3

INDEX

S.No Topic

1. What is water

2. Properties of water

3. Structure of water

4. Types of water

5. Soft water

6. Hard water

7. Types of hard water

How to remove hardness of water
8. Disadvantages of hard water

9. Experiment for determining hardness of water

10. Results of the experiment

 11. Conclusion
Webliography

4
WHAT IS WATER?

Water, a substance composed of the chemical element’s hydrogen and oxygen and
existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful and
essential of compounds. A tasteless and odourless liquid at room temperature, it has
the important ability to dissolve many other substances. Indeed, the versatility of
water as a solvent is essential to living organisms. Life is believed to have originated
in the aqueous solutions of the world’s oceans, and living organisms depend on
aqueous solutions, such as blood and digestive juices, for biological processes.
Water also exists on other planets and moons both within and beyond the solar
system. In small quantities water appears colourless, but water actually has an
intrinsic blue colour caused by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths.

PROPERTIES OF WATER
Although the molecules of water are simple in structure (H2O), the physical and
chemical properties of the compound are extraordinarily complicated, and they are
not typical of most substances found on Earth. For example, although the sight of ice
cubes floating in a glass of ice water is common place, such behaviour is unusual for
chemical entities. For almost every other compound, the solid state is denser than
the liquid state; thus, the solid would sink to the bottom of the liquid. The fact that ice
floats on water is exceedingly important in the

5
natural world, because the ice that forms on ponds and lakes in cold areas of the
world acts as an insulating barrier that protects the aquatic life below. If ice were
denser than liquid water, ice forming on a pond would sink, thereby exposing more
water to the cold temperature. Thus, the pond would eventually freeze throughout,
killing all the life-forms present.

Water occurs as a liquid on the surface of Earth under normal conditions, which
makes it invaluable for transportation, for recreation, and as a habitat for a myriad of
plants and animals. The fact that water is readily changed to a vapour (gas) allows it
to be transported through the atmosphere from the oceans to inland areas where it
condenses and, as rain, nourishes plant and animal life. (See hydrosphere: The
hydrologic cycle for a description of the cycle by which water is transferred over
Earth.)

STRUCTURE OF WATER
Liquid water

The water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms, each linked by a single
chemical bond to an oxygen atom. Most hydrogen atoms have a nucleus consisting
solely of a proton. wo isotopic forms, deuterium and tritium, in which the atomic
nuclei also contain one and

6
two neutrons, respectively,
are found
to a small degree in water.
Deuterium oxide (D2O), called
heavy
water, is important in chemical
research and is also used as
a neutron moderator in some
nuclear
reactors.

Although its formula (H2O) seems

simple, water exhibits very complex chemical and physical properties. For example,
its melting point, 0 °C (32 °F), and boiling point, 100 °C (212 °F), are much higher
than would be expected by comparison with analogous compounds, such as
hydrogen sulphide and ammonia. In its solid form, ice, water
is less dense than
when it is liquid, another unusual property. The root of these
anomalies lies in the electronic structure of the water
molecule.
The water molecule is not linear but bent in a special way. The
two hydrogen atoms are bound to the oxygen atom at an angle of
104.5°.

The O―H distance (bond length) is 95.7 picometres (9.57 × 10−11 metres, or 3.77 ×
10−9 inches). Because an oxygen atom has a greater electronegativity than a
hydrogen atom, the O―H bonds in the water molecule are polar, with the oxygen
bearing a partial negative charge (δ−) and the hydrogens having a partial positive
charge (δ+).

Hydrogen atoms in water molecules are attracted to regions of

high electron density and can form weak linkages, called
hydrogen bonds, with those regions. This means that the
hydrogen atoms in one water molecule are attracted to the
nonbonding electron pairs of the oxygen atom on an adjacent water molecule. The
structure of liquid water is believed to
consist of aggregates of water molecules that form and re-form
continually. This short-range order, as it is called,
accounts for
other unusual properties of water, such as its
high viscosity and surface tension.

An oxygen atom has six electrons in its outer (valence) shell,

which can hold a total of eight electrons. When an oxygen atom forms a single chemical

7
bond, it shares one of its own electrons with the
nucleus
of another atom and receives in return a share
of an
electron from that atom. When bonded to two
hydrogen
atoms, the outer electron shell of the oxygen
atom is
filled.

The electron arrangement in the water molecule can be

represented as follows.

Each pair of dots represents a pair of unshared

electrons
(i.e., the electrons reside on only the oxygen
atom). This
situation can also be depicted by placing the
water
molecule in a cube.
Each ↑↓ symbol represents a pair of unshared electrons.
This electronic structure leads to hydrogen bonding.

BEHAVIOUR AND PROPERTIES

1. Water at high temperatures and pressures

The characteristic ability of water to behave as a polar solvent (dissolving medium)

change when water is subjected to high temperatures and pressures. As water
becomes hotter, the molecules seem much more likely to interact with nonpolar
molecules. For example, at 300 °C (572 °F) and high pressure, water has dissolving
properties very similar to acetone (CH3COCH3), a common organic solvent.

Water exhibits particularly unusual behaviour beyond its critical temperature and
pressure (374 °C [705.2 °F], 218 atmospheres). Above its critical temperature, the
distinction between the liquid and gaseous states of water disappears—it becomes a
supercritical fluid, the density of which can be varied from liquidlike to gas like by
varying its temperature and pressure. If the density of supercritical water is high
enough, ionic solutes are readily soluble, as is true for “normal” water; But
surprisingly, this supercritical fluid can also readily dissolve nonpolar
substances—something ordinary water cannot do. Because of its ability to dissolve
nonpolar substances, supercritical water can be used as a combustion medium for

8
destroying toxic wastes. For example, organic wastes can be mixed with oxygen in
sufficiently dense supercritical water and combusted in the fluid; the flame actually
burns “underwater.” Oxidation in supercritical water can be used to destroy a wide
variety of hazardous organic substances with the advantage that a
supercritical-water reactor is a closed system, so there are no emissions released
into the atmosphere.

2. Physical properties

Water has several important physical properties. Although these properties are
 familiar because of the omnipresence of water, most of the physical properties of
water are quite atypical. Given the low molar mass of its constituent molecules, water
has unusually large values of viscosity, surface tension, heat of vaporization, and
entropy of vaporization, all of which can be ascribed to the extensive hydrogen
bonding interactions present in liquid water. The open structure of ice that allows for
maximum hydrogen bonding explains why solid water is less dense than liquid
water—a highly unusual situation among common substances.

Selected physical properties of water

molar mass 18.0151 grams per mole
melting point 0.00 °C
boiling point 100.00 °C
maximum density (at 3.98 °C) 1.0000 grams per cubic centimetre
density (25 °C) 0.99701 grams per cubic centimetre vapour
pressure (25 °C) 23.75 torr
heat of fusion (0 °C) 6.010 kilojoules per mole
heat of vaporization (100 °C) 40.65 kilojoules per mole
heat of formation (25 °C) −285.85 kilojoules per mole
entropy of vaporization (25 °C) 118.8 joules per °C mole
Viscosity 0.8903 centipoise
surface tension (25 °C) 71.97 dynes per centimetre

9
CLASSIFICATION OF WATER

 Soft water: It lathers with soap. Water which is obtained from the rains is soft water.
This water is suitable for household purposes, for example, laundry and cleaning. 
Hard water: It is known as hard water because of the presence of calcium and
magnesium salts. Hard water does not lather with soap but instead forms a precipitate.
Water is the best universal solvent which can be used to solve many substances. As
water passes through substances, it will tend to pick particles along the way. It will pick
up naturally occurring minerals and other man-made impurities such as chemicals and
pesticides. Public water supply undergoes treatment which removes unwanted particles
hence making it suitable for consumption. Common minerals which are produced up by
water include magnesium and calcium. The levels of the minerals lead to hardness of
water. If the concentration is high, water is termed as hard and less concentration is
referred to as soft.

SOFT WATER:

Scottish engineer Thomas Clark is credited with the discovery of lime's ability to
soften water in 1748. He observed that adding lime (calcium hydroxide) to hard water
caused the minerals to precipitate out, leaving the water considerably softer.

Soft water can be defined as surface water that contains relatively low ion
concentrations and is low in calcium and magnesium ions in particular. Soft water
naturally occurs where rough, impermeable and calcium-poor rocks are responsible
for the formation of the runoff and the drainage basin of rivers.

The term ‘soft water’ is also used often to describe water created by a water softening
process (despite the fact that it is more practical to refer to these water samples as
softened water). In these cases, the water can also contain high sodium and
bicarbonate ion levels.

For water to be referred to as soft, it should have 0 to 17.1 ppm (parts per million) of
the hardness minerals. Due to the absence of hardness minerals, soft water tends to
have high sodium content. After using a water softener by Clear Water Concepts, the
minerals from before are available in very small amounts or even absent in some
cases.

10
Soft water will tend to feel slippery. It may taste salty due to high levels of sodium. It
will not lather up if detergents are used. Soft water will not leave mineral deposits in
your bath, shower or dishes. Highly soft water will tend to leach metals such as
copper and lead from plumbing fixtures. The leaching effect leads to metallic odour
and taste in the water. If the metal content exceeds EPA guidelines, it may cause
health problems to your body.
Soft water comes with several benefits. It removes the level of hardness minerals
from water. Hard water is associated with producing dingy laundry, scale, water spots
and soap scum. Software eliminates the problems. It is also effective in increasing
efficiency of plumbing fixtures performance. It eliminates buildup of scales in the
pipes. It is also effective in improving efficiency of the water powered and the water
filtration appliances. You will require less cleaning detergents to clean the utensils.
The absence of hard minerals in the water makes it easy to remove impurities
because machines will have less to do when trying to clean the water before
drinking.

WHAT IS HARD WATER?

In the 1960s, scientist Chris Gilby discovered

that hard
water can be categorised by the ions found in
the water.
Hardness in water is defined as the presence
of
multivalent cations.

Hardness is normally stated in Deutsche Härte

(°dH) or
German hardness. For conversion to mg/L
calcium,
divide by 0.14. One-degree German corresponds to one
part calcium oxide in 100,000 parts of water. A
distinction is also made between 'temporary' and
'permanent' hard water.

Hard water has high mineral content. It is formed when water percolates through the
deposits of chalk and limestone, which are made up of magnesium and calcium
carbonates. It does not lather with soap, so it is not suitable for laundry purposes.

11
 The hardness of water is harmful to the boilers as the deposition of salts occurs,
which reduces the efficiency of the boiler. Hard water is safe to drink, but using it
over a long interval of time can lead to many problems like:

 Strains in skin

 Water appliances work harder, resulting in higher water bills

 Spots appear on clothes and linens

TYPES OF HARDNESS OF WATER

Hardness of water can be classified into two types:

 Temporary Hardness

 Permanent Hardness

TEMPORARY HARDNESS OF WATER:

 Temporary hardness is caused by a combination of calcium ions and bicarbonate ions

in water. When dissolved, these ions yield calcium and magnesium cations and
carbonate and bicarbonate anions. The presence of the metal cations makes the
water hard. Hardness can be removed by boiling or by the addition of lime (calcium
hydroxide). Boiling promotes the formation of carbonate from the bicarbonate and
precipitates calcium carbonate out of solution, leaving water that is softer upon
cooling. The original insoluble carbonate is reformed.

 Temporary hardness is complex, because its concentration is a function of the

concentration of carbonates in relation to their reaction with calcium in magnesium.
Temporary hardness is easy to remove by boiling or through
precipitation with lime (calcium
hydroxide). In
contrast, permanent hardness contains
ions that
cannot be eliminated by boiling.

 Temporary hardness has some serious

consequences, like forming deposits
that clog
plumbing. These deposits are called
scale.
 Scale restricts the flow of water in pipes. In

12
boilers, deposits impair the flow of heat into water, reducing the heating efficiency and
allowing the metal boiler components to overheat. In a pressurized system, this
overheating can lead to failure of the boiler. The damage caused by calcium
carbonate deposits varies depending on the crystalline form, for example, calcite or
aragonite.

 In an electrolyte, temporary hard water can also lead to galvanic corrosion in which
one metal preferentially corrodes when in contact with another type of metal, when
both are in contact with an electrolyte. The softening of hard water by ion exchange
does not increase its corrosivity per se. Similarly, where lead plumbing is in use,
softened water does not substantially increase plumbo-solvency.

REMOVE THE TEMPORARY HARDNESS FROM THE WATER

1. Boiling (physical method)

In this case, boiling breaks down calcium and magnesium hydrogen into their
(carbonates) and water and CO2 gas, becoming their carbonates. Carbonates are
formed when calcium and magnesium ions are removed from the water and then
deposited as solids at the bottom of the boiler.
Ca(HCO3)2(aq) → CaCO3(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

2. Add calcium hydroxide (lime water)

There are soluble magnesium or calcium hydrogen carbonates that can be mixed
with water. Calcium hydroxide reacts with them to make magnesium or calcium
carbonates that aren’t soluble.
Ca(HCO3)2(aq) + Ca(OH)2(aq) →
2CaCO3(s) + 2H2O(l)

3. Remove the calcium or magnesium ions

from
the water by adding washing soda to it:
C��(������3)2 (����) +
����2����3 (����) →
 2����������3 (����) + ��������3 (��)

13
4. Ammonia water is added
There is a change in the hydrogen carbonates that can be dissolved into carbonates
that the water can’t break down. Magnesium and calcium ions are out of the water
with this method. 2NH4OH(aq) + Mg(HCO3 )2(aq) → MgCO3(s) + (NH4 )2CO3(aq) +
H2O(l)

THE CHEMISTRY OF HOW TO REMOVE HARDNESS:

When calcium and magnesium are taken out of

water in
the form of calcium carbonate and magnesium
hydroxide, it causes the water to become less
acidic.
CO2 concentration and pH play a significant
role in how
these two solids come together. When
hydroxides are
added, and the pH is raised to above 10, they
can help
eliminate carbonate hardness.

Bicarbonate ions can be changed into carbonate ions

when the pH of the water is more than 10. There is a lot
more carbonate in the air than calcium carbonate forms.
There is still a lot of calcium in the water that can’t be removed by changing the pH.
This is called noncarbonate hardness.

So, you must add soda ash (sodium carbonate) outside of the body to precipitate the
 calcium still there. Magnesium is removed because magnesium hydroxide forms
when magnesium and water mix. Lime is added to the lime-soda ash process to
raise the pH level. To get the carbonate ion, sodium carbonate is put in.
H2CO3 + Ca(OH)2 → CaCO3 + 2H2O

Inference:

 When CO2 carbonic acid and lime are mixed, Eq.(1) is the process of neutralising them.
This equation doesn’t change the hardness of the water, so there is no net change
from it. Many carbonic acids will also need to be neutralised with a lot of lime, which
will need to be in the form of CaCO3. Stochastic ratios can also help you.

14
 Eq.(2) shows how you can remove calcium carbonate hardness from water. It also
shows that every molecule of calcium bicarbonate can form two carbonate ions by
raising the pH of the water. These stoichiometric ratios also show that for every mg/L
of calcium bicarbonate, 1 mg/L of lime in the form of CaCO3 will be needed to get rid
of it.

 Calcium and noncarbonate hardness is removed from Eq. (3), which means less
hardness is in it. CaCO3 will have to be used for every mg/L of calcium noncarbonate
hardness to remove it from the water.

 It’s the same as Eq. 4, which says: To get rid of each mg/L of magnesium bicarbonate
hardness in the water, you’ll need two mg/L of lime in the form of CaCO3 or lime.

 Eq. (5) shows how much magnesium noncarbonate hardness is lost when you cut it. To
get rid of magnesium noncarbonate hardness, you need one mg/L of lime, or CaCO3,
for every mg/L that the hardness is in the water. There is an exchange: A magnesium
ion is taken out, and a calcium ion is added for each magnesium one that is taken
out. This means that the hardness level didn’t change, which is true.

For the water to be hard, it has to have a

lot of
multivalent cations in it. They are called
“multivalent” cations because they have more
than one charge. Then, they are made up of metal
complexes with more than one charge, +1. Most
of the time, the cations have +2. The cations in
hard water are mostly Ca2+ and Mg2+. These ions
enter a water source by breaking down minerals
in an aquifer. Calcium-rich minerals like calcite
and gypsum are prevalent. There is a common magnesium mineral called dolomite
that is found worldwide (which also contains calcium). There aren’t many ions in
rainwater or water that have been distilled, so they are soft.

15
There are dissolved bicarbonate minerals in water that make it hard, making it
“temporarily hard” (calcium bicarbonate and magnesium bicarbonate). It is because
of the metal cations that make the water hard. The hardness caused by sulphate and
chloride compounds, on the other hand, lasts for a long time and can’t be removed
by boiling water. This article covered how to remove the hardness of water
(temporary).

PERMANENT HARDNESS OF WATER:

When the soluble salts of magnesium and calcium are present in the form of chlorides
and sulphides in water, we call it permanent hardness because this hardness cannot
be removed by boiling.

We can remove this hardness by treating the water with washing soda. Insoluble
carbonates are formed when washing soda reacts with the sulphide and chloride
salts of magnesium and calcium, and thus, hard water is converted to soft water.

We use certain chemical methods to remove the permanent hardness of

water, which are:
1. Treating the Water with Washing Soda

In this method, we add washing soda, i.e., Na2CO3 to the hard water. It
combines with chloride salts of calcium and magnesium present in the water
to form compounds. The reaction is:
CaCl2 + Na2CO3 → CaCO3 + 2NaCl
Calcium Chloride Sodium Carbonate Calcium Carbonate Sodium Chloride It
reacts with MgCl2 to form MgCO3 and 2NaCl. It also reacts with sulfate salts of
calcium and magnesium to form carbonates and Sodium sulfate.
The reaction takes place in this way:

 CaSO4 + Na2CO3 → CaCO3 + Na2SO4 , and

 MgSO4 + Na2CO3 → MgCO3 + Na2SO4

16
Now, the precipitates of CaCO3 and MgCO3 are removed by filtration, which
frees the water from Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. After these ions are removed, the
water becomes soft (just like rainwater).
2. Calgon’s Method

 Calgon is a complex salt which is used to soften hard water.

 The chemical name of Calgon is hexametaphosphate.

 The chemical formula of Calgon is (NaPO3)6.

The Process:

 In this process, when Calgon is added to hard water it causes the

magnesium and calcium ions present in hard water to displace sodium ions
from the anion complex of Calgon.

 It means a complex anion is forms when Calgon ionizes.

 The chemical reaction is as follows:

17
2CaCl2(aq) + Na2[Na4(PO3)6](s) -> Na2[Ca(PO3)6](aq) + 4NaCl(aq)

2MgSO4(aq) + Na2[Na4(PO3)6](s) -> Na2[Mg2(PO3)6](aq) + 2Na2SO4(aq)

 It results in the
elimination of
magnesium and
calcium ions
from hard water
with Calgon.

 When water is
softened then
sodium ions are
released in the
water.

3. Ion-Exchange Method

 In this method, we add a Permutit called zeolite (Sodium Aluminium Silicate) or

(AlNa12SiO5) to the water, which is insoluble in water.
  On adding this to water, the ion-exchange process starts between it and the Ca2+
or Mg2+ ions.
 In this way, water becomes free from Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions, and no longer remains
hard.

18
Ion exchange method
Step-1
The hardness of water is due to the presence of a number of ions such as chloride
ions, sulfate ions, and bicarbonates ions of calcium or magnesium metal these ions
are present in the water when it passes through any rock, Hard water is not capable
of producing lather on reacting with soap solution because different ion reacts with
soap and form precipitate which is insoluble in nature and thus get settled at the
bottom of soap solution.

Step-2
Therefore, the ion exchange method is used to remove the hardness of water,
different ions which is responsible for causing the hardness of water are substituted
with less damaging ion, ion exchange is of two types namely inorganic ion exchange
or organic ion exchange. For example, in order to remove the hardness of ion by
inorganic ion exchange hard water is poured into the tank which has hydrated
sodium aluminium silicate as an exchanger which reacts with the calcium ion of hard
water to form calcium zeolite.
4. Synthetic Resins Method

The process of treating

permanent
hardness of water using
synthetic
resins is based on the
exchange of
cations (e.g., Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+
etc) and
anions (e.g., Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-
etc)
present in water by H+ and OH-
ions
respectively.

Synthetic resins are of two

types:

1. Cation exchange resins.

2. Anion exchange resins.

Cation exchange resins are large

organic molecules that contain the
SO3H group. The resin is firstly

19
changed to RNa (from SO3H) by treating it with NaCl. This resin then exchanges Na+
ions with Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, thereby making the water soft.

There are cation exchange resins in H+ form. The resins exchange H+ ions for Na+,
Ca2+, Mg2+ ions.
 Anion exchange resins exchange OH- ions for anions like Cl-, SO42-, HCO3- present

in water.

During the complex process, water is first passes through the cation exchange
process. The water obtained after this process is free from mineral cations and is
acidic in nature.

This acidic water is then passed through the anion exchange process where OH- ions
neutralizes the H+ ions and deionize the water obtained.

DISADVANTAGES OF HARD WATER:

Hard water has several advantages to the human body, like strengthening bones and
teeth, reducing constipation, and improving gut health. But hard water being a
problem is a long list to explain.

 Soap scum
When two substances react, their atoms and
molecules react with each other and
form a
product. When hard water and soap
react,
magnesium or calcium ions in hard
water
react with soap molecules and form a
precipitate. Precipitation is a type of
chemical reaction where the product is solid.
Here, soap scum is the precipitate, which is
insoluble. It may look more like soap
molecules, but it doesn’t lather.

20
Clogged pipes
The sedimentation of minerals from hard water
forms a plaque in pipes resulting in their clogging.
The flow pressure is also reduced due to this
clogging. This leads to the accumulation of the
waste water and thereby creating an environment
that is useful for the harmful organisms to grow and
thrive in this conditions that give rise to diseases.

Stains

Hard water leaves stains everywhere. Due to

dissolved minerals, cloudy stains will be present
in tubs, dishes, and pipes. Over time, because of
continuous deposition, these stains become hard to
remove.

Dry skin and hair

We have sebaceous glands and sweat to
keep our skin hydrated and not flaky. When
we use hard water, magnesium and calcium
ions clog our pores. It leads to flaky, irritable dry
skin and hair.

Faded and brittle laundry

As we mentioned earlier, soap and
detergents react with hard water
forming soap scum and less lather.
Because of this, hard water does
not clean laundry properly and also
leaves behind scum in clothes,
which becomes hard on drying. As a
result, clothes appear faded and brittle.
 21
Wearing out of appliances
Accumulation of minerals results in plaque
formation.
These plaques cause increased corrosion.
These deposits
are an issue in equipment that generate steam.
Hard
water causes the overheating of equipment
(boilers)
resulting in fuel wastage and equipment
deterioration
before its manufactured lifespan.

EXPERIMENT FOR DETERMINIG HARDNESS OF WATER:

Abstract:

Hardness is a tendency of water not to react with soap or tendency of water not to
form a scale, which is due to the presence of divalent cations mainly Ca2+ and Mg2+.
In order to determine the hardness some indicator will be used.

Hardness is most frequently measured through the application of the principle off
chelation. Metals are capable of sharing electron pairs with a molecule or ion to form
a coordinate bond. These ions or molecules are called chelating agents if it have
more than one free electron pairs to share.

As the number of these bonds increase, the stability of a chelate increase. One of the
most used chelate agent in analytical chemistry is ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid
(EDTA). This chelating agent is used to find the concentration of calcium and
magnesium ions. Another chelating agent is metallochromic which can be also used
as an indicator.

Introduction:
Water that has high mineral content is known as HARD WATER. Hard water contains
bicarbonate, chlorides and sulphate of calcium and magnesium.

When treated hard water with soap, it get precipitated in the form of insoluble salts of
calcium and magnesium. Hardness of water is a measure of the total concentration of
the calcium and magnesium ions expressed as calcium carbonate. Ther are two
types of hardness:

22
 Temporary hardness.
 Permanent hardness.

Temporary hardness is due to the presence of bicarbonates of calcium and

magnesium. It can be easily removed by boiling. Permanent hardness is due to the
presence of chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. This type of
hardness cannot be removed by boiling. In the other hand hardness is a water quality
parameter which can be defined as the existence of Di-Valence Cations of water
(Ca2+, Mg2+, S2- …. Etc).

Hardness of water is a measure of its capacity to precipitate soap, and is caused by

the presence of divalent cations of mainly calcium and magnesium.

Hardness EDTA as mg/L, CaCO3 = (A*B*1000)/(ml of

sample) Where : A = ml EDTA solution used.

B = mg CaCO3 equivalent to 1ml of EDTA Titrant

Mg2+ hardness as ml/L, CaCO3 = Total hardness – Ca2+ hardness.

Objective:

To introduce the concept of complex formation and stability, and illustrate the
analytical application of these concepts to the measurement of calcium, magnesium
and total hardness of water.

Apparatus required:
  Burette (25ml).
 Porcelain dish.
 Volumetric flask.
 Erlenmeyer flask.
 Pipette.
 Magnetic Stirrer and rod

23

Sample:

Procedure:

 Measure 25ml of a
sample into a
125ml Erlenmeyer flask.
 Add 1-2 ml of buffer
solution so
 Ph = 10.0 ±0.1.
 Add 1-2 ml of EBT indicator
(used to find total hardness).
 Titrate the solution with EDTA till
the blue colour appears and record
the volume added.
 Prepare another 25ml sample.

24
 Add 1-2 ml of sodium hydroxide buffer and 0.2g Murexide indicator (used to find
Ca2+hardness) into the sample and add 0.1M EDTA slowly till the colour of the solution
change from purple to violet and record the volume.
 Calculate total hardness, calcium hardness and magnesium hardness.

Procedure chart:
 25
Observation:

A water sample is buffered to pH 10.1 and taken in to a conical flask. If an indicator

dye like EBT , when added to a solution containing calcium and magnesium ions, the
colour of the solution turns wine red. EDTA, the titrant, complexes with magnesium
and calcium ions, removing them from association with the indicator. When all the
Mg2+ and Ca2+ are complexed with EDTA, the indicator will turn blue. This is the end
point of the titration. In the other hand it’s easy to carbonate hardness by boiling
while it needs chemical reactions to
remove the non – carbonate hardness.
Hardness determination is based on the principles of chelation.

Murexide indicator changes in colour from purple to

violet and it’s used to measure the Ca2+hardness
while EBT changes in colour from red-wine into
blue and it’s used to measure total hardness.

The presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ is generally not a healthy threat, they can make water
unsuitable for some household uses.

Using CaO and soda ash can be used to remove permanent non-carbonate
hardness, which cannot be removed by boiling water as in carbonate hardness
(temporary).

Result and Calculation:

Hardness mg/L CaCO3 = A*B*1000/ml of sample where:

Total Hardness = (20*1*1000)/50 = 400 mg/L CaCO3

Ca2+ Hardness = (35*1*1000)/25 = 140 mg/ L CaCO3

Mg2+ Hardness = Total Hardness – Ca Hardnes

= 260 mg/L CaCO3

26
Conclusion:

Hardness is the property which makes water to form an insoluble precipitate with
soap and is primarily due to the presence of calcium and magnesium ions. Hard
water have no known adverse health effects and may be more palatable than soft
waters. Hard water is primarily of concern because it requires more soap for
effective cleaning, causes yellowing of fabrics, toughens vegetable cooked in water
and forms scales in boilers, water heaters, pipes and cooking utensils. The hardness
of good quality water should not exceed 250 mg/L measured as calcium carbonate
equivalents. Water softer than 30 to 50 mg/L may be corrosive to piping depending
on Ph, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen.

The major hardness is due to Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions and other divalent ions. The

ammonia buffer which is used in the test aids in preventing precipitation of metal

ions. Hardness caused by Ca2+ is higher than the hardness of Mg2+.

As EDTA is added to solution it combines with Ca2+ first and then with Mg2+ because
EDTA complex is more stable than the Mg2+ complex.
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WEBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.britannica.com/science/water/Physical-properties/

https://byjus.com/jee/hardness-of-water-types-and-removal/

https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/1071/temporary-hardness

https://byjus.com/question-answer/how-does-ion-exchange-method-remove-hardness-of
water/

https://clearwaterarizona.com/blog/properties-of-soft-water/

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00217
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