3.

THEORY

The pH parameter allows for determining whether solutions are acidic or basic. According to
Westcott (2012), pH is found by taking the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion activity. The
pH value of water has a significant impact on living life. Acid rain may harm aquatic
organisms by lowering the pH of water bodies or causing a decrease in soil fertility (Swenson
& Survey, 1965). Along with strong mineral acids, the presence of weak acids such as
carbonic and acetic can contribute to the measured acidity level. The carbon dioxide-
bicarbonate balance system buffers many natural waters, domestic wastewater, and often
industrial wastes. In natural waters, not only carbon dioxide-bicarbonate but also dissolved
buffer components are present. The amount of borate dissolved in seawater (10 -3 to 10-4 M)
and silicate dissolved in many fresh waters (10 -3 to 10-4 M) are adequate non-carbonate
components in pH values. By increasing the pH to approximately 8.5, carbonic acid can be
allowed to reach its chemical equilibrium endpoint.
According to Kirby and Cravotta (2005) explain that acidity has three theoretical types:
Mineral Acidity, CO2 Acidity, and Total Acidity, and state that CO2 acidity is the pH endpoint
used to determine acidity in wastewater treatment is related to the standard titration method of
8.3. However, it received this name due to removing CO 2 while titrating samples used in mine
drainage. Carbon dioxide concentration has an important effect in determining pH because
excessive dissolution lowers the pH (Hanif et al., 2020). The normal pH of drinking water is
between 6.5 and 8.5, and this is a significant parameter for measuring the quality of water. It
is used to determine the acidity or alkalinity of water (Hanif et al., 2020). In the acidity
experiment, the end point pH of CO2 acidity is approximately 8., and the end point pH of
mineral acidity is approximately 4.5.

Figure 3.1 : Graphical representation of titration of samples

containing various forms of alkalinity (Sawyer et al., 2003)
The acidity of water is its ability to react with strong bases up to a certain pH. Strong mineral
acids and weak acids (e.g., H 2CO) found in water samples contribute to the acidity of the
water. Acidity is the capacity of a solution to react with a strong base (e.g., NaOH) by titrating
it to a certain pH level. Measurement of a given volume of the sample using titration of a
strong base required to titrate a given volume of the sample, using phenolphthalein, to pH 8.5
is called Total Acidity (Sawyer & McCarty, 1978). Titrating a specific volume of the water
sample to pH 4.5 using methyl orange is called Mineral Acidity.
Electrometric and Colorimetric methods are methods used to determine the pH of a solution.
In the Electrometric method, which is a more reliable and more accurate method, a pH meter
is used to measure pH. Indicators, test papers, or buffer solutions that change color at specific
pH values are used to calculate approximate pH values in the Colorimetric method.
The titration curve shows that the process of neutralization of a strong acid is almost complete
at pH 4.5, and the titration process begins with the reaction of the titrant with hydrogen ions.
Therefore, the pH is low, and the color change (from orange to yellow) when the pH reaches
4.5 indicates the H+ ions used at the methyl orange endpoint. After that, phenolphthalein is
added, but there is no color change until the pH increases to approximately 8.5 (CO 2 acidity
endpoint). It indicates the amount of H 2CO3 used. Since there is no indicator of the endpoint
of the reaction of OH- and HCO3- ions, this reaction range is not a measurable acidity.

Figure 3.2 : (a) Distribution of Figure 3.3 : The titration of (a) a weak
CO2 species and (b) titration curve for acid with a strong base (Roy, n.d.-c)
H2O/CO2 system illustrating principal
components for acidity titrations (Stumm
and Morgan, 1996).
Westcott, C. (2012). PH measurements. Elsevier.

Swenson, H. A., & Survey, G. (1965). A primer on water quality.

Kirby, C., & Cravotta, C. A. (2005). Net alkalinity and net acidity 1: Theoretical

considerations. Applied Geochemistry, 20(10), 1920–1940.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2005.07.002

Hanif, M.A., Nadeem, F., Bhatti, I.A. and Tauqeer, H.M. (2020). Water Pollution and
Treatment Technologies. In Environmental Chemistry (eds M.A. Hanif, F.
Nadeem, I.A. Bhatti and H.M. Tauqeer).
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119651055.ch5

Sawyer, C. N., & McCarty, P. L. (1978). Chemistry for Environmental Engineering.

McGraw-Hill Science, Engineering & Mathematics.

W. Stumm, J.J. Morgan Aquatic Chemistry: Chemical Equilibria and Rates in Natural Waters
(third ed.), Wiley, New York (1996)

Roy, K. (n.d.-c). 6.3 – Acid-Base Reactions & titrations. Pressbooks.

https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/genchemforgeegees/chapter/6-3-acid-base-

reactions-titrations/