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CHEMISTRY
PROJECT
2018-‘19
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CONTENTS

Topic Page No.

(i) Boiling 4

5
(ii) Distillation

5
(iii) Filtration through muslin cloth

6
(iv) Three pitcher system

7
(v) Chemicals-(a) Bleaching Powder

(b) Chlorine Tablets

(c) Quick Lime

(d) High Test Hypochlorite

(e) Alum

(f) Potassium Permanganate

12
(vi) Domestic filters - (a) Berkefeld filter and

- (b) Pasteur’s Chamber- land filter.

(vii) Bibiliography 14
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Methods for Water Purification

Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological

contaminants, suspended solids and gases from water. The goal is to produce
water fit for a specific purpose. Most water is disinfected for human
consumption (drinking water), but water purification may also be designed for a
variety of other purposes, including fulfilling the requirements of medical,
pharmacological, chemical and industrial applications. The methods used
include physical processes such as filtration, sedimentation, and distillation;
biological processes such as slow sand filters or biologically active carbon;
chemical processes such as flocculation and chlorination and the use of
electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light.

Purifying water may reduce the concentration of particulate matter including

suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, as well as
reducing the concentration of a range of dissolved and particulate matter. The
standards for drinking water quality are typically set by governments or by
international standards. These standards usually include minimum and
maximum concentrations of contaminants, depending on the intended purpose
of water use.

Visual inspection cannot determine if water is of appropriate quality. Simple

procedures such as boiling or the use of a household activated carbon filter are
not sufficient for treating all the possible contaminants that may be present in
water from an unknown source. Even natural spring water – considered safe for
all practical purposes in the 19th century – must now be tested before
determining what kind of treatment, if any, is needed. Chemical and
microbiological analysis, while expensive, are the only way to obtain the
information necessary for deciding on the appropriate method of purification.

Various methods of water purification includes:-

(i) Boiling

(ii) Distillation:
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(iii) Filtration through muslin cloth.

(iv) Three pitcher system.

(v) Chemicals.:

(vi) Domestic filters e.g. Berkefeld filter and Pasteur’s Chamber- land filter.

(i) Boiling:
Boiling is the oldest and satisfactory method of purification of water on small
scale. Boiling for 5 to 10 minutes kills bacteria, spores, cysts and ova of
intestinal parasites. It also removes hardness of water and soft water is
produced.

Boiling is an excellent method of purification of water provided boiling is done in

a neat and clean vessel and after boiling it is stored in clean covered container.
Preferably water should be boiled in the same container in which it is to be
stored. Only that much amount of water should be boiled which can be used
within a few hours.
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(ii) Distillation:
Distillation is the process of separating the components or substances from a
liquid mixture by selective boiling and condensation. Distillation may result in
essentially complete separation (nearly pure components), or it may be a partial
separation that increases the concentration of selected components of the
mixture. In either case the process exploits differences in the volatility of the
mixture's components. In industrial chemistry, distillation is a unit operation of
practically universal importance, but it is a physical separation process and not
a chemical reaction.

(iii) Filtration through Muslin Cloth:

:

Muslin cloth acts as a coarse filter which can remove the suspended materials.
So water filtered through muslin is not fit for drinking purposes though it can be
used for other household purposes like bathing, washing the clothes etc.
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(iv) Three Pitcher System:

This is very old system of purification of water. In this system three pitchers are
used which are kept one above the other on a wooden stand. The top Picher
contains sand, second charcoal and sand; and the lowest collects the purified
water. The raw water is filled in the first pitcher from where it percolates through
a hole into the 2nd pitcher. From here the water further percolates through the
hole to the third pitcher.
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(v) Chemicals:
Various types of chemical agents used for disinfection of water are discussed
as follows:

(a) Bleaching Powder (Chlorinated Lime):

Chemically it is CaOCl2. A fresh sample of bleaching powder contains 33% of
available chlorine but on storage it loses chlorine content. Therefore bleaching
powder is stored in dry, air-tight containers and at cool and dark places.
Roughly speaking 2.5 gm of a good quality of bleaching powder could be
required to disinfect 1000 liters of water. Bleaching powder will not directly
purify the turbid and polluted water. Therefore such water should first be treated
with preliminary filtration and then subjected to chlorination.
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(b) Chlorine tablets:

These tablets are good for disinfecting small quantities of water. They are
available in different strengths for disinfecting various quantities of water. One
tablet of 500 mg is sufficient for disinfecting 20 liters of water. These are
available in the market under various trade names e.g. halazone tablets
manufactured by the Boots company.
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(c) Quick Lime (Calcium Oxide):

Some people prefer to use dry slaked lime than ordinary lime. About 360 mg of
slaked lime will disinfect 4.5 liters of water. It is cheap, easily available and quite
effective.

Therefore it is recommended for disinfecting wells and tanks in cholera

outbreak. Disadvantage of quick lime is that large doses of it are required for
disinfection of water i.e. 20 times than that of bleaching powder.
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(d) High Test Hypochlorite (HTH):

It is a calcium compound and contains about 65 to 75 percent of available
chlorine. This is much stable compound and I gm of HTH is needed for one
cubic meter of water.
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(e) Alum:
Alum is not a germicidal. It is used to purify muddy water and to remove
turbidity. 60 to 240 mg of alum cans purity 4-5 liters of water. Calcium carbonate
which is present in all kinds of water also gets precipitated as calcium sulphate
and aluminum hydrate. The suspended impurities as well as bacteria also get
precipitated which are removed after filtration and clear purified water is
obtained.

(f) Potassium Permanganate:

It is a strong oxidising agent and can kill cholera vibrios but it does not destroy
other disease producing organisms. It is used for disinfecting wells. Its dose is
0.5 parts per million (0.5 ppm). It is not suitable for disinfecting large volume of
water.

Its disadvantages are that it alters the taste, smell and colour of water thus
treated. Moreover this method is not considered dependable therefore no longer
used for disinfecting the water.
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(vi) Domestic Filters:

Water for drinking purposes can be purified by means of domestic filters which
are discussed below:

(a) Berkefeld Filters:

These are cylindrical filters known as ‘filter candles’ or ‘ceramic candles’. They
are made up of unglazed porcelain or kieselguhr and are available in various
porosity grades.

When water is purified through these candles the pores get clogged which need
cleaning from time to time at least once a week by scrubbing with a hard brush
and passing the water under pressure from inside to outside direction which will
remove the entangled particles from the interstices.
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(b) Pasteur’s Chamber land Filter:

It is made up of unglazed porcelain tubes which can be screwed on to a water
tap. They work only under pressure and muddy water cannot be filtered through
it because the pores will be immediately blocked.

Therefore such water must be cleaned to remove mud. For cleaning the filters
they are scrubbed from outside with a hard brush and water is made to pass
under pressure from inside to outside. They are quick and reliable as they make
the water free from all kinds of impurities including bacteria
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BIBILIOGRAPHY

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