Experiment No.

5
Acidity of Water
Acidity
The acidity of water is its quantitative capacity to react with
a strong base to a designated pH.

pH = -log [H+]

The pH of a solution is a measure of acidity and

mathematically defined as the negative logarithm of the
hydrogen ion concentration (in mol/L).
Acidity

It is important to measure the acidity of water because

acids contribute to corrosiveness.

Corrosive substances, such as acids, can cause damage

and failure to materials.
Mineral Acidity

Acidity is most commonly expressed as pH values, but it can

also be reported in terms of milligrams of calcium carbonate per
𝑚𝑔 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
liter ( ) through the following quantities:
𝐿

Mineral acidity

• It is measured by titration to a pH of about 3.5, the methyl

orange end point.
• It is also known as methyl orange acidity.
• Acidity due to strong mineral acids, such as sulfuric acid
(H2 SO4 ), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and nitric acid (HNO3)

𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 100.09 𝑔 1000 𝑚𝑔
(𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐿)(𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻) 1𝑔
2 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
Total Acidity and CO2 Acidity

Total acidity

• It is measured by titration to the phenolphthalein end point of

pH 8.3
• It is also known as phenolphthalein acidity.
• Acidity due to strong mineral acids, weak acids, and
hydrolyzing salts
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 100.09 𝑔 1000 𝑚𝑔
(𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐿)(𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻)
2 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 1𝑔
=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

CO2 acidity

𝐶𝑂2 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 − 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦

End Point and Indicators

The end point of a titration occurs when the indicator

changes color.
End Point and Indicators

The end point does not occur at a specific pH, but rather
there is a range of pH within which the end point will occur.
End Point and Indicators
End point is used to estimate the equivalence point.

The equivalence point is the point at which the acid has

stoichiometrically reacted with the base.
Calibration of Dropper

Calibration of the dropper was performed prior to the

𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑠
titration to determine the ratio 𝑚𝐿 .

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

No. of
drops in 22 22 19 21
1.0 mL

The ratio will be used to calculate the volume of NaOH

added from the number of drops that will be used in the
titration.
Titration
Sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) solution is added to the water
sample before the addition of indicator and the titration to
remove residual chlorine. Residual free available chlorine
in the sample may bleach the indicator.

The end point of methyl orange is in the pH range of 3.1 to

4.4 (approximately 3.5).
Titration
For both titrations, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is used as the
titrant. An alkali should be used as the titrant because
acidity is what is determined in this experiment.

The end point of phenolphthalein is in the pH range of 8.3

to 10.0 (approximately 8.3).
Reactions
During the titration, the hydroxide ions from the sodium
hydroxide solution react with the hydrogen ions in the water
sample.
𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 𝑎𝑞 + 𝐻+ 𝑎𝑞 ⇌ 𝐻2 𝑂 𝑙 + 𝑁𝑎+ (𝑎𝑞)

Dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic

acid.
𝐶𝑂2 𝑔 + 𝐻2 𝑂 𝑙 ⟶ 𝐻2 𝐶𝑂3 (𝑎𝑞)
Carbonic acid reacts with the calcium ion in the water
sample to form calcium carbonate. Calcium is an intrinsic
component of unprocessed water.
𝐻2 𝐶𝑂3 𝑎𝑞 + 𝐶𝑎2+ 𝑎𝑞 ⇌ 2𝐻+ 𝑎𝑞 + 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3
Based on the reactions, the stoichiometric ratio of NaOH to
𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 is 2:1.
Example Calculation

Trial 1 Trial 2
Drops of NaOH used 113 121

Volume of NaOH used

in the presence of 5.38 5.76
phenolphthalein, mL

𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦

1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 100.09 𝑔 1000 𝑚𝑔
(𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐿)(𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻)
2 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3 1𝑔
=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
Example Calculation
Titration for Titration for
Mineral Acidity Total Acidity
Volume of NaOH, L 0 0.00538
Moles of NaOH, mol 0 1.076 x 10-4
Moles of acid
0 1.076 x 10-4
neutralized, mol
Volume of Sample
0 0.1
Water, L
Mineral Acidity, mg/L
0 -
CaCO3
Total Acidity, mg/L
- 53.8
CaCO3
CO2 Acidity, mg/L
53.8
CaCO3
References

1. AWWA, WEF, APHA, 1998, Standard Methods for the Examination of

Water and Wastewater (Methods: 4500 B. Electrometric Method; 2320 B.
Titration Method)
2. Chang, R. (2010). Chemistry, 10th Edition. McGraw Hill.