KIDS COLLEGE

“ANALYSIS OF HARD WATER” AS TO DETERMINE THE

HARDNESS OF VARIOUS WATER SAMPLES.

SESSION 2019 – 2020

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Chinmay Purohit Mrs.
 CONTENT DISCRIPTION
1. INTRODUCTION
2.WATER HARDNESS
3.MEASURES OF WATER HARDNESS
4.TYPES OF WATER HARDNESS
 Temporary hardness
 Permanent hardness
5.HARDNESS AND PH
6.HARDNESS AND CALCIUM
7.DETERMINATION OF CALCIUM HARDNESS
8.EFFECTS
9.EFFECTS OF HARD WATER ON HUMAN BODY
 How does hard water affect on your skin
 Advantages of using soft water on skin
 How does hard water lead to hair loss
 Advantages of using soft water on hair
 Effect of hard water on kidney
10.WATER HARDNESS IN US
11.PROLEMS WITH HARD WATER
12.HOW TO MEASURE WATER HARDNESS
 Instruments
 Strips
13.WATER TESTING
14.SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR TESTING HARDNESS
15.HOW TO SOFTEN HARD WATER
 Ion exchange
 Lime softening
 Chelation
 Reverse osmosis
16.INTERPRETING TEST RESULTS
17.SUMMARY
 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to demonstrate the properties of alkali and
alkaline earth (elements from the first two columns of the periodic table) salts in
aqueous solutions and to draw conclusions regarding which group of metal ions is
responsible for giving water the property we call "hardness". You should also think
about how the term "hard water" was originally coined. The amount of minerals in the
tap water in most cities or rural homes will vary, depending on the geological
conditions in the area where the water originates. If water flows through areas that are
rich in limestone deposits, it will dissolve the minerals in limestone. What minerals are
found in limestone? The relative concentration of minerals in your water supply can be
estimated when you boil a pot of water to dryness. If there is a lot of scale (white
residue) remaining in the pot, that means the water is heavily laden with minerals. If
there is very little residue after boiling to dryness, then the water would have a low
mineral content. Most of the minerals found in water are not toxic, and in fact, are
usually beneficial, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and chloride to
name a few.
 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

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.

But hard water can have some benefits, too. Humans need minerals to stay healthy,
and the World Health Organization (WHO) states that drinking-water may be a
contributor of calcium and magnesium in the diet and could be important for those who
are marginal for calcium and magnesium intake.
 MEASURES OF WATER HARDNESS

Hardness is caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by a variety of

other metals. General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L
(milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as
moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard.

Lime scale buildup inside a water pipe.

Water systems using groundwater as a source are concerned with water hardness,
since as water moves through soil and rock it dissolves small amounts of naturally-
occurring minerals and carries them into the groundwater supply. Water is a great
solvent for calcium and magnesium, so if the minerals are present in the soil around a
water-supply well, hard water may be delivered to homes. Water hardness varies
throughout the United States. In areas of the country where the water is relatively hard
(see map below), industries might have to spend money to soften their water, as hard
water can damage equipment. Hard water can even shorten the life of fabrics and
clothes (does this mean that high-school students who live in areas with hard water
keep up with the latest fashions since their clothes wear out faster?).

As the image of the inside of a water-supply pipe shows, long-term movement of hard
water through a pipe can result in what is called scale buildup. Just as in the human
body where blood vessels can be reduced in inside diameter due to cholesterol
buildup, water pipes can gradually close up resulting in less water movement through
the pipe and a lowering of water pressure.
 TYPES OF WATER HARDNESS

Temporary Hardness
Temporary hardness is a type of water hardness caused by the presence of dissolved
bicarbonate minerals (calcium bicarbonate and magnesium bicarbonate). However,
unlike the permanent hardness caused by sulfate and chloride compounds, this
"temporary" hardness can be reduced by the addition of lime (calcium hydroxide)
through the softening process of lime softening.

Permanent hardness
Permanent hardness is hardness (mineral content) that cannot be removed. Ions
causing permanent hardness of water can be removed using a water softener, or ion
exchange resin.
Total Permanent Hardness = Calcium Hardness + Magnesium Hardness
The calcium and magnesium hardness is the concentration of calcium and magnesium
ions expressed as equivalent of calcium carbonate.
Hardness can be quantified through instrumental analysis, an individual test kit, or
through the use of test strips specifically formulated for making these measurements.

It is essential to know the hardness of the water since it defines the purpose of it.

Hard water is not a health hazard but it cannot be used in industrial application such as
boilers, pipes, etc. While hardness is not generally a health hazard it can pose serious
problems in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly
breakdowns in boilers, cooling towers, and other equipment. In domestic settings, hard
water is often indicated by a lack of suds formation when soap is agitated in water, and
by the formation of lime scale in kettles and water heaters. Whenever water hardness
is a concern, water softening is commonly used to reduce hard water’s adverse effects.
 HARDNESS AND PH

Water hardness is defined as the measured content of divalent metal cations.

Dissolved calcium (Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++) are the only two divalent cations
found at appreciable levels in most waters. In natural water, both calcium and
magnesium primarily exist bound to bicarbonate, sulfate or chloride. When hard water
evaporates or is heated above 61°C/141°F, bicarbonate converts to carbonate and
precipitates out with Ca++ to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3) scale. Levels of water
hardness are, therefore, typically reported in mg/l as CaCO3 equivalent, although
CaCO3 is not itself present in water. Several classification schemes exist for denoting
degree of hardness but in general soft water contains less than 60 mg/l and hard water
contains greater than 120 mg/l CaCO3 equivalent. The majority of the United
States geography has hard water, while soft water is predominately located in coastal
regions. Most tap water originates from local sources, but some municipalities may
draw water from multiple – sometimes even remote – locations when necessary. As a
result, variations in water hardness or softness can occur within a single municipality
depending upon the specific source location and the time of year.
Providing they are acclimated appropriately, fresh-water animals tend to tolerate both
soft and hard water within the range typical of potable water. However, morbidity and
mortality occur when animals experience sudden changes from hard to soft water. It is
imperative to know the hardness or softness levels of the tank water various animals
are living in, especially when introducing new animals to a system or transferring them
to another system or facility. Additionally, hard-water minerals, such as calcium
carbonate, act to buffer pH shifts, while soft water, being lightly buffered, is prone
to acidification by acid-forming compounds. Thus, the pH of soft water can be quite
variable. Most supply waters have a pH of between 6.5 and 8.0, and the common
captive aquatic vertebrates can adapt to water within this pH range.
The effects of water hardness on plumbing materials will vary with mineral
concentration, temperature and pH. The most notorious problems associated with the
formation of hard-water mineral deposits are the decreased efficiency and
functional longevity of plumbing equipment exposed to heated hard water. Acidic water
accelerates corrosion, which shortens the life of plumbing materials and causes
staining and discoloration of fixtures. Additionally, most chemicals such as reagents,
disinfectants and medications are dependent on water pH for effectiveness. It is for
these reasons that moderately hard water with a stable pH (+0.6) is preferred for use in
most aquatic facilities. If the municipal water supply to a facility is soft water, careful
thought should be given to various aspects of the facilities plumbing systems.
 HARDNESS AND CALCIUM
Water hardness is a measure of divalent cations (primarily calcium and magnesium)
present in the water and is expressed as mg/L hardness as calcium carbonate (Boyd,
1979). Calcium is probably the most important component of hardness with respect to
striped bass culture due to its ability to reduce water flux across the gills. A reduced
water flux lowers the amount of energy required to maintain proper water and ion
balance during stress (see discussions in Weirich et al., 1992; Grizzle et al., 1993;
Seals et al., 1994). Environmental calcium is also actively taken up by fishes via
a calcium ATP-ase system located on the chloride cells of the gills (discussed and
reviewed in Seals et al., 1994). Under normal (non-stressful) culture conditions actively
feeding sunshine bass apparently derive most required calcium from their feed, even in
low calcium (5 mg/L) water (Seals et al., 1994). Environmental calcium in these fish
only becomes a factor during stress (Weirich et al., 1993). The calcium concentration
in a water sample can be estimated (if little or no magnesium is present) by dividing
the water hardness by 2.5. Several studies have addressed the effect of environmental
calcium on survival and growth of striped bass and its hybrids with mixed results. Age
of the animals, other ions present, and presence of stressors seem to affect the
efficacy of calcium in a given situation.
The effects of calcium on fingerling production and post-harvest survival has been
studied extensively in freshwater ponds. Increasing the water hardness
of hatchery ponds did not increase fry survival or production (Reeves and Germann,
1972; Mauldin et al., 1988). However, increasing the calcium concentration in
production ponds did increase post-harvest survival (Mauldin et al., 1988) even if the
hardness was increased (from 20 to 45–100 mg/L as calcium carbonate) only five days
before harvest (Grizzle et al., 1985). Weirich (Chapter 7) discusses the effects of
environmental calcium on alleviation of handling and transport-induced stress.
Environmental calcium concentrations (5–80 mg/L) had no effect on survival, growth,
or food conversion in juvenile sunshine bass (Seals et al., 1994).

DETERMINATION OF CALCIUM HARDNESS

Procedures: •Get 10 ml of tap water as a sample solution in a conical flask. •Add 1 ml
of KOH as hardness solution to the sample. •Add 2 drops of indicator (calVer) to the
sample solution. •Fill the burette with standard solution of EDTA (0.01M). •Titrate
EDTA against the sample until the color of the indicator changes from red to blue.
•Repeat these steps 3 times. •Calculate the average value of the three volumes.

Determination of calcium hardness

 ReadingV1(ml)V2 (ml)V3 (ml)

Vaverage (ml)

Volume………..……….……….………

Vaverage= (V1+ V2+ V3) / 3

Concentration of (Ca) = Vav. *100 = ……… mg/l

HARDNESS OF FRESH WATERS

–––
Water hardness is handled a little differently from salinity in that in some countries the
degree is the unit of measure. One German degree of hardness equals 10mg/liter
(ppm) of calcium and magnesium oxide or 17.8ppm of CaCO3 in the USA. This is not
at all equivalent to salinity in that a relatively low salinity water rich in calcium and
magnesium could have a relatively high degree of hardness. On the other hand, a
fresh water rich in sodium chloride alone could have a very low hardness.
Nevertheless, the mean river of Hutchinson (1957) with a salinity of 0.13ppt would
have a hardness of about 1.9° (i.e. very soft).

dGH = dKH + pH
GH = total hardness (dGH = German total hardness)
KH = carbonate hardness (dKH = German carbonate
hardness)
PH = permanent hardness
Carbonate hardness based on bicarbonate is not permanent
because the CO2 can be driven off by boiling. The remaining
calcium and magnesium by definition determines permanent
hardness.
Total hardness can be illustrated as follows:
Degrees of hardness

0–4° dGH = very soft 12–18° dGH = fairly hard

4–8° dGH = soft 18–30° dGH = hard

8–12° dGH = medium hard over 30° dGH = very hard

One degree of hardness = 10mg/liter of CaO or MgO

 EFFECTS

Hard water is not a health hazard. In fact, the National Research Council (National
Academy of Sciences) states that hard drinking water generally contributes a small
amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs. They further state
that in some instances, where dissolved calcium and magnesium are very high, water
could be a major contributor of calcium and magnesium to the diet. If you have an
iron, manganese, or a hardness problem you may want to check the arsenic level of
your water.

Researchers have studied water hardness and cardiovascular disease mortality. Such
studies have been "epidemiological studies," which are statistical relationship studies.

While some studies suggest a correlation between hard water and lower
cardiovascular disease mortality, other studies do not suggest a correlation. The
National Research Council states that results at this time are inconclusive and
recommends that further studies should be conducted.

EFFECTS OF HARD WATER ON HUMAN BODY

How Does Hard Water Affect your Skin?

One of the most obvious effects of hard water is skin irritation and Eczema is an example
to it. Using hard water not only makes your skin dry but also leads to bumpy patches on
the skin. These skin problems are caused by the presence of excessive minerals in the
water. So, the best option is to check the hardness of water and the presence of calcium
and magnesium in it. If you find the concentration of these minerals is higher, using
a bathroom water softener can be the best solution to hard water problems. The water
softener can remove calcium, magnesium and certain other metal cations from the water
thereby making the water soft.

Advantages of Using Soft Water for Skin

If you have been suffering from dry, itchy skin, or acne, installing a water softener can
help you out. Soft water makes it easy to wash away soap scum and lather from your
skin. Soft water also makes it easy to rinse away soap, which means the products that
you use work efficiently. As a result, you are not left with soap scum that clogs your
skin pores. In addition, soft water also ensures that you use less soap for different
purposes. Installing a water softener also ensures that you don’t need to use
expensive lotion or body wash to maintain your skin.

How Does Hard Water Lead to Hair Loss?

Another harmful effect of hard water is hair loss. The presence of magnesium, silica, and
calcium in the water can lead to breakage, dryness and thinning of hair. Not only this,
but the regular usage of hard water can also destroy your hair follicles and this can even
lead to the formation of dandruff. The only solution to this issue is to use a water softener
that can treat the hard water problem and stop hair loss. Bring home a fully
automatic water softener for overhead tank with time-based Regeneration process that
can enhance the water quality and reduce the problem of hair loss. Using a water
softener can also help get rid of the deposits on your sinks, tubs, showers, and stains on
your clothing and even increase the service life of electrical appliances.

Advantages of Using Soft Water for Hair

Hard water makes the strands of your hair stand, thereby making your hair rough and
frizzy. When your hair rough and tangled, it becomes difficult to wash off shampoo and
other hair care products. Soft water, however, is low in minerals such as calcium and
magnesium, thereby keeping your hair safe. Soft water easily washes off soap residue
leaving your hair soft and healthy.

Effect of Hard Water on your Kidney

A number of factors, including hard water, are responsible for the formation of kidney
stones. Lack of sufficient drinking water or consumption of unfiltered water that contains
an excessive amount of calcium and magnesium may lead to kidney stones. The
formation of kidney stones are based on geographic, environmental and genetic
exposure are the most common factors of stone disease. Though a correlation between
water hardness and kidney stone has been observed, no study has authenticated it.
However, it is always suggested that you need to drink water that is properly treated and
filtered. So, bring home best RO water purifier that delivers pure, clean and filtered
water.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The most common complaint that is attributed to hard water is dry skin, damage to hair
and nails, white stains on new surfaces and etc. If this is what you are also facing, it’s
time to bring home water softener, which can replace the hard salts like magnesium
and calcium in water by Sodium ions and can enhance the quality of water making it
more soluble. For those who are facing the problem of kidney stone, it is better that
you get a water purifier installed at home to minimize the problem of hard water and
even drink pure and clean water.

WATER HARDNESS IN UNITED STATES

Mean hardness as calcium carbonate at NASQAN water-monitoring sites during the 1975 water year.
Colors represent streamflow from the hydrologic-unit area.

Note to Readers:
Water hardness is based on major-ion chemistry concentrations. Major-ion chemistry in
groundwater is relatively stable and generally does not change over time. Although
this map illustrates data from 1975, these data have been found to be accurate and
useful in current assessments.
There are, however, several caveats about the nature, use, and interpretations of
these data:

1. the data illustrated represent water hardness on a national and regional scale
and must be so interpreted;
2. the 1975 data are not designed to be used to make local decisions or decisions
on the scale of individual homeowner property; and
3. information that is directly relevant to water hardness and other chemical
properties at a home or immediate locale should be provided by the local health
agency, local water utility, or by the vendor of a local water-softening system.
 HARDNESS OF GROUNDWATER FROM DOMESTIC
WELLS, A USGS STUDY
A study from the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assessed
water-quality conditions for about 2,100 domestic wells across the United States.
Water hardness was one water-quality parameter studied; results are shown in the
map below.

Hardness is a property of water that is not a health concern, but it can be a nuisance.
Hard water can cause mineral buildup in plumbing, fixtures, and water heaters, and
poor performance of soaps and detergents. Hard water was prevalent in the east-
central and western United States, reflecting the distribution of carbonate aquifers and
aquifers with relatively high concentrations of dissolved solids. >, greater than; <, less
than or equal to. (Credit: USGS, Public domain)

PROBLEMS WITH HARD WATER

Mineral deposits are formed by ionic reactions resulting in the formation of an insoluble
precipitate. For example, when hard water is heated, Ca2+ ions react with bicarbonate
(HCO3-) ions to form insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3), as shown in Equation 1.

(1)

This precipitate, known as scale, coats the vessels in which the water is heated,
producing the mineral deposits on your cooking dishes. In small quantities, these
deposits are not harmful, but they may be frustrating to try to clean. As these deposits
build up, however, they reduce the efficiency of heat transfer, so food may not cook as
evenly or quickly in pans with large scale deposits. More serious is the situation in
which industrial-sized water boilers become coated with scale: the cost in heat-transfer
efficiency can have a dramatic effect on your power bill! Furthermore, scale can
accumulate on the inside of appliances, such as dishwashers, and pipes. As scale
builds up, water flow is impeded, and hence appliance parts and pipes must be
replaced more often than if Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions were not present in the water.
 HOW TO MEASURE WATER HARDNESS
Instruments
A colorimeter passes a white light beam through an optical filter which transmits only
one particular color or band of wavelengths of light to the photodetector, where it is
measured. The difference in the amount of colored light transmitted by a colorless
sample (blank), and the amount of colored light transmitted by a colored sample, is a
measurement of the amount of colored light absorbed by the sample. In most
colorimetric tests, including hardness, the amount of colored light absorbed is directly
proportional to the concentration and is reported by the meter.
Test Strips
Test strips are typically produced from plastic, with chemically impregnated pads on
the end. These pads are designed to react with specific ions and produce a specific
color change. Once a test strip is reacted and a color is developed, the strip is then
compared to a printed color chart. The color chart is specifically designed to represent
color reactions at various concentrations. Matching the strip to the closest color match
produces a concentration reading.

WATER TESTING

If you are on a municipal water system, the water supplier can tell you the hardness
level of the water they deliver. If you have a private water supply, you can have the
water tested for hardness. Most water testing laboratories offer hardness tests for a
fee. Also, many companies that sell water treatment equipment offer hardness tests.
When using these water tests, be certain you understand the nature of the test, the
water condition being measured, and the significance of the test results. An
approximate estimate of water hardness can be obtained without the aid of outside
testing facilities or testing kits or strips. Water hardness testing kits are available for
purchase through water testing supply companies and there are some great DIY water
testing kits. If more accurate measurements are needed, contact a testing laboratory.
 SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR TESTING HARDNESS

Hardness Low Range Test Strips

Order Code: 2981
Applications: Drinking Water, Industrial Water Boiling and Cooling, Laundry and
Sanitation, Water and Wastewater
The Insta-Test Low Range Hardness test strips are a convenient way to test Hardness
levels in water for fast results. Range and sensitivity is 0, 30, 60, 120, 180 ppm.

Insta-Test 6-Way Drinking Water Test Strips

Applications: Drinking Water
These test strips test for free and total chlorine, pH, hardness, nitrate, and nitrite.
 MEASUREMENT OF DIFFERENT WATER SAMPLES

DIFFERENT WATER DEGREE OF WATER

SAMPLES HARDNESS
Soft water 0-17.1 mg/L of minerals
Slightly hard water 16.1 – 60 mg/L of minerals
Moderately hard water 61 – 120 mg/L of minerals
Hard water 121 – 180 mg/L of minerals
Very hard water More than 180 mg/L of minerals

SOAP DROPS - GRAINS/GALLON PPM MG/L SOFTNESS OF

CRUDE TEST GPG OF WATER THE WATER
water hardness in
HARDNESS parts per million in
milligrams per liter

10 0-1 0-17.1 Soft water

20 1 - 3.5 16.1 – 60 Slightly hard water
30 3.5 07/13/2010 - 07.0 61 – 120 Medium hard water
40 7.0 - 10.5 121 – 180 Hard water
50 10.5 & higher 180 & over Very hard water
 HOW TO SOFTEN HARD WATER
For large-scale municipal operations, a process known as the "lime-soda process" is
used to remove Ca2+ and Mg2+ from the water supply. Ion-exchange reactions, similar
to those you performed in this experiment, which result in the formation of an insoluble
precipitate, are the basis of this process. The water is treated with a combination of
slaked lime, Ca(OH)2, and soda ash, Na2CO3. Calcium precipitates as CaCO3, and
magnesium precipitates as Mg(OH)2. These solids can be collected, thus removing the
scale-forming cations from the water supply.

To see this process in more detail, let us consider the reaction for the precipitation of
Mg(OH)2. Consultation of the solubility guidelines in the experiment reveals that the
Ca(OH)2 of slaked lime is moderately soluble in water. Hence, it can dissociate in water
to give one Ca2+ ion and two OH- ions for each unit of Ca(OH)2 that dissolves. The
OH- ions react with Mg2+ ions in the water to form the insoluble precipitate. The
Ca2+ ions are unaffected by this reaction, and so we do not include them in the net
ionic reaction (Equation 2). They are removed by the separate reaction with CO32- ions
from the soda ash.

(2)

Household water softeners typically use a different process, known as ion exchange.
Ion-exchange devices consist of a bed of plastic (polymer) beads covalently bound to
anion groups, such as -COO-. The negative charge of these anions is balanced by
Na+ cations attached to them. When water containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ is passed through
the ion exchanger, the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions are more attracted to the anion groups than
the Na+ ions. Hence, they replace the Na+ ions on the beads, and so the Na+ ions
(which do not form scale) go into the water in their place.

ION EXCHANGE
One way to soften water is through a process called ion exchange. During ion
exchange, the unwanted ions are "exchanged" for more acceptable ions. In many
cases, it is desirable to replace the hard water ions, such as Ca2+ and Mg2+, with more
agreeable ions, like that of Na+. To do this, the hard water is conducted through a
zeolite or resin-containing column, which binds the unwanted ions to its surface and
releases the more tolerable ions. In this process, the hard water ions become "fixed"
ions because of their attachment to the resin material. These fixed ions displace the
desirable ions (Na+), now referred to as counterions, from the column, thus exchanging
the ions in the water. This process is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Illustration of Ion Exchange.

Unfortunately, this process has the disadvantage of increasing the sodium content of
drinking water, which could be potentially hazardous to the health of people with
sodium-restricted diets.

LIME SOFTENING
Another process is called lime softening. In this process, the compound calcium hydroxide,
Ca(OH)2, is added to the hard water. The calcium hydroxide, or "slaked lime," raises the pH of
the water and causes the calcium and magnesium to precipitate into CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2.
These precipitates can then be easily filtered out due to their insolubility in water, shown below
by the small solubility constant of magnesium hydroxide (the solubility product constant for
calcium carbonate is shown above). After precipitation and removal of the offending ions, acid
is added to bring the pH of the water back to normal.

Mg(OH)2(s)⇌Mg2+(aq)+2OH−(aq)(4a)(4a)Mg(OH)2(s)⇌Mg(aq)2++2OH(aq)−
K(sp)=1.8×10−11(4b)
 CHELATION
Chelating agents can also be used to soften hard water. Polydentate ligands, such as
the popular hexadentate ligand EDTA, bind the undesirable ions in hard water. These
ligands are especially helpful in binding the magnesium and calcium cations, which as
already mentioned are highly prevalent in hard water solutions. The chelating agent
forms a very stable ring complex with the metal cations, which prevents them from
interacting with any other substances that may be introduced to the solution, such as
soap. In this way, chelators are able to diminish the negative effects associated with hard
water. A simplified equation representing the chelation of the metal calcium cation (Ca2+)
with the hexadentate ligand EDTA is shown below. The large value of the formation
constant (Kf) reflects the tendency of the reaction to proceed to completion in the forward
direction.

Ca2++EDTA4−⟶[Ca(EDTA)]2−(5a)(5a)Ca2++EDTA4−⟶[Ca(EDTA)]2−
Kf=4.9×1010(5b)

REVERSE OSMOSIS
The final process, reverse osmosis, uses high pressures to force the water through a
semipermeable membrane. This membrane is generally intended to be impermeable to
anything other than water. The membrane serves to filter out the larger ions and
molecules responsible for the water's hardness, resulting in softened water. During this
process, the water is forced from an area with a high concentration of solute in the form
of dissolved metal ions and similar compounds, to an area that is very low in the
concentration of these substances. In other words, the water moves from a state of
hardness to a softer composition as the ions causing the water's hardness are prevented
passage through the membrane. Reverse Osmosis does have a disadvantage of
wasting wastewater compared to other water treatment methods. This process is shown
in Figure 2 below. Note that this figure describes the desalination of salt water. However,

Figure 2. Depiction of Reverse Osmosis.

 INTERPERTING TEST RESULTS

The hardness of your water will be reported in grains per gallon, milligrams per liter
(mg/l) or parts per million (ppm). One grain of hardness equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm of
hardness.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes standards for drinking

water which fall into two categories -- Primary Standards and Secondary Standards.

Primary Standards are based on health considerations and Secondary Standards are
based on taste, odor, color, corrosivity, foaming, and staining properties of water.
There is no Primary or Secondary standard for water hardness. Water hardness is
classified by the U.S. Department of Interior and the Water Quality Association as
follows:

Classification mg/l or ppm grains/gal

Soft 0 - 17.1 0-1

Slightly hard 17.1 - 60 1 - 3.5

Moderately
60 - 120 3.5 - 7.0
hard

Hard 120 - 180 7.0 - 10.5

Very Hard 180 & over 10.5 & over