● FORMS OF APPLICATION OF CHLORINE

● Chlorine may be applied to water in one of the following

forms:
(i) As bleaching powder or hypochlorite
(ii) As chloramines
(iii) As free chlorine gas
(iv) As chlorine dioxide
Bleaching powder
● Bleaching powder or calcium hypochlorite, Ca(OCl)₂, is a
chlorinated lime containing about 33⅓% of available
chlorine, when freshly made.
● When chlorination was first introduced, bleaching
powder was exclusively used. However, bleaching
powder is not stable, and it loses its strength during
storage or exposure of air.
● It is therefore used only on small installations or under
emergency conditions.
● The process of chlorination with hypochlorites is known
as hypochlorination.
 Chloramines
● Chloramines are the compounds of ammonia and
chlorine.
● The combination of chlorine and ammonia produces a
more stable disinfecting residual than produced by
chlorine alone.
● In this treatment, ammonia as NH₃ is added to the water
just before chlorine is applied.
● The usual proportions are 1 part of ammonia to 4.5 parts
of chlorine by weight.
● Advantages of chloramine-ammonia treatment:
● It is more effective than chlorine alone. Also, its
bactericidal effect persists for a longer duration. The
residual chlorine may be up to 60 to 90% of the chlorine
added, even after 20 hours.
● It prevents bad taste and odour, particularly those due to
 Free Chlorine
● Chlorine is generally applied in gaseous form or in
liquid form.
● Gaseous chlorine is a greenish-yellow poisonous
substance, with a typical odour, and is about 2.48
times heavier than air.
● Liquid chlorine is amber-coloured oily liquid and about
1.44 times as heavy as water.
● The chlorine dose depends upon the following factors:
(i) Organic matter present in water to be disinfected,
(ii) pH value of water,
(iii) Amount of carbon dioxide present in water,
(iv) Temperature, and
(v) Time of contact.
● Out of these, the pH of water has the most
important role to play. The State of New York
recommends that for drinking water at pH 7.0, the
concentration of free available chlorine after 10
minutes detention time should be 0.2 mg/litre,
while at pH equal to 8.0, it should be 0.4 mg/litre.
Chlorine Dioxide (ClO₂)
● Chlorine dioxide gas is unstable, and is therefore
produced at the point of use by passing chlorine
gas through sodium chlorite.
● Chlorine dioxide theoretically has about 2.5 times
the oxidizing power of chlorine.
● Use of chlorine dioxide is generally limited to
special water treatment applications such as
oxidation of iron, manganese, for control of algae
etc.
● It does not react with ammonia and is entirely
harmless in aqueous solution.
 OZONIZATION
● The effectiveness of ozone in the disinfection of water lies
in its high-oxidizing power.
● Ozone is an unstable isotope of oxygen containing 3
atoms of oxygen (O₃) which, while changing to the stable
molecular form (O₂), releases nascent oxygen (O). The
nascent oxygen reduces organic matter present in water
without the production of objectionable tastes and odours
as with chlorine.
● The ozone dose is 2 to 3 mg/l to give a trace to 0.1 mg/l
residual after 10 minutes contact.
● Ozonization is regarded as a ‘natural’ means of
disinfecting water.
● It is a more powerful disinfectant for bacteria and viruses,
than chlorine.
● Its disinfecting action is effective over a wide temperature
and pH range.
● It is, however, costly to manufacture, has very little
residuals present, and is not quite suitable for highly turbid
 ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS
● Ultra-violet rays is an effective method for
disinfecting of clear water.
● The invisible light rays beyond the violet of
spectrum are used which are very powerful in
killing all types of bacteria, cysts, and spores.
● The rays are generated by passing electric current
through a mercury-vapour lamp enclosed in a
quartz bulb. Water requiring disinfection is passed
over the lamp. The effective penetration of the
rays in water is only for a depth of 30 cm or so.
● The process has the advantages of causing no
taste, no odour in the water and presenting no
danger of overdose. The disadvantages are its
high cost and absence of any residual action. Its
use is restricted normally to small installations
 EXCESS LIME
● Excess lime involves the application of sufficient lime for
the combined objectives of softening and disinfecting of
water.
● Coliform reduction may be as high as 99 per cent. Dose to
be given between 10 and 20 mg/l.
● It frequently becomes necessary to remove the excess
lime after the process through recarbonation.
SILVER
● When immersed in water, ‘actuated’ silver has been
observed to exert inhibiting action on bacterial life.
● Tubes of silver electrodes contained in hollow cylinders,
allowing water to flow from outside to inside, are
energized. Dosage is 0.05 to 0.10 mg/l and the period of
contact about 3 hours. The process is called Electro-
Katadyn Process.
● This process is effective in destroying the bacterial spores
and algae present in comparatively clear waters. The
method, however, has not so far been used on a large
 IODINE AND BROMINE
● Iodine and bromine also possess disinfecting power. Their use is
normally restricted to small water supplies such as army camps and
swimming pools.
● Water which is muddy or coloured needs to be filtered before
disinfection. Iodine and bromine are cheaply available in the form of
pellets. Dosage is about 8–10 mg/l. For heavily polluted water, it may
be doubled. The only objection is the resulting medicinal taste.
POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE
● Potassium permanganate, commonly known as “pinki” or “lalpani,” has
been frequently used in individual water supply for disinfection.
● Its action is principally based on its oxidizing capacity on organic
matter. Dosage is 0.5 gram per litre. It is effective against cholera
vibrio, but not very effective against other disease germs.
● It also produces coating on glass or porcelain vessels which is difficult
to be easily cleared without scouring.
● Potassium permanganate is neither regarded satisfactory nor
recommended for water disinfection.
● MISCELLANEOUS METHODS OF WATER
TREATMENT
Water Softening processes
●The reduction or removal of hardness from
water is known as Water Softening.
●Removal of permanent hardness:
Permanent hardness can be removed by
one of the following methods:
●Lime-soda process
●Zeolite process
●Demineralization or de-ionization process
● LIME-SODA PROCESS
● It is essentially a precipitation method of water softening,
commonly known as Clark’s system, in which some
chemicals or reagents are to be added to water.
● Addition of lime reduces only the bicarbonate hardness.
● By addition of lime and soda ash (Na₂CO₃), both the
temporary and permanent (non-carbonate) hardness can
be removed. The method is therefore known as lime-soda
process, in which lime [Ca(OH)₂] and soda (sodium
carbonate) are added to the raw water either separately or
together.
● The process involves the thorough mixing of the
chemicals with water, followed by slow agitation for 30 to
60 minutes to allow completion of chemical reaction.
● Precipitated chemicals are removed by sedimentation or
filtration or both.
● The aim of the lime-soda process is to make the calcium
and magnesium content of the hard water take their
insoluble form (such as calcium carbonate and
● Advantages of Lime Soda Process:
● This method removes iron and manganese also to
some extent.
● The method is better for excessively hard waters,
particularly those high in magnesium hardness, and
for water high in sodium.
● The process can be easily added to an existing filter
plant of any water supply scheme.
● The process increases the pH value of water, which
results in decrease in corrosion of the distribution
system.
● The process is more economical.
● Disadvantages of Lime Soda Process
● A large quantity of sludge is formed in this process,
and hence there are problems of its disposal.
● The process requires skilled supervision.
● ZEOLITE PROCESS
● In this process, also known as the base exchange or
ion-exchange process, no chemicals are added to
water.
● Instead, hard water is passed through a bed of a
special material, loosely called the Zeolite, which has
the property of removing calcium and magnesium
from the water and substituting sodium in their place
by ion-exchange phenomenon.
● Zeolites are complex compounds of aluminium, silica,
and soda, some forms of which are synthetic and
others are naturally occurring.
● The common artificial zeolite is Permutit. It has larger
grains and its colour is white. Its chemical formula is:
SiO₂·Al₂O₃·Na₂O.
● Advantages of Zeolite Process
● No sludge is formed, and hence there are no problems of sludge
disposal.
● The zeolite unit is compact, and hence small space is required.
● The unit can be easily operated. Highly skilled labour is not required
and operating cost is low.
● The process is almost automatic and is free from danger of excess
chemicals in the effluent, since no chemicals are added to water.
● The chemicals involved are cheap and easy to handle.
● Disadvantages of Zeolite Process
● The method is unsuitable for highly turbid water, since suspended
particles get deposited around the zeolite particles.
● The process is unsuitable for water containing iron and manganese.
Iron or manganese-bearing waters either deposit hydroxides on the
surface of the zeolite or react with the zeolite to substitute iron or
manganese for sodium in the zeolite, which is an irreversible reaction.
● There is likelihood of growth of bacteria on the bed of zeolite. It should
therefore be flushed annually with chlorinated water.
 DEMINERALISATION OR DEIONISATION PROCESS
● In this process, minerals are removed from water.
● This complete removal of minerals present in water can be
carried out by first passing the water through a bed of
cation exchange resins, and then through a bed of anion
exchange resins.
● The process of passing the water through cation exchange
resins produces almost similar effects, as are produced in
the previous zeolite method, except that hydrogen (instead
of sodium) is exchanged for the basic metallic ions.
● The cation exchange resins are phenol aldehyde
condensation products, which on sulphonation produce
resinous mass having base exchange properties. Their
chemical formula may be represented by H₂R, where H
represents the hydrogen ions and R represents the organic
part of the substance.
● The water coming out of the cation-exchanger now
contains diluted carbonic acid, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric
acid, etc. and can be removed by passing the water
through a bed of anion exchange resin.
● The anion-exchange resins are formed by the
condensation of amines with formaldehyde, and are
capable of replacing the anions (such as Cl⁻ or SO₄²⁻
ions) with their hydroxyl ions.
● The chemical formula for such a resin may be written as
ROH, where OH represents the hydroxyl ions and R
represents the organic part of the substance.
● The water coming out from this anion exchanger will
then be free from minerals. The extent of removal will
depend upon the strength and freshness of the resins
used.
● The completely demineralised water can sometimes be
added to raw water, so as to obtain the resultant supplies
of any desired mineral content.
● This process is too costly for municipal use. However, it
is as pure as distilled water and been found useful for
manufacturing soft drinks and in industrial processes
where water free from mineral salts is required. However,
the water to be treated should have a turbidity of less
 Addition to and Removal of Fluorides from Water : Fluoridation
and Defluoridation
● Fluorides in drinking water, must neither be totally absent nor
should exceed an optimum value of about 1 mg/l.
● To ensure this, fluorides are added to waters found deficient in
fluoride concentrations, under a process known as Fluoridation.
● When, however, the fluoride concentration in a given water
exceeds the limiting value of 1 to 1.5 mg/l, the fluorides are
removed from water under a process known as Defluoridation.
● Fluoridation
● When fluoride concentration in water supply is less than an
optimum value of about 1 mg/l, the water proves harmful, as it
may result in dental caries in children. During the formation of
permanent teeth in children, scarcity of fluoride in consumed
water may lead to formation of weaker tooth enamel leading to
early tooth decay.
● Fluoride also proves beneficial to older people in reducing
hardening of the arteries; and as fluoride stimulates bone
formation.
● The fluoridation is achieved by the addition of outside fluoride
compounds. The compounds which may be used for adding
fluoride to the water are:
sodium fluoride (NaF), sodium silico fluoride (Na₂SiF₆), hydro-
fluosilicic acid (H₂SiF₆), etc. Of these compounds, sodium
fluoride is most widely used, and is generally fed under
pressure, as a solution, through a chemical feed equipment.
● However, the dose of fluoride should be carefully worked out,
because the presence of excess fluoride (above 1 to 1.5 mg/l)
is also harmful, as to cause spotting and discolouration
(mottling) of teeth.
● With the increasing exposure of children to fluoride, the
advantage of water fluoridation may be outweighed by the risk
of fluorosis from over-exposure. Hence, fluoridation is
increasingly becoming outdated and obsolete.
● Defluoridation
● Excess intake of fluoride can lead to dental fluorosis, skeletal
fluorosis, or non-skeletal fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is
characterised by discoloured, blackened, mottled, or chalky
white teeth. Skeletal fluorosis leads to severe and permanent
bone and joint deformations.
● Non-skeletal fluorosis leads to gastro-intestinal
problems and neurological disorders. Fluoride can
damage a foetus and adversely affect the IQ of children.
● So it is very important to remove excess fluoride from
public or individual water supplies.
● The technique of removal of fluoride from water is
known as defluoridation.

● Methods of Defluoridation
● The following technologies are generally used for
removing fluorides from water:
● Absorption by Activated Alumina (AA) — Commonly
known as Prasanti Technology
● Ion Exchange Adsorption Method
● Nalgonda Technique developed by NEERI (Most
coomonly used)
● Reverse Osmosis Process
● Nalgonda Technique
● Ground water containing excess fluoride is treated by
Nalgonda technique.
● This technique employs chemicals which are readily
available, and easy to operate and maintain, using local
skills.
● This technique not only helps in the removal of fluoride,
but also helps in removing colour, odour, turbidity,
bacteria and organic contaminants from raw supplies.
● This technique uses aluminium salt (alum) for removing
fluoride. The raw water is firstly mixed with adequate
amount of lime (CaO) or sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) and
thoroughly mixed. Alum solution is then added, and
water is stirred slowly for about 10 minutes, and allowed
to settle for nearly one hour. The precipitated sludge is
discarded, and the clear supernatant containing
permissible amount of fluoride is withdrawn for use.
● This technique is easy to operate and maintain.
● Iron and Manganese Removal
● Iron is present in water either as ferrous
bicarbonate or ferrous sulphate. Manganese is
often associated with the iron present. Iron and
manganese, when present in amounts greater
than 1.5 mg/l, are objectionable .
● Methods for the removal of iron and manganese
are based on converting the soluble ferrous and
manganese compounds to the insoluble ferric and
manganic compounds and removing the
precipitates so formed.
(a) Aeration - It is an effective method in
precipitating out iron when present as ferrous
bicarbonate and subsequent removal through the
processes of sedimentation and filtration. If,
however, iron is present as ferrous sulphate, it
would be necessary to add lime.
(b) Base Exchange Process –
● The zeolite bed is made of manganese zeolite
(obtained by treating the base exchange material
with manganese sulphate and potassium
permanganate).
● The iron and manganese of raw water are oxidized
to insoluble hydrated oxides and later removed by
filtration.
● Potassium permanganate is used for
regeneration process. The raw water should not
be aerated prior to entering the base exchanger;
otherwise, the already precipitated iron and
manganese may clog the zeolite bed.
(c) Chlorination
Chlorination, either alone or in combination with
aeration, is also sometimes employed.
● Removal of Salt and Dissolved Solids from Water; i.e.
Desalination
● The water which contains common salt or sodium
chloride dissolved in it, has a peculiar salty or brackish
taste, and therefore, it is named as salt water or brackish
water.
● Since the salt waters have a brackish taste, they cannot
be used for drinking, unless the salt content is removed
or reduced.
● The process of removing this salt from water is known
as desalination, and the resultant water which is free
from salt is known as fresh water.
● Although desalination strictly means removal of salt, yet
since common salt (NaCl) cannot be removed in
isolation, this term is practically used to describe the
process which is used for the reduction of total
dissolved solids (TDS) in water, which is measured in
mg/l.
● Desalination is a costly process. The water obtained by
●Methods of Desalination
●The various methods which are generally
adopted for the conversion of salt water
into fresh water are :
●Desalination by evaporation and distillation
●Electrodialysis method
●Reverse osmosis method
●Freezing process
●Solar distillation method