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Experiments To Test For Pollutants

The document describes tests that can be performed to detect various pollutants and ions in water, including nitrate, phosphate, cyanide, and lead ions. It also discusses turbidity, which is a measure of cloudiness in water caused by suspended particles. Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) using a nephelometer, which measures how light is scattered by particles in water. Acceptable turbidity levels for drinking water in the US is below 1.0 NTU.

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145 views14 pages

Experiments To Test For Pollutants

The document describes tests that can be performed to detect various pollutants and ions in water, including nitrate, phosphate, cyanide, and lead ions. It also discusses turbidity, which is a measure of cloudiness in water caused by suspended particles. Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) using a nephelometer, which measures how light is scattered by particles in water. Acceptable turbidity levels for drinking water in the US is below 1.0 NTU.

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Experiments to test for

pollutants
RAJNIE MOLAR
TEST FOR HAZARDOUS IONS IN WATER
• Nitrate ions- To a two- three drops of unknown,
slowly add some diphenylamine solution in
concentrated sulfuric acid. A deep blue colour at
the spot of contact of these two solutions
indicates nitrate.
TEST FOR HAZARDOUS IONS IN WATER
• Phosphate ions- To the 3-5drops of the
unknown, add some nitric acid and ammonium
molibdate solution. Warm the solution gently.
Formation of the yellow precipitate indicates the
presence of PO43-.
TEST FOR HAZARDOUS IONS IN WATER
• Cyanide ions- evaporate 500cc of the solution
with 3-4 drops of ammonium sulphide. Bring to
dryness on the water bath and take up with a
small quantity of water or water and alcohol.
Filter, and add a drop of ferric chloride solution.
A red colouration indicates the presence of
cyanide ions.
TEST FOR HAZARDOUS IONS IN WATER
• Lead ions- To a sample of your solution, add
potassium iodide dropwise to the solution and
then in excess. A bright yellow precipitate
indicates the presence of lead (II) ions.
TURBIDITY
• Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid
caused by suspended solids that are usually
invisible to the naked eye. The measurement of
Turbidity is an important test when trying to
determine the quality of water. Water almost
always contains suspended solids that consist of
many different particles of varying sizes.
TURBIDITY
• Some of the particles are large enough and
heavy enough to eventually settle to the bottom
of a container. The smaller particles will only
settle slowly, if at all. It’s these particles that
cause the water to look turbid. The
term Turbidity (also called haze) can also be
applied to transparent solids like plastic and
glass.
WHAT CAUSES TURBIDITY?
• Organisms like phytoplankton can contribute to
turbidity in open water. Erosion and effluent from
highly urbanized zones contribute to the turbidity of
waters in those areas. Construction, mining and
agriculture, disturb the soil and can lead to raised
levels of sediment which run off into waterways
during storms. Storm water from paved surfaces like
roads, bridges and parking lots also contribute to
turbidity.
HOW IS TURBIDITY MEASURED?
• The most common measurement for turbidity in the
United States are the Nephelometric Turbidity Units
(NTU). There are several ways you can check turbidity
in water, the most direct being a measure of
attenuation, or reduction in strength, of a light source
as it passes through a water sample.
HOW IS TURBIDITY MEASURED?
• The particles suspended in the water will scatter a
light beam focused on them. The scattered light is
then measured at various angles from the incident
light path. This is now accepted as a more precise
measure of turbidity. To measure turbidity this way
use a nephelometer, such as the LaMotte 2020we.
HOW IS TURBIDITY MEASURED?
• Most nephelometers measure the scattered light at
90°. If more light is able to reach the detector it
means there are many small particles scattering the
source beam, less light reaching the detector means
fewer particles. The amount of light scattered is
influenced by many aspects of the particles like color,
shape, and reflectivity.
HOW IS TURBIDITY MEASURED?
• Measuring turbidity in environmental applications,
such as the oceans, rivers and lakes, a Secchi disk can
be used. This is a black and white disk that is lowered
into the water until it can no longer be seen. At that
depth (called Secchi depth) the correlating number is
recorded as a measure of the clarity in the water.
HOW IS TURBIDITY MEASURED?
• The advantage in using this device in open waters is
the ability to measure turbidity at various depths
where multiple turbidity layers are present. This
device is also easy to use and relatively inexpensive. In
the United States, public drinking water systems that
use flocculation or direct filtration for turbidity control
cannot exceed 1.0 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU)
leaving the treatment plant.
Nephelometers

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