Basic Environmental Engineering and Pollution Abatement
Tutorial 1
DR. PRASENJIT MONDAL
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
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Problem 1
Compound X has an ether/water partition coefficient, Ksoluble, of 4. If 11 g of compound X is
dissolved in 100 mL of water,
(a) How many grams of Compound X will be in the organic layer after one extraction with 100
mL of ether?
(b) How many grams of Compound X will be in the organic layer after two sequential
extractions using 50 mL portions of ether each time?
(c) Which of the two extractions is more effective?
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Solution:
Given that: K=Cether/Cwater=4; total mass of X in water=11 g;
volume of water=100 mL
(a) Case A: Single stage extraction with 100 mL ether.
Let x g of X gets extracted into ether layer.
K=[(x)/100]/[(11-x)/(100)]=4
x=8.8 g gets extracted into the ether layer.
This leaves 11-8.8=2.2 g remaining in H2O.
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Solution:
(b) Case B: Two parts with 50 mL ether each.
[(x)/50]/[(11-x)/(100)]=4
Solving , x=7.33 g in ether.
Mass of X remaining in water=11-7.33=3.67 g
[(x)/(50)]/[(3.67-x)/(100)]=4
Solving, x=2.45 g in ether.
Mass of X remaining in water=3.67-2.45=1.22 g
Total X extracted into ether=7.33+2.45=9.78 g
This leaves 11- 9.78=1.22 g in the water phase.
(c) Two 50 mL extractions is superior to 1 single 100 mL extraction.
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Problem 2
If a compound X has an octane-water (Haunch) partitioning coefficient of 130 and the
concentration of X in lake water is 0.5 mg/L, find approximate concentration of X in the
animal at the bottom of all food chains in the lake.
Solution:
We know, log BCF = 0.79 log(KOW)-0.4 = 0.79 log(130)-0.4
Therefore, by solving, BCF = 18.62 L/kg
𝑚𝑔
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑋 𝑖𝑛 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠 ( 𝑘𝑔 )
Now, we know, 𝐵𝐶𝐹 = = 18.62 𝐿/𝑘𝑔
0.5 𝑚𝑔/𝐿
Concentration of X in Organism (mg/kg) = 9.31 mg/kg
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Problem 3
Consider a solution of Ammonium Sulfate prepared by dissolving 66 g of the anhydrous
compound in water and diluting to 1 liter. What is the concentration of this solution in:
– a) g/L?
– b) moles/L?
– c) equivalents/L?
– d) g/L as sulphate?
– e) g/L as N?
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Solution:
a) 66 g/L
b) The gram formula weight of ammonium sulfate is 132 g/mole. So
Molarity = (66 g/L)/(132 g/mole) = 0.5 moles/L or 0.5 M.
c) Without any specific information regarding the use of this solution, one might simply
presume that either the sulfate group or the ammonium group will be the reacting species.
In either case, Z should be equal to two (product of the oxidation state times the number of
groups). So:
Normality = 0.5 moles/L * 2 equivalents/mole
= 1 equivalent/L or 1.0 N or N/1.
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Solution:
d) The MW for sulfate is:
MW = 32 + 4*16 = 96 g/mole.
The molarity of sulfate is:
Molarity = 0.5 moles((NH4)2SO4)/L * 1 mole(SO4)/mole((NH4)2SO4)
= 0.5 moles(SO4)/L
Hence, mass/L = Molarity * MW = 0.5 moles(SO4)/L * 96 g(SO4)/mole(SO4)
= 48 g(SO4)/L
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Solution:
e) The MW for nitrogen is 14:
The molarity of nitrogen is:
Molarity = 0.5 moles((NH4)2SO4)/L * 2 moles(N)/mole((NH2)2SO4)
= 1 mole(N)/L
Therefore,
mass/L = Molarity * MW = 1 mole(N)/L * 14 g(N)/mole(N)
= 14 g(N)/L or 14 g NH3-N/L
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Problem 4
The octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow) of a pesticide is 300000.00. Calculate the
bioconcentration factor of it in fish to water. If the concentration of the pesticide in water is
2.0 ppb, what will be the concentration of it in fish.
Solution:
As, log BCF = 0.79 x logKOW - 0.4
BCF = 8451.344
Concentration of pesticide in fish = 2.00 * 8451.344 ppb = 16,902.69 ppb
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Problem 5
How much solid waste is generated in (t/day) from Roorkee and Meerut if their populations
are 1.0 Lac & 15.0 lacs respectively.
Solution:
In Roorkee (small town);
Solid waste generated (g/day) = population x 100 (or 200) g/p/day
Solid waste generated (t/day) = 100000 x 100 (or 200)/1000x1000
Solid waste generated (t/day) = 10 t/day to 20 t/day
In Meerut (medium town);
Solid waste generated (g/day) = population x 300 (or 400) g/p/day
Solid waste generated (t/day) = 1500000 x 300 (or 400)/1000x1000
Solid waste generated (t/day) = 450 t/day to 600 t/day
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Problem 6
When chlorine is used for disinfection of drinking water, chloroform can be produced by the
reaction of chlorine with residual organics in the water. Estimate the ingestion intake rate for
non-carcinogenic effects on an adult resident in a home receiving tap water with an average
chloroform concentration of 75 µg/L. What is the risk? Oral RfD of chloroform is 0.010 mg/(kg d)
Solution
• I=Ce*Ri*Ef*Ed/(Bw*At)
(0.065mg/L) (2L/d)(350 d/year)(30 years)
=
(70 kg)(365 d/year ∗ 30 years)
=2.1 *10-3 mg/(kg d)
1.8 ∗10−3 mg/(kg d)
HQ=I/RfD=
0.010 mg/(kg d)
• HQ is less than one, and we conclude that this level of chloroform constitutes an
acceptable risk.
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Problem 7
If benzene, a known carcinogen, is found in air at a constant concentration of 1 µg/m3,
calculate the risk for exposure to this benzene for an average adult who inhales 20 m 3/day
with 50% absorption for a lifetime. Benzene’s slope factor is SF = 0.015 (mg/[Link])-1
• I=Ce*Ri*Ef*Ed/(Bw*At) • Life time cancer risk (LCR) = I * SF
µ𝑔 𝑚𝑔 𝑚3 𝑑𝑎𝑦
0.50 1 𝑚3 11000µ𝑔 20𝑑𝑎𝑦 350 𝑦𝑟 (70 𝑦𝑟𝑠) – I = intake (mg/kg-d)
– =
(70 kg)(365 d/year ∗ 70 years) – SF=slope factor
– =1.37*10-4 mg/([Link])
• LCR=I* SF • Acceptable threshold is10-6 (1 in a
– = 1.37*10-4 mg/([Link]) * (0.015 [Link]/mg) million chance of adverse effect)
– =2.06*10-6
– Because it exceeds 10-6, this risk is unacceptable
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Thanks
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