Some Applied Chemistry Approaches

Charge Balance

You take a water sample to an analytical lab to be analyzed for major (or anticipated) ions. Has the lab done an
adequate analysis? Did you request a measure of all the important ions in the system? The charge balance can
help you make the interpretation of adequacy the analysis.
The charges in the sample must balance! The sum of the anionic (-) charges must equal the sum of
the cationic (+) charges.
The charge balance cannot be determined if the analytic units are ppm or mg/L. The ions concentrations must
first be converted to molar units – moles/L :
(mg/L)/(molecular weight) = mmoles/L

A mole of calcium Ca++ does not have the same charge value as a mole of potassium K+ . Thus, compensation
must be made for the charge value of the ions. The molar concentration must be multiplied by the charge
of the ion. The resulting value is in equivalents/m3
g
(mg ) ∗ charge eq ( m 3 ) ∗ charge
L = =
molecularwt m 3 molecularwt
1 eq 1meq
=
m3 L

Example:
Given major cations in water: Ca2+ , Mg2+ , Na+ , K+
Major anions: HCO3- , SO42- , Cl- , NO3-
Concentrations of each reported by lab:
cation Concentration, Molecular meq/L anion Concentration, Molecular meq/L
mg/L weight mg/L weight
Ca2+ 93.8 40 4.69 HCO3- 167.4 61 2.74
Mg2+ 28 24.3 2.30 SO42- 134.0 96 2.79
+
Na 13.7 23 0.6 Cl- 92.5 35.45 2.61
K+ 30.2 39.1 0.77 NO3- 0
Total 8.36 Total 8.14

Cations = 8.36 meq/L; anions = 8.14

Is the balance acceptable, given analytical error, etc.? The are several statistically based equations used to
address this question. One equation is:
[Σ anions - Σ cations]≤ [0.1065 + 0.0155(Σ anions)]
In the example:
8.14 – 8.36≤ [0.1065 + 0.0155(8.14)]
0.22 ≤ 0.2327 OK

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Conductivity Measurements

The greater the amount of ions in water, the greater is the capacity of the water to conduct electricity. A
measure of electrical resistance is ohms, so the opposite, measure of capacity of the water to conduct
electricity was called mhos. The typical unit of measurement was µ mhos/cm. Currently, the units are
µ Siemens/cm, abbreviated as µ S/cm.
Each ion contributes to the conductivity of electricity based on the characteristics of the particular ion.
Conductivity factors for each ion are multiplied by the concentration of the ion to get a value of conductivity.
The conductivity factors are in units of (µ S/cm) per (meq/L) or (µ S/cm) per (mg/L), depending on the
concentration units for the ions.
Electrical Conductivity = EC = Σ (ci x fI)
Where c = concentration of ion
f = conductivity factor
Example:
Ion Concentration, mg/L Conductivity factor, Conductivity
(µ S/cm) per (mg/L) µ S/cm
Ca+ 190 2.60 494
Mg+ 84 3.82 320.88
Na+ 75 2.13 159.75
-
HCO3 260 0.715 185.9
SO42- 64 1.54 98.56
CO32- 30 2.82 84.6
-
Cl 440 2.14 941.6
NO3- 35 1.15 40.25
Total 2325.54

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