Engineering Chemistry [107009]

Mrs. Bhavana Mohan Tayde

Assistant Professor
Dept.
Dept. Of
Of Engineering
Engineering Sciences,
Sciences,
International
International Institute
Institute of
of Information
Information Technology,
Technology,
Hinjawadi,
Hinjawadi, Pune
Pune

bhavanat@[Link]
Cell. +91 9881416521
1
 Water
Technology
Contents: Impurities in water, hardness of water: Types, Units and Numerical. Determination
of hardness (by EDTA method using molarity concept) and alkalinity, numerical. Ill effects of
hard water in boilers - priming and foaming, scale and sludge. Water treatment: i) Zeolite
method and numerical ii) Demineralization method. Purification of water: Reverse osmosis
and Electrodialysis. Modern technique for /of atmospheric water generation.
Unit Objectives: On completion the students will be able to :
1. Understand the salt impurities present in the natural water.
2. To analyze the quality of water for the application purpose.
3. Able to understand hardness removing methods from hard water.
4. Understand the applications of softening methods, RO and electro dialysis methods to purify the water.
Unit outcomes: On completion the students will be able to :
1. Identify types of hardness
2. Analyze and treat various troubles in boiler
3. Soften industrial waste water

Outcome Mapping:
PEOs: I, II, III, IV, V POs: i - xii COs: 1

• Text Books Used:

T1: Engineering Chemistry by O .G. Palanna, Tata Macgraw Hill Education Pvt. Ltd.
T2: Textbook of Engineering Chemistry by Dr. S. S. Dara, Dr. S. S. Umare, S. Chand & Company
Ltd.
• Reference Books Used
R1: Engineering Chemistry, Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
 Marking Scheme

• Unit 1: Water Technology

 Weightage : Unit Test - 06 M (CCE)
End Sem – 14 M

 Teaching Hours: 08 hrs.

Course Objective & Course outcome

• Course Objective:
To acquire knowledge of water quality
analysis technology and electro-
analytical techniques for chemical
analysis.

• Course outcome:
Understand the practical approaches
and techniques required to effectively
monitor water quality.
 Impurities in Water

Suspended impurities: like sand, soil, oil globules,

organic wastes. Size: Greater than 1000A0
Visible and makes water turbid and gives odor to
water, unevenly distributed.
can be separated by sedimentation and settlement
followed by filtration.
Colloidal impurities: like finely divided clay, silica,
mud. Size: between 10-1000 A°
Makes water turbid, do not settle down, remains
evenly distributed.
 Separated by coagulation (potash alum, sodium
aluminate) followed by sedimentation and filtration.
 Impurities in Water
Dissolved impurities: a)Dissolved gases: like O2, CO2,
Cl2, SOx, NOx, H2S and NH3 etc.
b) Dissolved salts: like chlorides, sulphates, nitrates,
bicarbonates, carbonates of various metal ions like Ca,
Mg, Fe, Al.
are not visible.
Removal: Mechanical deaerator, warming water,
biochemical oxidation.
Biological impurities: like bacteria (aerobic, anaerobic,
pathogenic type), algae, fungi and other microorganisms
mostly present in surface water.
Removal: treating water by sterilizing agent liquid
chlorine, ozone or by UV light.
 Types of Hardness of water

 Hardness of water: The hardness is an undesirable

property in water which prevents lather (foam) formation
when water is treated with soap solution
 bcoz of presence of salts of heavy metals like Ca, Mg, Fe,
Al water becomes hard.
 Li, K, Na salts (soft metals) in water are not responsible for
hardness.
 Hard water doesn’t lathers with soap solution it forms curdy
white precipitate due to reaction of heavy metals salts with
soap.
2C17H35COONa + CaCl2 → (C17H35COO)2Ca + 2NaCl
 Types of Hardness of water

1. Temporary or carbonate hardness

It is due to carbonates & bicarbonates of Ca, Mg and other
heavy metals. It is removed by mere boiling.
 Types of Hardness of water

2. Permanent or non–carbonate hardness

 It is due to Sulphates, chlorides, nitrates, phosphates,
silicates of Ca, Mg & other heavy metals.
 Cannot be removed by boiling.
 It is removed by chemical treatment, not by simple methods.
Total hardness = Temporary + Permanent
hardness hardness

Notes: Silica, Turbidity, KCl, NaCl, Fe2O3, Na2SO4, SiO2, K2SO4 and any

Na, K, Li salt doesn’t contribute in the hardness

 Q. 1. Classify the following salt impurities into temporary and

permanent hardness.

 CaCl2, MgCl2, Ca(HCO3)2, Mg(HCO3)2 CaSO4, MgSO4,

Fe(HCO3)2, CaCO3, Ca(NO3)2, FeCl2

 Ans:

1. Temporary Hardness:

2. Permanent Hardness:
 Degree of Hardness

It is the quantity or amount of hardness causing

impurities in water.
Hardness is expressed in terms of CaCO3 equivalents.

Units of hardness: ppm, mg/l

Relation between mg/lit and ppm : 1 mg/lit = 1 ppm
Hardness Determination: EDTA method
Complexometric titration by EDTA method
All types of hardness in water
Rapid estimation of hardness
More accurate results
Very convenient method
EDTA structure:

ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid

Structure

disodium salt of ethylene diamine tetra acetic

acid

Metal – EDTA complex

3D structure M-EDTA complex ion

Hexadentate
 Experimentation:

Part I - Total hardness of Sample Hard Water

50 ml Sample HW + 10 ml buffer (pH 10) + 2–3

drops EBT indicator –wine red color –titrated against
Na2EDTA solution.
Soln in Na2EDTA solution
burette:
Soln in
pipette: Sample
(50ml) hard water
Indicator : 2 drops of EBT
End point: wine red to blue
End point of titration (Part II) = ‘Y’ml
Principle and Reactions

Principle: At endpoint EBT–M ion complex

breaks, and EDTA forms complex with
released M ion. EBT is set free giving blue
color.
Reactions: at pH 10
Experimentation:

Part II: Permanent hardness of water

Water is boiled (½hr) to remove temporary hardness.
Cool & filter.
This water sample is pipette out (50ml).
Same procedure followed for finding permanent
hardness.
Temporary hardness = (Total  Permanent) hardness
 Numerical- Hardness

Total hardness of water

When EDTA of known molarity is used,
Hardness of water sample = Y/V x Z x 105 ppm
Where, V = volume of water sample titrated
Y = Volume of Na2EDTA (burette reading)
Z = molarity of Na2EDTA solution
1. 50 ml of water sample requires 18 ml of 0.05 M EDTA during titration.
Whereas 50 ml of boiled water sample requires 12.5 ml of same EDTA in the
titration. Calculate total, temporary and permanent hardness of water sample.
Solution:

Total hardness of water = Y/V X Z X 105

= 18/15 X 0.05 X 105
= 1800 ppm
Permanent hardness of water = Y/V X Z X 105
= 18/15 X 0.05 X 105
= 1250 ppm

Temporary hardness = Total hardness - Permanent hardness

= 1800 – 1250
= 550 ppm

Total hardness = 1800 ppm

Permanent hardness = 1250 ppm
Temporary hardness = 550 ppm
 Numerical- Hardness
2) 100 ml of water sample requires 14.6 ml of 0.01M EDTA
in titration. 100 ml of same water sample when titrated
after boiling and filtration requires 9.9 ml of EDTA.
Calculate carbonate and non carbonate hardness of water
sample.
3) Calculate Total, Temporary & Permanent hardness of
sample water, if 25 ml of water sample required 15.5 ml of
0.05 M EDTA & 25 ml boiled sample water required 9.5
ml of same EDTA
4) 50 ml of sample water required 6ml of N/20 EDTA
solution. where as 50ml of same water sample, after
boiling required 4 ml of N/20 EDTA solution. Calculate
Total, Temporary & Permanent hardness of sample water.
 Numerical- Hardness

5) 7.50 ml of water sample requires 15 ml of 0.02 M EDTA during titration. Whereas 50

ml of boiled water sample requires 11 ml of same EDTA in the [Link]
total, temporary and permanent hardness of the water sample. [Total H. = 600ppm,
Permanent H. = 440ppm Temporary H. = 160ppm.]

6) In determination of hardness of a water sample by EDTA method, 100ml of hard

water required 12 ml of 0.02 M EDTA solution. 100 ml of boiled hard water required
6 ml of same EDTA. Calculate total, permanent and temporary hardness. [ Total H. =
240 ppm, Permanent H. = 120 ppm, Temporary H. = 120 ppm.]

7) From the following results calculate temporary, permanent and total hardness of water
in ppm. 50 ml hard water required 14 ml of 0.01 M EDTA at end point and 50 ml
boiled hard water require 9 ml of 0.01 M EDTA. [Total H. = 280 ppm, Permanent
H. = 180 ppm, Temporary H. = 100ppm.]
8) 50 ml water sample requires 12.7 ml of 0.02M EDTA during titration. Calculate total
hardness of water sample. (Ans. Hardness 508 ppm)
 Ex.1) A water sample contains Ca(HCO3)2 = 16.2mg, MgSO4 =
36mg, CaSO4 = 27.2mg MgCO3 = 4.2mg. Calculate the temporary,
permanent & total hardness of water.
Solution:

1) Temporary Hardness = 10 + 5 = 15ppm

2) Permanent Hardness = 30 + 20 = 50ppm
3) Total Hardness = [temporary + permanent] hardness = 15 + 50 =65ppm
2) What is carbonate and non carbonate hardness of water sample containing dissolved salts
as given below in mg/lit.
Ca(HCO3)2 = 40.5 mg/lit, CaSO4 = 6.8 mg/lit,
Mg(HCO3)2 = 7.3 mg/lit, CaCl2 = 8.0 mg/lit, MgSO4 = 6.0 mg/lit, MgCl2 = 3.8 mg/lit,
SiO2= 6 mg/lit, NaCl= 94 mg/lit
Mol. Wt.: Ca(HCO3)2 = 162, CaSO4 = 136, CaCl2 = 111,
Mg(HCO3)2 = 146, MgSO4 = 120, MgCl2 = 95, SiO2 = 66
Salt Quantity in CaCO3 equivalent of Type of
ppm Salt in ppm Hardness

Temporary hardness =
Permanent hardness =
Total hardness = Temporary hardness + Permanent hardness
 Alkalinity of Water
Hydroxides, carbonates and bicarbonates
Estimated by titration against std acid
OH⁻ + H ⁺ → H 2O … (1)
CO3–2 + H⁺ → HCO3¯ … (2)
HCO3¯ + H⁺ → H2CO3 → CO2 + H2O …(3)
a) Only single ion : OH⁻ or CO3–2 or HCO3¯ can be present.
b) Any two ions: OH⁻ & CO3–2 , CO3–2 & HCO3¯, OH⁻
&HCO3¯
OH⁻ + HCO3¯ → CO3–2 + H2O do not coexist.
c) All three ions : OH⁻, CO3–2 & HCO3¯ do not exist
together.
 Principle
 All OH⁻ and ½ of CO3–2 gets neutralized first ­Indicated
by phenolphthalein (P), pink to colorless
 Remaining ½ of CO3–2 (now present as HCO3¯) &
complete HCO3¯ (present in sample water) is
neutralized on further titration -Indicated by methyl
orange (M), yellow to orange
 Reactions occurring are
OH⁻ + H⁺ → H2O …(1) P
CO3–2 + H⁺ → HCO3¯ …(2)
HCO3¯+ H⁺ → H2CO3 → CO2 + H2O …(3) M
 Amount of alkalinities

Alkalinities due to the OH⁻, CO3–2 and HCO3¯

Volume of Alkalinity Quantity of Quantity of Quantity of

Acid OH¯ CO3¯2 HCO3¯

V1 = 0 P=0 0 0 M

V1 = V2 P 0 0

0 2P 0

2P‒M 2(M‒P) 0

0 2P M‒2P
 Part I: Phenolphthalein end point
10 ml of water sample + 1–2 drops phenolphthalein.

Soln in burette : Acid solution

Soln in pipette : Sample water (10ml)
Indicator : 1–2 drops of phenolphthalein
End point : pink to colorless
End point of titration (part I) = ‘P’ ml

Do not throw the solution. Do not refill the burette.

P ml is equivalent to OH⁻ and ½ of CO3–2 alkalinity.
Part II: Methyl Orange end point
Part I Solution + 2 drops of methyl orange indicator
 If yellow solution, then continue to titrate.
 If orange solution, then end pt is reached.
End point of titration (part II) = ‘M’ml
End point indicates complete neutralization of HCO 3–
which are already present in water & which are
produced due to half neutralization of carbonates.
M ml is equivalent to complete neutralization of sample
water.
Color Changes during Experiment
 Calculations

Volume of acid required to neutralize OH ⁻, CO 3–2 &

HCO3¯ is determined respectively using the table given
earlier.
Alkalinity of each type is calculated.
 Numerical- Alkalinity
1. A water sample is not alkaline to phenolphthalein. However
100 ml of same sample on titration with 0.02N H2SO4
required 16.5 ml H2SO4 to obtain the end point using
methyl orange. What type and amount of alkalinity present
in the sample? [Ans. HCO3- = 165ppm]
2. 100 ml water sample requires 4.3 ml of 0.02 N HCl upto
phenolphthalein end point and total 11.9 ml upto methyl
orange end point. Calculate different type and amount of
alkalinity present in water sample.
3. 100 ml of water sample consumes 2.7 ml of 0.05 N H2SO4
upto phenolphthalein end point and additional 2.1 ml for
methyl orange end point. Calculate type and amount of
alkalinity.
4. 100ml of an alkaline water sample requires 5.2ml of N/50 HCl up to ph. end point and
15.8ml for methyl orange end point. Find the type and amount of alkalinity in water
sample. [Ans: CO3¯2 = 104ppm, HCO3¯ = 54ppm ].
5. 50ml of an alkaline water sample requires 9.2ml of N/50 HCl up to phenolphthalein
end point and total 13.1ml of the acid for complete neutralization. Find the types
and amounts of alkalinities in the water sample.[Ans: OH¯ = 106ppm, CO 3¯2 =
156ppm ]
6. 10ml water sample on titration with N/50 HCl required 17.5ml for phenolphthalein
end point. When methyl orange was added to the same, orange colour developed.
What are the types and amount of alkalinity present in the water sample. [Ans: OH¯
= 1750ppm ]
7. 100 ml of water sample on titration with N/50 HCl 7.6ml required for phenolphthalein
end point and 15.2ml for total alkalinity reading. Calculate the alkalinity present in
Applications of water in industries
Ill effects of hard water in boilers

Type of boiler Steam pressure Permitted

hardness

Low pressure Below 15 kg/cm2 25–50 ppm

Medium pressure 15 – 30 kg/cm2 10–25 ppm

High pressure Above 30 kg/cm2 0–2 ppm

 Boiler Troubles
1. Priming and Foaming

2. Scales and sludge formation

Priming and foaming
 1. Priming and Foaming
When water boils in boiler on the surface of water
continuous bubble formation and breaking takes place.
Water droplets are carried along with the steam – wet
steam formation.
As fine droplets are carried out with steam to different
parts of boiler it is also called as carry over method.
Priming is accompanied by foaming.
Formation of small, persistent bubbles on the water
surface is known as foaming.
 Causes of priming and foaming
Priming:
Presence of suspended impurities in water.
High level of water.
Foam on the surface of water.
High steam velocities.
Faulty boiler design.
Foaming:
Presence of finely dispersed suspended material.
Presence of oil/ grease and alkali in water.
High concentration of dissolved salts.
Violent agitation of boiler feed water.
 Ill effects of priming and foaming

Actual height of water column is not properly judged.

Due to air bubbles, constant steam rate disturbs.

Wet steam carry over dissolved salts, suspended

solids, that deposit on inner walls of boiler causing

corrosion of that parts.
Efficiency of boiler lowers due to corrosion.
 Control of priming and foaming

Use of well softened and filtered water.

Maintaining water level in safe limits.
Avoiding change in sudden steam rate.
Addition of anti–foaming agents e.g. castor oil or
polyamide.
Removing oil from water by adding compounds like
sodium aluminates.
Arranging mechanical purifiers at the outlet of boiler.
 2. Scales and Sludges

Sludge: slimy, porous and loose ppt. in the boiler.

Scale: hard adherent coat on the inner walls of boiler.
Scales are non–porous, hard and strongly adherent
Sludge
Scale
 Causes of Sludge and scale formation:
• When Conc. of the dissolved salts reaches saturation pt., salts
precipitate out. Forms comparatively at cooler parts of the
boiler.
• Composition : Salts like CaCl2, MgCl2, MgSO4, MgCO3 etc.
• Causes:
i. Silica (SiO2): from sand filters → silicates (CaSiO3 ,
MgSiO3)
Hard, sticky and adherent ppt
Very difficult to remove.
ii. Hydrolysis of chlorides of Ca or Mg
MgCl2 + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 ↓ + 2HCl
MgNO3 + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 ↓ + 2HNO3
MgSO4 + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 ↓ + 2H2SO4
 Causes of Sludge and scale formation:

iii. Decrease in solubility of CaSO4:

3200 ppm at 15°C, 55 ppm at 230°C, 27 ppm at 320°C.
almost insoluble in super heated water.
Main cause of scales in high pressure boiler
iv. Decomposition of bicarbonates:

• CaCO3 forms a non–adherent, soft sludge

• Mg(OH)2 forms adherent, hard scale
 Ill effects of Sludge formation

• Build up a deposit – choke the steam pipes.

• Increases viscosity of water and reduces flow rate.
• Poor conductors of heat –waste a portion of heat.
• Excessive sludge formation disturbs the working of boiler.
• Sludge get entrapped in the scales and both are deposited as
scales.
Removal of Sludges
• Scraper, wire brushes
• Frequent ‘blow down’ operations
• Blow down operation is followed by ‘make up’ water
 Ill effects of Scale formation
1. Wastage of fuel:
Scales are bad conductors of heat.
To get a steady supply of steam, more heat applied.
Large consumption of fuel.

Thickness 0.62
0.325 1.25 2.5
(mm) 5
Excess fuel 10% 15% 50% 80%
 Ill effects of Scale formation

2. Lowering safety of boiler:

Excess heat applied leads to overheating of boiler
Overheating makes boiler metal soft and weak
Distortion of boiler parts
Boiler unsafe to bear the pressure of steam
Lowers the safety of the boiler.
 Ill effects of Scale formation

3. Danger of explosion:
Overheating leads uneven expansion of boiler material and
scales crack
Water comes suddenly in contact with overheated boiler
metal
Sudden steam formation causes sudden increase in pressure
May cause explosion of boiler.
 Ill effects of Scale formation

[Link] in efficiency:
Scales and trapped sludge’s deposited choke boiler
tubes/pipes partially.
Leads decrease in efficiency

5. Shortening the life of boiler:

Overheating makes boiler metal soft and brittle
Cannot bear the steam pressure.
Life of boiler is shortened.
 Removal of Scales

Scraper, knife, blade, wire brush are used for

removing loose scales.
Frequent blow down operations for loose scales
By giving thermal shocks if scales are very hard and
adherent.
By dissolving these in some chemicals so that scales
are not formed but salts remain in soluble form e.g.
dilute acids, EDTA or calgon solutions.
By internal treatment like phosphate conditioning.
 Prevention of Scales

Use of softened water for steam generation.

Adding sodium aluminates to trap the scale forming
particles.
Conditioning of water (Internal treatment) by
colloids, calgon or phosphates.

HW : Difference between Sludge and Scale

Comparison between Sludge and
Scale
Boiler feed water treatment
 PERMUTIT (ZEOLITE PROCESS)

Principle:
Permutit is also known as Zeolite. They are capable
of exchanging cations reversibly. The chemical
formula for Zeolite (permutit) is
Na2O.Al2O3.xSiO2.yH2O. In short it is written as Na2-
Z.
For softening of water by this method, hard water is
percolated at a specified rate through a bed of zeolite
kept in a cylinder. The hardness causing ions (Ca ++ &
Mg++) are retained by the permutit as Ca-Z & Mg-Z
While the out going water contains sodium salts.
ZEOLITE (PERMUTIT) PROCESS

Na2O.Al2O3.xSiO2.yH2O. (Na2Z or Na2Ze)

ZEOLITE (PERMUTIT)
PROCESS
SOFTENING AND REGENERATION REACTIONS
Permutit undergo chemical reaction with both
temporary and permanent hardness forming salt.
Ca(HCO3)2 + Na2-Z → Ca-Z + 2NaHCO3
Mg(HCO3)2 + Na2-Z → Mg-Z + 2NaHCO3
CaCl2 + Na2-Z → Ca-Z + 2NaCl
MgSO4 + Na2-Z → Mg-Z + Na2SO4
Regeneration of exhausted zeolite bed:
Ca-Z + 2NaCl → Na2-Z + CaCl2
Mg-Z + 2NaCl → Na2-Z + MgCl2
 ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
1. Hardness can be completely (almost zero) removed
2. Easy operation. No experts required
3. Less time for treatment, Small place for assembly.
4. Cost required for checking working of bed and regeneration is
less.
Disadvantages
5. Only Ca++ and Mg++ ions can be removed
6. Large amount of Na+ ions present in treated water.
7. Water should be free from suspended impurities to prevent
clogging on Zeolite beds.
8. Fe++ and Mn++ ions get permanently adsorbed.
9. Warm water cannot be used.
10. Applicable for small scale treatment.
Applications

i. For removing hardness causing ions from water.

ii. Removing toxic metal ions and dye cations from
polluted water.
iii. Can be used to recover valuable trace metals from
industrial waste water like Ni, Cr, lead, copper,
silver
 NUMERICAL ON ZEOLITE

Steps in solving numerical-

Step I- Calculate the gms./lit. of NaCl and the quantity
of NaCl in mg. used for regeneration of zeolite by
mg of NaCl = gm./lit. × 1000 × lit. of NaCl solution.
Step II- Convert the NaCl quantity in terms of CaCO3
equivalent by
mg of NaCl × 50/58.5 = Y mg. CaCO3 eq.
Step III- Equate the y and total hardness of water
Y= lit. of hard water × hardness of water
 EXAMPLE
2) An exhausted zeolite was regenerated by passing 150 lit of NaCl
solution, having strength of 45 gm/lit NaCl. How many litres of
sample hard water having 500 ppm hardness can be softened by
this softener? (Ans. 11538.46 liters of water sample.)
3) An exhausted zeolite softener was regenerated by 80 lit of 12 %
NaCl. How many lit. Of hard water sample having hardness 260
ppm can be softened by this softener.
4) An exhausted zeolite softener was regenerated by 200 lit. Of 15
% NaCl .How many litre of hard water sample having hardness
450 ppm can be softened by this?
5) A zeolite bed exhausted by softening 4000 liters of water
and requires 10 liters of 15% NaCl solution for regeneration.
Calculate the hardness of water sample. (INSEM-
2020)
ION-EXCHANGE PROCESS
ION-EXCHANGE PROCESS
Cation exchanger resin (H2R) - CH – CH2

The H+ ions are loosely held

(COOH or SO H)
3

SO3- H+
Anion exchanger resin (R’(OH)2)
- CH – CH2
The OH- ions are loosely held

- CH2 – NR3+ OH-

REACTIONS
Cation exchange reactions:
R-H2 + CaCl2 → Ca-R + 2HCl
R-H2 + CaSO4 → Ca-R + H2SO4
Anion exchange reactions:
R-(OH)2 + 2HCl → R-Cl2 + 2H2O
R-(OH) 2 + H2SO4 → R-SO4 + 2H2O
Regeneration reactions:
Ca-R + 2HCl → R-H2 + CaCl2
R-Cl2 + 2NaOH → R-(OH)2 + 2 NaCl
 ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES
Advantages-
Zero hardness & no ionic impurities.
Easy to operate & low cost.
Can be used for highly alkaline/acidic water

 Disadvantages-
Initial investment is high, process can be operated only for small
scale.

HW : Difference between Zeolite and Ion-exhange

method.
 PURIFICATION OF WATER

Process of removing dissolved ionic impurities from

water by passing it through semipermeable membrane

to make it potable or suitable for drinking as well as
agricultural purpose is called as desalination.
Membrane Technique:
1. Electrodialysis
2. Reverse Osmosis
ELECTRODIALYSIS
 WORKING

Method of separation of ions from salt water by passing

electric current.
Semi permeable membranes are placed
Consist of three compartments containing
1. Sea Water 2. Pair of electrodes 3. Semi permeable
membrane
As current applied Na+ ions moves towards cathode and
Cl- ions moves towards anode
As result brine concentration decreases in the middle
compartment. Pure water is removed from the central
compartment.
 APPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS
Advantages:
 Initial investment cost is low
Compact equipment
Applications:
Removal of ionic pollutants(salts, ionic dyes) from water.
Removal of salt from sea water to make it potable.
Recovery of salts from salt rich water.
Limitations:
Dose not remove colloidal impurities
Replacement of membranes increases cost
Non ionic impurities cannot be removed
 Reverse osmosis (RO)

Principal- “Reversal of solvent flow from higher

concentration to lower concentration solution through
SPM by applying an external pressure slightly higher
than osmotic pressure”.
In this process, water molecules are allowed to diffuse
through 100-150 micron thick membranes (made from
cellulose acetate or polymeric membranes like
polyamide, aramid, polyacetate etc.) having pores in the
range of 0.0001 – 0.001 µm in diameter, while the
contaminants (dissolved salts of even low molecular
weight) get concentrated in the effluent stream and are
discharged.
WORKING
In reverse osmosis we apply external pressure on higher
concentration solution slightly greater than osmotic
pressure. Flow of solvent takes place in reverse direction
i.e. higher to lower concentration through SPM.
SPM – has fine porosity that it allows only small
molecules of water to pass through it.
- SPM based on thin films of cellulose acetate, aramid,
polyamide polymers are used.
- high mechanical strength
- show resistance to attack of bacteria, fungus.
Thus in RO water separates from contaminants rather
than contaminants from water.
 Method
The polluted water is filled in RO cell.
A pressure of 200psi in applied on it to force the solvent to pass
through SPM.
Treated water comes out from the bottom outlet leaving behind
ionic and non-ionic impurities.
Press
ure

Feed Fresh
Water Water
More
Concentr
ated
Concen Solution
Water
trate Flow
Flow

Semi Permeab
Membrane
 ADVANTAGES
• RO removes all ionic, non ionic, colloidal impurities
from water.
• Simple to operate & low cost
• Can be used for even high pressure boilers
• This technique is used to obtain drinking mineral water.
• Can remove colloidal silica, which is not removed by
demineralization
 Limitations
Water obtained by this process do not contain essential
minerals for human body like Ca, Mg, etc.
Bacteria and virus having size smaller than the pore size
of the membrane are not removed from water.
Taste of water obtained from RO process is affected due
to removal of natural minerals.
RO membranes can decay after few years, so require
periodic replacement.
 Applications

Household drinking water purification.

For production of bottled mineral water.
Purification of industrial waste water and boiler feed
water.
Desalination of sea water.
 Modern technique of atmospheric water generation
 Mostly preferable to areas with moist condition but facing fresh

water scarcity
 Preferable as alternative method over digging deeper wells and

transporting water over long distances

 AWG converts atmospheric water vapor to liquid water by

extracting water from humid ambient air to produce potable water.

 Three different AWG techniques are

 1. Using dew point

 2. Heat exchanger technology

 3. Using brine based solution

 Atmospheric Water Generation Using Dew Point
 Dew Point: The temperature at which air containing a certain

amount of humidity becomes saturated with moisture so that

moisture can condense out of the air.
The dew point can be calculated by the formula

 Where, Td – Dew point temperature in degree Celsius

 T – Observed temperature in degree Celsius
 RH – Relative humidity
 When air temperature is 250C and the relative humidity is 65%,
then dew point is 180C.
 Atmospheric Water Generation Using Dew Point
Method:
The dew drops are collected from air on structures like plates, nets
or rods of steel, nylon or polypropylene for trapping water.
For high yields, direction of wind plays an important role, as large
volume of air needs to fall on these surfaces.
The trapped droplets of water on these surfaces quickly run down in
the water tank.
 AWG Using heat exchanger technology
Method:
This method remove the dependency of water collection on the weather or
time of day.
In this method atmospheric air is directed over cooled plated by using a
fan. Here water vapor from air condenses into liquid water.
 This collected water is filtered and supplemented with minerals for
drinking purpose.
In both these methods yield of Water depends on humidity in air.
 These methods work in the areas having greater than 30% humidity at
moderate temperature.
Also these methods require energy to work, so it is necessary to have a
charged battery, a power socket or a solar panel.
Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG)
Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG)
 AWG Using Brine Based Solution
Method:
Hygroscopic salts are used to trap the water
from the atmosphere.
CaCl2 capture water molecules through
hydration process that involves physical and
chemical absorption.
Salts which can absorb more and more moisture
from environment to form highly concentrated
solutions are used for these techniques.
Researchers from Germany have developed a
brine based AW harvester in which highly
concentrated salt solution is trickled down a
tower after taking up water from air.
The diluted brine is then vacuum distilled and
recycled into the system.