Department of

Civil Engineering

Environmental Engineering Laboratory

(CE332)

Experiment title Total Organic and Inorganic Solids

Experiment No. 4

Experiment date 4/12/2023

By

Student name ID Section

1 Khalid alskait 441015079

2 Ahmad AbdulRahman Baabbad 440015837

Instructor: Dr Mohammad Shahedur Rahman

 Department of
Civil Engineering

Evaluation sheet (Official use)

Marks
Checklist Details Marks Deducted Remarks

Cover Page
Plagiarism in results & discussion part must be < 50%

Table of Content 5

Introduction
10
(Experiment objectives, theory, etc.)
± 5 marks, depending
Contents

Experiment Procedure & setup 20 on the nature of

department/lab
Data, Results & calculations 25

Discussion and/or Conclusion 10

References, Standard, appendix, etc. 5

Subtotal 80 Min. 48

Text 12 Regular, with Spacing 1.5 4

Heading 14 Bold 2
Formatting

Standard Front Type 2

Paragraph: Justified 2

Figures/Tables/Equations: Numbered,
10
Caption & Cited in text

Subtotal 20 Min. 12

Total 100
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 2
1.1. Objectives ......................................................................................................... 2
1.2. Background / Theory ....................................................................................... 2

2. Experiment Procedure and Setup ............................................................... 2

2.1. Apparatus/device description ........................................................................... 2
2.2. Procedure ......................................................................................................... 3

3. Results ............................................................................................................ 4
3.1. Observations .................................................................................................... 4
3.2. Calculations...................................................................................................... 4

4. Discussion / Analysis ..................................................................................... 5

5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 5

References ........................................................................................................... 5
Appendix ............................................................................................................. 5

1
1. Introduction

The water, which consists of high levels of volatile solids, is not suitable for drinking and
indicates that the water may have been polluted by domestic wastes or other organic wastes.
The determination of volatile and fixed components in the residue is useful in the control of
waste water plant operation because it offers an approximate amount of organic matter present
in the solid fraction of wastewater. It is used to find out the strength of industrial and domestic
wastewater. The volatile solids test is normally applied to sludges. It is indispensable in the
design and operation of sludge digestion, vacuum filtering and incineration plants.

1.1. Objectives

The objective of the experiment is to determine the total fixed solids (TFS) and, total volatile
solids (TVS) in given water samples.

1.2. Background / Theory

The term total volatile solids refer to materials that are completely volatilized from water at
higher temperatures (550ºC). These solids are often referred to as the organic content of the
water. The term total fixed solids can be referred to materials that are not volatilized from water
at higher temperatures (550ºC). These solids are often referred to as the inorganic content of
the water. The sample is evaporated in a weighed dish on a steam bath and dried to a constant
mass in an oven at 103-105°C. The residue obtained is ignited to a constant weight at 550ºC.
The remaining solids represent the total fixed solids, and the weight lost during ignition
represents the total volatile solids.

2. Experiment Procedure and Setup

2.1 Apparatus/device description

• Drying Oven • Muffle Furnace

• Measuring cylinder (100 ml) • Desiccators
• Crucible or dish • Analytical Balance

2
2.2 Procedure

1. Take a clean crucible that has been washed and dried in a hot air oven at 105 0C for one
hour and ignited at 550 0C to remove all organic materials present in it.
2. Now weigh the empty crucible in analytic balance. Let’s denote the weight measured as
W1. Record this weight in Table 1.
3. Using a graduated cylinder, transfer 50 mL of the unfiltered sample into the dish.
4. Switch on the oven and allow it to reach 1050C. Check and regulate oven and furnace
temperatures frequently to maintain the desired temperature range.
5. Place the crucible in the hot air oven and dry it to get a constant mass (about 24 hours).
6. Cool the container in a desiccator. Desiccators are designed to provide an environment
of standard dryness. This is maintained by the desiccant found inside. Don't leave the
lid off for prolonged periods, or the desiccant will soon be exhausted.
7. We should weigh the dish as soon as it has cooled to avoid moisture absorption due to
its hygroscopic nature. Note the weight with residue as W2. Record this weight in Table
2.
8. Switch on the furnace and allow it to reach 5500C. Check and regulate the furnace
temperatures frequently to maintain the desired temperature range.
9. Place the crucible in the furnace, and care should be taken while keeping the crucible
inside the furnace since it will be too hot. Allow it to ignite for 20 minutes to get a
constant mass.
10. As above, cool the crucible in desiccators to room temperature.
11. Weigh the dish as soon as it has cooled to avoid moisture absorption due to its
hygroscopic nature. Note the weight of the residue as W3. Record this weight in Table
1.
12 Complete the calculation and fill up Table 2 using the calculated values.

- Precautions:
Analysis should begin as soon as possible, and to reduce the change in taken samples,
keep all samples at 4°C. Do not allow samples to freeze.
Samples need to be measured accurately, weighed carefully, and dried and cooled
completely.
The volume of sample should be adjusted to have residue left after drying.

3
3. Results
3.1 Observations

Table 1: Observed measurement

Sample No. Source Volume Weight of Weight of dish Weight of dish

(ml) empty dish + dried sample + dried sample
(W1) (gm) (105°C) (W2) (550°C) (W3)
(gm) (gm)
A Ground 47 44.98 45.063 45.029
water
B Ground 50 46.43 46.537 46.503
water
C Ground 50 42.4 42.464 42.43
water
D Ground 50 44.77 44.861 44.826
water
1 Ground 50 41.36 41.51 41.476
water
2 Ground 50 126.9 127.035 127.001
water

3.2 Calculations

Weight of volatile solids = W2 – W3, (gm.) Weight of fixed solids = W3 – W1 (gm.)

Total volatile solids = (W2 – W3) * 1000*1000/volume of the sample …………….. (mg/L)
Total fixed solids = (W3 – W1) * 1000*1000/volume of the sample …………….. (mg/L)

4
Table 2: Water test result

Sample No. Source TVS (mg/L) TFS (mg/L)

A Ground water 723.404 1042.553
B Ground water 680 1460
C Ground water 680 600
D Ground water 700 1120
1 Ground water 680 2320
2 Ground water 680 2020

4. Discussion / Analysis
The water sample taken from the location was forwarded to the laboratory for analysis of the
level of volatile and persistent solids. We were able to calculate their concentration in the
sample using laboratory data. There are biological and inorganic particles suspended in water.
The water was more The greater the turbidity, the higher the reading.

5. Conclusion
This experiment determined the concentrations of volatile and fixed solids in a water sample
through this experiment, according to the results of sample A The sample represents 1765.957
of total solids The amount of volatile suspended solid after ignition was 723.404 mg/l while the
amount of fixed suspended solid was 1042.553 mg/l.

References

Appendix

5
 For Official Use Only:

Sub-title No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total

CLO
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 - - - - - -
Focused:
SO-KPI 1a,1 6c,6d, 3a,3b, 5a,5
6b - - - - - -
Focused b,1d 6e 3c b,4c

Max. Points: 4 4 4 4 4 - - - - - 20

Points
Obtained: