Characteristics of Water

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Questions and Answers

What are examples of non-point sources of water pollution?

  • Soaps and detergents
  • Industrial effluent and sewage
  • Pathogens and acidic species
  • General runoff of sediments, pesticide spraying, and fertilisers from farms (correct)

Biodegradable organic matter is a type of water pollutant.

True (A)

What is the maximum dissolved oxygen (DO) at a water temperature of 16°C?

10 mg/L

Fund pollutants are those for which the environment has some _______________ capacity.

<p>absorptive</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an effect of eutrophic pollutants on aquatic life?

<p>Excessive aquatic plant growth (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Stock pollutants include bacteria and viruses.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the three ways oxygen gets into water?

<p>Diffusion from the surrounding air, aeration (rapid movement), and as a product of photosynthesis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the type of pollutant with its characteristic:

<p>Fund Pollutant = Can be broken down by natural processes Stock Pollutant = Persistent and cannot be removed by natural processes</p> Signup and view all the answers

Water quality analysis often measures the amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in an aqueous solution, known as _______________.

<p>dissolved oxygen (DO)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Soaps and detergents are examples of point sources of water pollution.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Characteristics of Water

  • Physical characteristics: solids, temperature, color, odor, turbidity, oil and grease, conductivity
  • Chemical characteristics: organics (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, surfactants, phenols, pesticides, emerging organics), inorganics (pH, chlorides, alkalinity, nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals), gases (oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, methane)
  • Aggregate organics: BOD, COD, TOC
  • Biological characteristics: pathogens, indicators, viruses, invertebrates

Sources of Water Pollution

  • Point sources: single large sources
  • Non-point sources: diffuse source of pollution that cannot be attributed to a clearly identifiable, specific physical location or a defined discharge channel
  • Measurements: Amm.N., Inorg.N., Kjeldahl N., Org.N

Physico-chemical Characteristics

  • Phosphorus: aqueous forms (orthophosphates, polyphosphate, and organic phosphates), importance as nutrient
  • Sulphur: aqueous form (sulphate), reduced to sulphide and further to hydrogen sulfide, formation of sulphuric acid and pipe corrosion
  • Metallic constituents: priority pollutants (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, and Zn), micronutrients/toxicants, measurable forms (dissolved, suspended, acid extractable)

Wastewater Treatment

  • Primary treatment: removes solids, physical operations (screening, sedimentation)
  • Secondary treatment: removes organics, biological and chemical operations
  • Tertiary treatment: removes nutrients, biological and chemical operations

Typical Unit Operations of a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Primary and Secondary Sewage Treatment (using Suspended Growth process)

Screen

  • First unit operation
  • Objective: removal of coarse and fine objects, which may get entangled in mechanical equipment (e.g., grit chambers, sedimentation tanks, etc.)
  • Examples: general runoff of sediments, pesticide spraying, fertilizers from farms

Point and Non-Point Sources of Water Pollution

Major Water Pollutants and Their Sources

Contaminants Affecting Water Bodies

  • Biodegradable organic matter
  • Suspended, colloidal, and dissolved solids
  • Nutrients
  • Pathogens
  • Acidic, basic, and ionic species
  • Soaps and detergents
  • Pesticides
  • Colour and odour causing substances
  • Volatile organics
  • Recalcitrant and refractory organics
  • Thermal/Radioactive material

Categories of Pollutants

  • Fund pollutants: those for which the environment has some absorptive capacity
    • Degradable: organic residuals broken down by bacteria
    • Thermal: injection of heat into water source
    • Eutrophic: excessive nutrients leading to too much aquatic plant growth
    • Persistent pollutants: inorganic/synthetic chemicals partially broken down
    • Bacteria, viruses, artificial hormones: from domestic and animal wastes
  • Stock pollutants: those for which the environment has little or no absorptive capacity
    • Minerals and inorganic/organic chemicals not removed by natural processes (e.g., lead, cadmium, mercury, some agrochemicals, persistent synthetic chemicals, non-biodegradable plastics, and heavy metals)

Nature and Characteristics of Wastewater

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

  • Important measure of water quality
  • Oxygen is marginally soluble in water and inversely proportional to temperature
  • Maximum DO at water temperature of 16°C is 10 mg/L
  • DO analysis measures the amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in an aqueous solution
  • Oxygen gets into water by diffusion from the surrounding air, by aeration, and as a product of photosynthesis

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Water Pollution - UEN008 - PDF

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