L-1