Chemistry

Module 3: Industry and the environment

Topic: Water
Group Members: Le-Jay K. Robinson
Ethan Gayle
Yakeine Shaw
Patrick Miller

Syllabus Objectives

Describe the importance of the water

cycle
Discuss methods of water purification
Discuss the importance of dissolved
oxygen to aquatic life
Discuss the sources of water pollution

The Water
Cycle

The Water Cycle

Is the cycle of processes by which

water circulates between the earth's
oceans, atmosphere, and land,
involving precipitation as rain and
snow, drainage in streams and rivers,
and return to the atmosphere by
evaporation and transpiration.

The Water Cycle

Processes

Evaporation- the changing of a liquid

into a gas, often under the influence of
heat (as in the boiling of water)

Transpiration- process by which water

that is absorbed by plants is
evaporated into the atmosphere from
the plant surface, such as leaf pores
(stomata).

Condensation- is the change of water

from its gaseous form (water vapor)
into liquid water.

Precipitation- rain, snow, sleet or hail

that falls to or condenses on the
ground.

Infiltration- is the process by which

water on the ground surface enters the
soil.

Importance of the Water Cycle

Regulates the temperature of the earth by

absorbing and circulating heat.

Replaces water lost by lakes, rivers oceans

which are habitats for many organisms.

Provides freshwater for drinking,

agriculture, industry and domestic use.

Water
Purification

Water Purification

is the process of removing undesirable

chemicals, biological contaminants,
suspended solids and gases from
contaminatedwater. The goal is to
producewaterfit for a specific
purpose.

Methods include:, distillation, ion

exchange, filtration, chemical
treatment, UV radiation and

Distillation

the action of purifying a liquid by a process of

heating and cooling.

It removes a wide range of contaminants such as

bacteria, sodium chloride, heavy metals and
organic compounds.

Equipment is relatively inexpensive.

Process is slow and requires large amounts of

energy.

Distillation Setup

Ion Exchange

In this process, water percolates

through a column of spherical resin
beads. The ions in the water are
exchanged for the ions fixed to the
beads.

Ion-exchange methods include:

softening, deionization and electrodeionization.

Softening

Water softeningis the removal

ofcalcium,magnesium, and certain other
metalcationsinhard water.

As hard water percolates through the

column, the calcium and magnesium ions
are exchanged for the absorbed sodium
ions on the resin beads. This can be
represented by the following equation:

Ca2+(aq) + 2Na-resin Ca-resin + 2Na+(aq)

The resins can be regenerated by

washing with concentrated aqueous
sodium chloride. This can be
represented by the following equation:

Ca-resin + 2NaCl(aq) 2Na-resin +CaCl2(aq)

Softening Process

Deionization

Removes dissolved minerals from

water. The ion-exchange resins contain
absorbed acid or alkali. The acidic
resins exchange hydrogen ions for
cationic contaminants while the
alkaline resin exchanges the hydroxyl
ions for anionic contaminants in water.
The resins are regenerated by washing
with alkali or acid.

Electro-deionization

Electro-deionizationis a water treatment

method that utilizes electricity in ion
exchange membranes and resins to
deionize water and separate dissolved
ions (impurities) from water.

Unlike softening and deionization, this

method inhibits the growth of bacteria
that can attach to the resins and remove
most organic compounds and microbes.

Filtration

Filtrationis the mechanical or physical

operation which is used for the
separation of solids from fluids (liquids
or gases) by interposing a medium
through which only the fluid can pass.

Filtration techniques include: screen

filters, sand filters, carbon filters and
membrane filtration.

Screen Filters

Ascreen filteris a type offilterusing a

rigid or flexiblescreento separate fine
particles out of water for irrigation or
industrial applications.

The screen is made of metal, plastic or

synthetic fiber mesh.

Screen Filter

Sand Filters

Sand filters are layers of sand or other

suitable granular material used to
reduce suspended solids from water.

As the water moves vertically through

the sand, suspended solids are trapped
in the sand.

Sand Filter

Carbon Filters

Carbon filteringis a method offilteringthat

uses a bed of activatedcarbon (charcoal)to
remove contaminants and impurities
(VOCs/Chlorine), using chemical
absorption.

It also catalyses the conversion of chlorine

to chlorides and hydrogen sulphide to
sulphates which reduces undesirable
odours and tastes in water.

Carbon Filter

Membrane Filtration

Themembraneseparation process is
based on the presence of semi
permeable membranes. The principle is
quite simple: the membraneacts as a
very specificfilterthat will let water
flow through, while it catches
suspended solids and other
substances.

Membrane Filtration

Reverse osmosis uses an external

pressure to force water through a
membrane that retains the solute on
one side and allows the pure water to
pass through the other side. The
process forces water to a region of high
solute concentration to a region of low
solute concentration.

Membrane Filtration

UV Radiation Apparatus

Desalinisation

Desalinisation is the process of

removing salt or other minerals from
saline water. The two main methods
used are distillation and reverse
osmosis.

In this process freshwater and

concentrated brine is produced. Brine
is water strongly impregnated with salt.

Desalinisation Apparatus

Importance of
Dissolved
Oxygen to
Aquatic Life

Background

Oxygen is needed by aquatic life to

survive because it needed for them to
respire. Dissolved oxygen in water is
measured in pats per million (ppm) and
range from 0-18. Most natural water
require 5-ppm of dissolved oxygen to
support a variety of aquatic life. If
dissolved oxygen falls to 3-5ppm
aquatic life forms become stressed.
Anything below 2ppm results in death.

Factors Affecting Dissolved

Oxygen Concentration

Respiration- increase in aerobic

respiration decreases oxygen
concentration dissolved in water. This
caused by introduction of untreated
sewage which increases microbial
respiration.

Temperature- as temperature
increases, the amount of oxygen
dissolved in water decreases.

Eutrophication- Excess nutrients in

water can stimulate algal growth on the
surface of water. When these plants die,
bacteria use dissolved oxygen in the
water for decomposition.

Sources of
Water
Pollution

Municipal Waste

This is sewage from homes and

commercial establishments.

In developing countries, an estimated

90% of wastewater is discharged
directly into rivers and streams without
treatment. This causes the spread of
diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and
tuberculosis.

Phosphates from laundering water

enhances algal bloom which also causes
eutrophication.

Dumping of garbage such as plastic

packaging materials and synthetic
fibers can entangle, injure and kill
aquatic animals.

Agricultural

Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used

in agriculture can be washed into
waterways by the action of rainfall or
irrigation. The increase in nutrient content
enhances algal growth which causes
eutrophication.

Herbicides and pesticides which are

washed into ground water sources can
remain in the water for many years.
Consumption of this water can cause
varying illnesses such as diarrhea,
vomiting, etc.

Industrial

Nuclear waste- nuclear power stations

produce radioactive waste which pollutes
water.

Oil spills- oil spills can degrade the

quality of water and suffocate marine
life.

Lead- this can enter the environment

from smelting, car batteries and
plumbing industries. If this enters the
system of a living organism it can cause

Mercury- mercury can environment as

waste from burning of coal and mining.
If it accumulates in an organism, it can
cause nervous system damage.

Mining- this is the extraction of

naturally occurring minerals from the
earth. In doing this toxic heavy metals
and other compounds are released into
the environment.