ATTIQ ULLAH BHATTI

REG. NO:143808
INSTITUTE:NUST Islamabad
Objective:
To be familiar with the concepts of alkalinity and the measurement of
alkalinity in water.

Theory:
Alkalinity is the measure of the ability of a solution to neutralize acids

Importance:

Alkalinity is an important determination to the water treatment plant operator because

some of the coagulants used to clarify water and prepare it for filtration required sufficient
alkalinity to insure a proper reaction. The alkalinity may be increased by adding lime or
NA2CO3. Excessive alkalinity may be however interfere with coagulants.

WHO Guideline Value:

World health organization suggested a guideline value for alkalinity:

 Low alkalinity < 50mg/lit as CaCO3

 Medium alkalinity 50 - 250 mg/lit as CaCO3
 High alkalinity > 250 mg/lit as CaCO3

Relationship Table of Alkalinity:

Result of Hydroxide Carbonate Bicarbonate
titration (OH) (CO3) (HCO3)
p=0 Nil Nil T
p > t/2 2p - T 2(T - p) Nil
p = t/2 Nil 2p Nil
p < t/2 Nil 2p T - 2p
p=T p Nil Nil

Where P= phenolphthalein alkalinity, T= Total alkalinity

Apparatus:
Stand, burette, funnel, conical flask, beaker etc.

Chemicals:
Phenolphthalein indicator solution, brome cresel green, methyl red solution, standard
solution (H2SO4) having normality 0.02

Procedure:
1. Mix 1M NaOH and 1M NaHCO3 to prepare a synthetic sample for analysis.

2. Pipette 20 mL of sample into a clean Erlenmeyer flask

3. Add two drops of phenolphthalein indicator; if the pH is above 8.3, color of

solution becomes pink.
4. Titrate against standard sulphuric acid(0.02N) in the burette, till the color just
disappears. Note down the volume (V1)

5. Then add two drops of methyl orange indicator, the color of the sample turns
yellow

6. Again titrate against acid, until the color turns to orange yellow. Note down the
total volume (V2)
Observations And Calculations:

Vol. Of Sample=

N=

V1=

V2=

Phenolphthalein Alkalinity= 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑 𝑉1 (𝑚𝐿)𝑥𝑁𝑥50000/𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒(𝑚𝐿)

Total Alkalinity = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑 𝑉2 (𝑚𝐿)𝑥𝑁𝑥50000/𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒(𝑚𝐿)

Conclusion:

The alkalinity of water can be determined by titrating the water sample with Sulphuric
acid of known values of pH, volume and concentrations. Based on stoichiometry of the
reaction and number of moles of Sulphuric acid needed to reach the end point, the
concentration of alkalinity in water is calculated.

From our experiment we were able to get familiar with the concept of alkalinity and
acidity and the measurements of alkalinity in water. We were also able to define the
alkalinity as the neutralizing of acids.