Presented by: Selvin Gray Che4018

Garfield Smith Dr. Bramwell

 What does pH represent?
 What class of pollutants pH designed to quantify?
 What methods are currently used to quantify pH?
 Describe the harmful effects of extreme levels of pH within
the environment?
 What are the current standards for pH for treated
wastewater or sewage in Jamaica?
 The pH is a measure of how acidic (H+) or basic (-OH) a solution is.
 The pH stands for “potential hydrogen” which refers to the amount of hydrogen that
is mixed with the water.
 A scale with values ranging from below 0 to above 14 is used to measure pH.

More acidic More basic

Neutral
 The pH of water determines the solubility (amount that can be
dissolved in the water) and biological availability (amount that can
be utilized by aquatic life) of chemical constituents such as nutrients
(phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon) and heavy metals (lead, copper,
cadmium, etc.). For example, in addition to affecting how much and
what form of phosphorus is most abundant in the water, pH also
determines whether aquatic life can use it. In the case of heavy
metals, the degree to which they are soluble determines their toxicity.
Metals tend to be more toxic at lower pH because they are more
soluble.
 As a chemical component of the wastewater, pH has direct influence
on wastewater treatability — regardless of whether treatment is
physical/chemical or biological.
 Wastewater treatment often consists of removing heavy metals
and/or organic compounds from effluent streams. pH adjustment by
addition of acidic/basic chemicals is an important part of any
wastewater treatment system as it allows dissolved waste to be
separated from water during the treatment process.
 By chemically adjusting the pH we can remove heavy metals and
other toxic metals from water. In most runoff or wastewater, metal and
other contaminants are dissolved and will not settle out. If we raise
the pH, the amount of negative hydroxide ions, the positively charged
metal ions will form bonds with the negatively charged hydroxide
ions. This creates a dense, insoluble, metal particle that can settle out
of wastewater given time or be filtered out manually using a filter
press.
 At an acidic pH the excess of positive hydrogen and metal
ions have nothing to bond with and float around in the
water, never settling. At a neutral pH the hydrogen ions are
bonded with the hydroxide ions to form water while the
metal ions remain. At a basic pH the excess hydroxide ions
bond with the metal ions to form metal hydroxides which
can be removed through filtering or settling.
 The pH of water can be used to kill off bacteria in wastewater in addition to the
treatment mentioned above. Most organic matter and bacteria we are familiar with
and contact daily are best suited to a neutral or slightly basic environment. At an
acidic pH the excess hydrogen ions begin to form bonds with and break down the
cell, slowing their growth or killing them outright. After a wastewater treatment
cycle the pH must be raised back to neutral by use of additional chemicals or it will
continue to damage any living cell it contacts metal hydroxides which can be
removed through filtering or settling.
 A pH meter is an instrument used to measure acidity or alkalinity of a solution -
also know as pH.
 After inserting the probe into the sample, wait for the reading to remain constant.
 Excessively high and low pHs can be detrimental for the use of water.
High pH causes a bitter taste, water pipes and water-using
appliances become encrusted with deposits, and it depresses the
effectiveness of the disinfection of chlorine, thereby causing the need
for additional chlorine when pH is high. Low-pH water will corrode or
dissolve metals and other substances.
 Pollution can change a water's pH, which in turn can harm animals
and plants living in the water. For instance, water coming out of an
abandoned coal mine can have a pH of 2, which is very acidic and
would definitely affect aquatic life.
 Excess Carbon Dioxide production as a result of burning fossil fuels
increases the amount of acid rain in the atmosphere. When this rain
comes down it kills trees and fish by changing the pH values of their
habitat. This affects humans indirectly by limiting the amount of
oxygen that can be recycled back into the atmosphere and in our
dependency on fish as food or fish meal.