Environmental

EngineeringLab
Manual
Reg No. : 2019-Civ-99
Name : M. Bilal Alam
Sec: B
Submitted to: Mam Sehar
 Table of Contents
Job No. 1...........................................................................................................................................1
Determine the pH of Water and Develop pH curve.........................................................................1
Job No. 2...........................................................................................................................................4
Determine the Turbidity of Water Samples......................................................................................4
Job No. 3...........................................................................................................................................6
To Measure the Alkalinity of Water.................................................................................................6
Job No. 4...........................................................................................................................................9
To Measure the Total Hardness, Ca & Mg Hardness.......................................................................9
Job No. 5.........................................................................................................................................12
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To Calculate the Total Solids (TS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
& Settleable solids (SS)..................................................................................................................12
Job No. 6.........................................................................................................................................16
Determination of Dissolved Oxygen in Wastewater......................................................................16
Job No. 7.........................................................................................................................................19
Determination of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in Wastewater.......................................19

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Job No. 1

Determine the pH of Water and

Develop pH curve

1.1Objectives:
 To determine the pH value of water
from different sources.
 To compare its pH value with PEQS
standards.

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1.2 Apparatus:
 pH meter
 Burette
 Titration Flask
 Pipette

1.3 Chemicals:
 Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
 Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
 Distilled Water

1.4 Significance:
Temperature and pH influences all the chemical
reactions around us. So, change in pH will
significantly affect our environment. If water in
lake become to acidic or basic it will effect
aquatic life.

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 1.5 Related Theory:
1. pH Value:
pH is a measure of how acidic/basic water is. The range goes from 0 -
14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a
pH of greater than 7 indicates a base.

2. pH meter:
It is a electric device used to measure hydrogen-ion activity (acidity or
alkalinity) in solution. Fundamentally, a pH meter consists of
a voltmeter attached to a pH-responsive electrode and a reference
(unvarying) electrode. 
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3. Burette:
burette, also spelled buret, laboratory apparatus used in quantitative
chemical analysis to measure the volume of a liquid or a gas. It
consists of a graduated glass tube with a stopcock (turning plug, or
spigot) at one end.

4. Titration Flask:
Erlenmeyer's Flask is used to prepare concentration solutions and carry
out chemical analysis. It is mostly used in the titration process and
hence also known as “Titration Flask”.

5. Buffer Solution:
A buffer is a solution that can resist pH change upon the addition of an
acidic or basic components.

6. Pipette:
A pipette (sometimes spelled as pipet) is a laboratory tool commonly
used in chemistry, biology and medicine to transport a measured
volume of liquid, often as a media dispenser.

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1.6 Procedure:
 Take the sample in the flask whose pH value need to be checked.
 Check the zero error of pH meter using buffer solution.
 Note the zero correction.
 Check the pH of sample using pH meter.
 Apply the correction and note the readings.

1.7 Results:
Sample 1: 2.7

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Sample 2: 11.9
Sample 3: 8.9

1.8 Conclusions:

 The pH range of drinking water should be 6.5 to 8.5 for it to be considered safe
for consumption. Any pH value outside of this range is not acceptable.
 Water with a pH value below 6.5 can cause corrosion in pipes and result in the
release of toxic metals, such as Zinc.
 The pH of water plays a significant role in governing several wastewater
treatment processes, including chemical coagulation, disinfection, water
softening, and corrosion control.
 Using water with an undesired pH for construction purposes can lead to
chemical reactions with concrete components that can compromise the strength
and stability of the structure.
This can also cause early corrosion of reinforcement, which can compromise the strength and
durability of the structure over time.

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 Job No. 2

Determine the Turbidity of Water Samples

2.1Objectives:
 To determine the turbidity of water from different sources.
 To compare its turbidity value with PEQS standards

2.2Apparatus:
 Nephlometer
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2.3Chemicals:
 Water Samples

2.4Significance:
It is used to check how much clear the water is? More turbidity means
more dust particles and less clear the water is. It helps us to check
whether the water is drinable or not?

2.5Related Theory:
1. Nephlometer:
A nephelometer is a dedicated standalone instrument that
measures the intensity of scattered light.

2. NTU:
NTU stands for Nephelometric Turbidity unit, i.e. the unit used
to measure the turbidity of a fluid or the presence of
suspended particles in water.

3. Turbidity:
Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It is an
optical characteristic of water and is a measurement of the
amount of light that is scattered by material in the water when
a light is shined through the water sample.
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 2.6Procedure:
 Take the sample in the sample bottle of nephlometer.
 Place the sample in the nephlometer.
 Note the readings.

2.7Results:

Syphon: 141 NTU

Head Baloki: 288 NTU
Faisalabad Chenab River: 846 NTU

2.8Conclusions:

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 The acceptable range of turbidity in finished drinking water is 0 to 1
NTU, and it should not exceed 5 NTU under any circumstances.
 If the turbidity level is too high, it can hinder the disinfection process and
protect microorganisms, making the water unsafe for consumption.

Job No. 3

To Measure the Alkalinity of Water

3.1Objective:
 To measure the acidity or amount of H+ ions in water.
 To neutralize the solution.

3.2Apparatus:
 Burette 6
 Pipette
 Titration Flask
 3.3Chemicals:
 Water
 0.02N H2SO4
 Indicator: Naphthalene, methyl Orange

3.4Significance:
High alkaline in water can cause:
 Corrosive to water
 Non-Drinkable
 Interfere with water treatment qualities

3.5Related Theory:
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1. Normality:
normality is described as the number of gram or mole equivalents of
solute present in one litre of a solution.
2. Indicator:
a substance (as a dye) used to show visually (as by a change in color) the
condition of a solution with respect to the presence of a particular
material (as a free acid or alk
3. Alkalinity:
The buffering capacity of a water body; a measure of the ability of the
water body to neutralize acids and bases and thus maintain a fairly
stable pH level

3.6Procedure:
 Take 25 ml of water in titration flask.
 Add 2-3 drops of naphthalene in it.
 If the Solution turns pink means OH- ions are present.
 Titrate it using 0.02N H2SO4 (present in burette) till it turns
colorless.
 Note the reading and mark as A.
 Add 1-2ml of methyl orange in the flask, if solution turns orange,
titration is needed.
7  Titrate it again using 0.02N H2SO4 till it turns red.
 Again note the reading and mark as B.
 3.7Results:

Sample Reading A B
1 0 6.1
2 0 6.3
S1 3 0 6.7
Avg 0 6.4
1 11.7 10.1
2 12.1 10.1
S2 3 11.7 9.6
Avg 11.8 9.9

S1 S2

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P.A. = 0 P.A. = 473.3333
M.A. = 254.6666667 M.A. = 397.3333
T.A. = 254.6666667 T.A. = 870.6667

3.8Conclusions:
3.9 The alkalinity of the water sample was successfully measured using a
titration method. The presence of OH- ions was indicated by the pink color of
the solution after adding naphthalene.
3.10 The results obtained can be used to determine the suitability of the
water for various purposes such as drinking, irrigation, or industrial use.
Water with low alkalinity is more susceptible to pH changes and may require
additional treatment to be safe for certain uses.

Job No. 4

To Measure the Total Hardness, Ca & Mg Hardness

4.1Objectives:
 To find out which salt gives Temporary Hardness and which 8
give permanent.
 4.2Apparatus:
 Pipette
 Burette
 Titration Flask

4.3Chemicals:
 Sample
 Distilled water
 0.01M EDTA
 Indicators: Ammonia Buffer + EBT ( For Total Hardness)
NAOH + EBBR (For Ca+2 Hardness)

4.4Significance:
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The hard water consumes more soap during washing, causes

scaling on sides of boilers & issues in pharmaceutical
products. So, if the amount of hardness is known then it can
be handled before being used.

4.5Related Theory:
1. Types of Hardness:
There are 2 types of hardness
 Temporary Hardness (Precipitate out of water)
 Permanent Hardness (Don’t precipitate out of
water)
2. Molarity:
Molarity is a unit of concentration expressed as the
number of moles of dissolved solute per liter of
solution.

3. EDTA:
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a medication
used in the management and treatment of heavy metal
toxicity. It is in the chelating class of drugs.

4. EBT:
9 Eriochrome Black T is a complexometric indicator that is
used in complexometric titrations, e.g. in the water
hardness determination process.
 5. EBBR:
It stands for Erichrome Blue Black R.

4.6Procedure Equation:
 Total Hardness:
0.01M EDTA
25ml sample + 25ml distilled water
Ammonia Buffer + EBT Wine Red
Blur(End Point)

 Ca+2 Hardness:
0.01M EDTA
25ml sample + 25ml distilled water

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NAOH + EBBR Wine Red
Blur(End Point)

4.7Procedure:
 Take 25ml Sample & add 25ml distilled water in it.
 Add the respective indicators in the solution.
 It will turn wine red.
 Titrate it using 0.01M EDTA, and stop it when solution turns
blue.
 Note the reading and do calculations.

4.8Results:

EDTA EDTA Total Ca+2 Mg+2

for for Hardnes Hardnes Hardnes
Sample Reading total Ca+2 s s s
1 9.3 3.6 148.8 57.6 91.2
2 9.5 3.6 152 57.6 94.4 10
S1 3 9.7 3.6 155.2 57.6 97.6
Avg 152 57.6 94.4
 1 31 19.5 496 312 184
2 28.5 19.5 456 312 144
S2 3 27.5 19.5 440 312 128
Avg 464 312 152

4.9Comments:

 It is crucial to assess the appropriateness of water for both domestic and

industrial purposes.
 The presence of calcium chloride in concrete speeds up the cement's
hydration process.
 While calcium chloride does not significantly decrease the amount of water
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needed to achieve a desired slump in concrete, it is not expected to have a

significant impact on the concrete's strength development.

Job No. 5

To Calculate the Total Solids (TS), Total Suspended

Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) & Settleable
solids (SS)
5.1Objectives:
 To measure the total solids (TS).
 To measure the settleable solids (SS).

5.2Apparatus:
 China dish
 Water bath apparatus
11  Oven
 Imhoff Cone
5.3Chemicals:
 Sample

5.4Significance:
 TS needs to be determined because they cause bitterness &
contains heavy metals.
 SS needs to be determined because they must be removed
before treatment.

5.5Relate Theory:
1. Total Dissolved Solids:
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are all the good and bad
elements in your drinking water. These can be organic

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and inorganic substances such as minerals, salts,
metals, cations, or anions dissolved in water. The TDS
level is measured in parts per million (PPM) and
milligrams per liter (mg/L).

2. Total Suspended Solids:

Total suspended solids (TSS) are defined as solids in
water that can be trapped by a filter. To measure TSS,
the water sample is filtered through a pre-weighed
filter. The residue retained on the filter is dried in an
oven at 103–105°C until the weight of the filter no
longer changes.

3. Total Solids:
Total solids are dissolved solids plus suspended and
settleable solids in water. In stream water, dissolved
solids consist of calcium, chlorides, nitrate,
phosphorus, iron, sulfur, and other ions particles that
will pass through a filter with pores of around 2
microns (0.002 cm) in size.

4. Settleable Solids:
Settleable solids are those solids which will settle to the
bottom of an Imhoff cone in a given time period. They 12
are measured as ml/L.
 5. Imhoff Cone:
A clear, cone-shaped container marked with graduations.
The cone is used to measure the volume of settleable
solids in a specific volume (usually one liter) of water
or wastewater.

6. China Dish:
China dish is made of porcelain material. It is used to heat
or evaporate liquid material.

5.6Procedure:
1. Total Solids:
 Take a china dish and weight it. (Mark as A)
 Add 100 ml sample in it.
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 Take to water bath and cause water to evaporate.

(103 – 105oC)
 Take the sample and place it in oven.
 After that take oven out and cause it to cool down
at room temperature.
 Weight the china dish + Sample. (Mark as B)

2. Total Suspended Solids:

 Take filter paper (2μm) and weight it dry. (Wf)
 Filter the sample using filter paper.
 Place the filter paper on water bath and cause all
the water to evaporate.
 Then place it in oven for 1hr.
 After that let it cool down under normal
temperature.
 Wt. the filter paper + sample. (Wf’)

3. Total Dissolved Solids:

 Take Sol. Remain after filtration in china dish.
 Remove the water using water bath & drying oven.
13  Weight china dish + sample. (Mark as B’)

4. Settleable Solids:
  Take Imhoff cone.
 Putt 1L sample in it and shake it well.
 Leave it for 1hr.
 The solids will settle down at bottom of cone, note
its reading.

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5.7Results:
TS TDS TSS SS
SS
SS = 2 ml/L
TSS
Wf = 0.0917 g
Wf' = 0.121 g
TSS = 293 mg/L

TS
A= 51.52 g
B= 57.64 g
TS = 61200 mg/L
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TDS
A' = 60.57 g
 B'= 60.67 g
TDS = 1000 mg/L

5.8Comments:

 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the TDS value

obtained in the lab test (less than 1000 mg/L) falls within the acceptable
range for drinking water.
 High levels of TDS in water may not be objectionable to consumers due to
taste, but they can be corrosive to water supply systems.
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Job No. 6

Determination of Dissolved Oxygen in Wastewater

6.1Objectives:
15  To calculate dissolved oxygen in water.

6.2Apparatus:
  BOD Bottle
 Burette
 Pipette
 Titration Flask
 Measuring Flask

6.3Chemicals:
 Sample water
 MnSO4
 0.025M Na2SO3
 Alkali Oxide
 H2SO4
 Starch

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6.4Significance:
In order to decide which type of treatment should be applied to
the water we need to determine the amount of dissolved
oxygen in water.
o Aerobic treatment
o Anaerobic treatment

6.5Chemical Equation:
D.O. + C.O.(C6H12O6) CO2 + H2O
+ Energy

6.6Related Theory:
1. Types of treatment:
There are 2 types of treatments
o Aerobic treatment
o Anaerobic treatment
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2. Aerobic treatment:
 Aerobic treatment of wastewater is a biological process
that uses oxygen to break down organic contaminants
and other pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorous.
Oxygen is continuously mixed into the wastewater or
sewage by a mechanical aeration device, such as an air
blower or compressor.

3. Anaerobic treatment:
Anaerobic wastewater treatment is a biological process
where microorganisms degrade organic contaminants
in the absence of oxygen. In a basic anaerobic
treatment cycle, wastewater enters a bioreactor
receptacle.
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4. BOD Bottle:
BOD Bottle or an incubation bottle is a main apparatus
used for the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) test.it
can contain only 300ml Solution.

5. Measuring Flask:
A volumetric flask is a piece of laboratory apparatus, a
type of laboratory flask, calibrated to contain a precise
volume at a certain temperature.

6.7Procedure:
 Take BOD Bottle (300ml) & fill it with sample water.
 Add 1ml MnSO4 & 1ml Alkali Oxide in it & shake it well.
 If white ppt. appears, no oxygen is present, if yellow ppt.
appears, oxygen is present.
 In case of yellow ppt. add 1ml H2SO4 & shake it well
(reddish brown color will appear).
 Titrate it with 0.025M Na2SO3 till it turn pale yellow.
 Add 1ml starch & violet color will appear.
 Again titrate till it turns colorless. (End point)
 Note the volume of Na2SO3 used.

17 6.8Results:
Sample Readings Na2 SO3
 1 3.4
2 3.3
S1 3 3.5
Dissolved Oxygen = 6.9
1 3.4
2 3.4
S2 3 3.6
Dissolved Oxygen = 7.0
1 0
2 0
S3 3 0
Dissolved Oxygen = 0

6.9Comments:

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The absence of dissolved oxygen in the lab sample is indicated by a DO
value of 0, whereas the other two samples show the presence of DO.

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 Job No. 7

Determination of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in

Wastewater
7.1Objectives:
 To calculate the amount of dissolved oxygen.
 To calculate the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by
dissolved water in 5 days.
 To calculate Biochemical oxygen demand.

7.2Apparatus:
 BOD Bottle
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 Burette
 Pipette
 Titration flask
 Measuring flask

7.3Chemicals:
 Sample water
 MnSO4
 0.02M Na2SO3
 Alkali Oxide
 H2SO4
 Starch

7.4Significance:
It helps us to check how much amount of oxygen in consumed by
waste water & how much more amount of oxygen needs to be
provided in order to complete the aerobic treatment.

7.5Chemical Equation:
D.O. + C.O.(C6H12O6) CO2 +
H2O + Energy
19 7.6Related Theory:
1. Biochemical Oxygen Demand:
 It is abbreviated as BOD. BOD is a measure of the
amount of oxygen required to remove waste organic
matter from water in the process of decomposition by
aerobic bacteria (those bacteria that live only in an
environment containing oxygen).

2. Dissolved Oxygen Depletion:

Oxygen depletion is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic
environments as dissolved oxygen (DO; molecular
oxygen dissolved in the water) becomes reduced in
concentration to a point where it becomes detrimental
to aquatic organisms living in the system.

7.7Procedure:

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 We will make 3 sets of BOD bottles.(A, B, C)
 Each set will contain 3 bottles. (Such as A1, A2, A3)
 We will add 2ml of waste water in 1st bottle, 5ml in 2nd bottle
& 10ml in 3rd bottle of each set.
 Rest we will add the dilution medium.
 We will also prepare 2 BOD bottles which contain only
dilution medium. (Blank 1 & 2)
 We will perform the Dissolved Oxygen test on set A and
Blank 1 on the same day.
 The same test on rest of the bottles will be performed after 5
days.
 Note the readings and perform calculations.

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 7.8Results:

Readings DO
Sample 1 2 3 mg/L
Set A 9.6 8.9 10.1 19.3
Set B 7.5 7.1 8.5 15.6
Set C 7.4 7.3 8.4 15.6
Blank 1 3 3 4 6.7
Blank 2 3.5 3 2.5 6.1

7.9Comments:
The concentration of BOD in water is a crucial indicator of its
quality, as it is related to various water properties.
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A low BOD value indicates good quality water, while a high BOD
value suggests poor quality.
The BOD value tends to decrease as the volume of the water sample
increases.

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