pH

The pH of a solution is a measure of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution and as such
is a measure of the acidity or basicity of the solution. The letters pH stand for "power of hydrogen" and
the numerical value is defined as the negative base 10 logarithm of the molar concentration of hydrogen
ions.

pH = -log10[H+]

The measurement of the pH of a sample can be done by measuring the cell potential of that sample in
reference to a standard hydrogen electrode, as in the accepted procedure for measuring standard electrode
potentials. This procedure would give a value of zero for a 1 Molar solution of H+ ions, so that defines the
zero of the pH scale. The cell potential for any other value of H+ concentration can be obtained with the
use of the Nernst equation. For a solution at 25°C this gives

Conductivity (electrolytic)
Conductivity (or specific conductance) of an electrolyte solution is a measure of its ability
to conduct electricity. The SI unit of conductivity is Siemens per meter (S/m).
Conductivity measurements are used routinely in many industrial and environmental applications as
a fast, inexpensive and reliable way of measuring the ionic content in a solution.[1] For example, the
measurement of product conductivity is a typical way to monitor and continuously trend the
performance of water purification systems. Electrolytic conductivity of ultra-high purity water as a function
of temperature.
In many cases, conductivity is linked directly to the total dissolved solids (T.D.S.). High quality
deionized water has a conductivity of about 5.5 μS/m at 25 °C, typical drinking water in the range of
5–50 mS/m, while sea water about 5 S/m[2] (or 5,000,000 μS/m). Conductivity is traditionally
determined by connecting the electrolyte in a Wheatstone bridge. Dilute solutions
follow Kohlrausch's Laws of concentration dependence and additivity of ionic contributions. Lars
Onsager gave a theoretical explanation of Kohlrausch's law by extending Debye–Hückel theory.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen (O2) dissolved in water.
Oxygen gets into the water by diffusion from the atmosphere, aeration of the water as it tumbles
over rocks and waterfalls, and as a product of photosynthesis. The oxygen content of water will
decrease when there is an increase in nutrients and organic materials from industrial
wastewater, sewage discharges, and runoff from the land. (Intensive land uses such as farming
produce more nutrients in runoff than native forest.) Excessive plant and algae growth and
decay in response to increasing nutrients in waterways can significantly affect the amount of
dissolved oxygen available.

A wastewater indicator such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a laboratory test that
measures the relative oxygen-depletion effect of a waste contaminant when the contaminant
reacts (through biochemical reactions) with nutrients and bacteria. The negative effect
wastewater has on mahinga kai and aquatic plant life, by reducing the amount of available
oxygen, is indicated by an elevated BOD reading.
Water Hardness
The simple definition of water hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water.
Hard water is high in dissolved minerals, largely calcium and magnesium. You may have felt the effects of
hard water, literally, the last time you washed your hands. Depending on the hardness of your water, after
using soap to wash you may have felt like there was a film of residue left on your hands. In hard water,
soap reacts with the calcium (which is relatively high in hard water) to form "soap scum". When using
hard water, more soap or detergent is needed to get things clean, be it your hands, hair, or your laundry.
One of the most common causes of cloudy dishes and glassware is hard water. (Credit: Kinetico Water
Systems)
Have you done a load of dishes in the dishwasher, taken out the glasses, and noticed spots or film on
them? This is more hard-water residue—not dangerous, but unsightly. Many industrial and domestic
water users are concerned about the hardness of their water. When hard water is heated, such as in a
home water heater, solid deposits of calcium carbonate can form. This scale can reduce the life of
equipment, raise the costs of heating the water, lower the efficiency of electric water heaters, and clog
pipes. And, yes, mineral buildup will occur in your home coffee maker too, which is why some people
occasionally run vinegar (an acid) through the pot. The acidity of vinegar helps to dissolve mineral
particles by making them charged. These newly charged particles become attracted to the positive and
negative charges in water and can be washed away easily.

Iron and manganese in water

Discolored water. A strange odor. Stained ceramic fixtures such as tubs, sinks and toilets.
Discolored clothes, towels and dishes. Reduced water pressure. These are all some of the
potential impacts from high levels of iron and manganese in your water supply.

Black or brownish-black or reddish-brown staining can indicate the presence of higher levels of
manganese or iron in water. The stains are not easily removed by common household cleaners
and some may even intensify the stains. Manganese and iron are naturally occurring metals in
soils. Higher levels of iron and manganese is not an uncommon occurrence in Nebraska because
of naturally occurring soil types and hydrogeologic conditions.

SILICA

Silica can be removed from raw water easily with standard demineralization techniques.
Normally silica is present in a weak acidic form. Ion exchange will remove this as long as the
anion resin is the strong base type. Silica in deionized water can easily be reduced to 20-50
ppb. Reverse osmosis will also remove silica by 90-98%. Both of these techniques are non-
specific for silica, meaning they also remove all other ionic components along with the silica.
Normally these methods work well for most well or surface waters where silica is below 15-20
ppm. In some cases for very large flow rates you can remove silica with lime softening
techniques. In lime softening the silica is co-precipitated along with magnesium present in the
water (or added if necessary). High temperature softening greatly improves silica removal. For
high silica waters as seen in Mexico, Hawaii or other sandy areas where levels are 50-60 ppm
or higher, the ion exchange and RO options are more troublesome because you may exceed
solubility limits for one, and also you are more likely to have significant levels or non-ionic
colloidal silica. This will not ion exchange and may foul an RO membrane. Typically this must be
removed with ultrafiltration.
Turbidity is a measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the
presence of suspended particulates. The more total suspended solids in the water, the murkier
it seems and the higher the turbidity. Turbidity is considered as a good measure of the quality
of water.

Acidity and Alkalinity Acidity levels in wastewater indicate its corrosive properties and can take a
leading role in regulating biological processes as well as in chemical reactions (such as chemical
coagulation and flocculation). Alkalinity, too, contributes to the properties of wastewater, many of
which also affect biological processes (such as nitrification) and chemical reactions.

While both acidity and alkalinity are related to pH, they should not be confused with pH, nor should
the terms be used interchangeably. Acidity is a measure of a solution’s capacity to react with a strong
base (usually sodium hydroxide, NaOH) to a predetermined pH value. This measurement is based on the
total acidic constituent of a solution (strong and weak acids, hydolyzing salts, etc.) It is possible to have
highly acidic water but have moderate pH values. Likewise, the pH of a sample can be very low but have
a relatively low acidity. Acidity is similar to a buffer in that the higher the acidity, the more neutralizer is
needed to counteract it.
Alkalinity is the measure of a solution’s capacity to react with a strong acid (usually sulfuric acid
H2SO4) to a predetermined pH. The alkalinity of a solution is usually made up of carbonate, bicarbonate,
and hydroxides. Similar to acidity, the higher the alkalinity is, the more neutralizing agent is needed to
counteract it. In general, a treatment plant and its collection system operates better with wastewater
lower in acidity and higher in alkalinity.
According to EPA sampling and preservation guidelines, samples for both acidity and alkalinity
measurements can be collected in glass or plastic bottles and stored at 4 degrees Celsius for up to
fourteen days. However, sample handling probably plays a much more important role in preserving the
integrity of the sample. Acidity and alkalinity are greatly affected by exposure to the atmosphere. Large
surface areas or long contact times with the atmosphere, both in the sample container and during
analysis, can either dissolve gases into the sample or allow dissolved gasses already in the sample to
escape thereby changing the measurements. When sampling for acidity and alkalinity, it is best to leave
no headspace in the container. Also, don’t filter the sample (which creates high turbulence) or leave in
an open beaker on the lab bench for hours. Pour an aliquot just before analysis so that you minimize
exposure to the air. During analysis, keep mixing turbulence to a minimum. These measures are
particularly important when determining low levels of acidity or alkalinity.
Acidity and alkalinity analyses each comprise of a simple titration. Basically, acidity is determined by
titrating the sample with sodium hydroxide to a pH of 8.3 (often called the phenolphthalein acidity – this
term dates back to the time before electronic pH meters). Alkalinity is determined by titration with
sulfuric acid to a pH of 4.5. While these pH end-points are common in wastewater situations, other end-
points are often used depending on certain test or sample conditions. Also, since both acidity and
alkalinity are not analyses for specific chemicals but rather represent a solution’s specific properties, its
measurements are equated with an equivalent amount of calcium carbonate. This is done so that
measurements of different samples can be compared to each other. Therefore, always report acidity
and alkalinity measurements as “___ mg CaCO3/L to pH ___.” The mathematical formulas for calculating
acidity and alkalinity, as well as descriptions of certain instances where sample pretreatment is
necessary, can be found in Standard Methods.
Naming Acids and Bases

Learning Objective

 Convert between the structure of an acid or base and its chemical name

Key Points

o Acids are named based on their anion — the ion attached to the hydrogen. In simple binary
acids, one ion is attached to hydrogen. Names for such acids consist of the prefix “hydro-“,
the first syllable of the anion, and the suffix “-ic”.
o Complex acid compounds have oxygen in them. For an acid with a polyatomic ion, the suffix
“-ate” from the ion is replaced with “-ic.”
o Polyatomic ions with one extra oxygen (as compared to the typical polyatomic ion) have the
prefix “per-” and the suffix “-ic.”
o Polyatomic ions with one fewer oxygen have the suffix “-ous”; ions with two fewer have the
prefix “hypo-” and the suffix “-ous.”
o Strong bases with “-OH” (hydroxide) groups are named like ionic compounds. Weak bases
are named like molecular compounds or organic compounds.

Term

 polyatomic ionA charged species (ion) composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded. Also
known as a molecular ion.

Naming Acids

Acids are named by the anion they form when dissolved in water. Depending on what anion the hydrogen
is attached to, acids will have different names.

Simple acids, known as binary acids, have only one anion and one hydrogen. These anions usually have
the ending “-ide.” As acids, these compounds are named starting with the prefix “hydro-,” then adding the
first syllable of the anion, then the suffix “-ic.” For example, HCl, which is hydrogen and chlorine, is called
hydrochloric acid.
Nomenclature of common acidsThis chart provides the nomenclature of some common anions and
acids

More complex acids have oxygen in the compound. There is a simple set of rules for these acids.

1. Any polyatomic ion with the suffix “-ate” uses the suffix “-ic” as an acid. So, HNO3 will be nitric acid.
2. When you have a polyatomic ion with one more oxygen than the “-ate” ion, then your acid will have
the prefix “per-” and the suffix “-ic.” For example, the chlorate ion is ClO3–. Therefore, HClO4 is
called perchloric acid.
3. With one fewer oxygen than the “-ate” ion, the acid will have the suffix “-ous.” For example,
chlorous acid is HClO2.
4. With two fewer oxygen than the “-ate” ion, the prefix will be “hypo-” and the suffix will be “-ous.” For
example, instead of bromic acid, HBrO3, we have hypobromous acid, HBrO.

Naming Bases

Most strong bases contain hydroxide, a polyatomic ion. Therefore, strong bases are named following the
rules for naming ionic compounds. For example, NaOH is sodium hydroxide, KOH is potassium
hydroxide, and Ca(OH)2 is calcium hydroxide. Weak bases made of ionic compounds are also named
using the ionic naming system. For example, NH4OH is ammonium hydroxide.

Weak bases are also sometimes molecular compounds or organic compounds because they have
covalent bonds. Therefore, they are named following the rules for molecular or organic compounds. For
example, methyl amine (CH3NH2) is a weak base. Some weak bases have “common” names. For
example, NH3 is called ammonia; its name isn’t derived from any naming system.