CVG 2132

Fundamentals of Environmental
Engineering

ENGINEERING UNITS & WATER

CHEMISTRY

Professor Rob Delatolla

Office: A-108
Email: robert.delatolla@uottawa.ca
ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING UNITS
(Mines: Chapter 2)

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 ENGINEERING UNITS
SI Units (International System of Units) are the units generally
used in this course.

Mass/Mass Units:
Mass Fraction:

mass fraction = mi / mtotal

where mi = mass of constituent

mtotal = total mass of solution (same units as mi)

Mass Percentage:

mass percentage = (mi * 100%)/ mtotal

Solution: A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances.

CVG Mass/mass units

2132 are commonly expressed as parts per million
- ppm or parts
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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Mass/Mass Units:
Parts Per Million (ppm) is defined as the number of units of
mass of a constituent of interest per million units of the total
mass of the sample.

mass fraction = mi/mtotal x (ppm/106 mass fraction) = 10-6

ppm

1 ppm/106 mass fraction = 1

ppm = mi / mtotal x 106 or mg/kg

ppb = mi / mtotal x 109 or ng/kg

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ppt = m / m x 1012 or pg/kg
 ENGINEERING UNITS
Mass/Mass Units:
Example: Express the concentration of solute X in solvent Y in
units of ppm.

[X] in units of ppm = (grams of X) / (grams of X + Y) *

106

Example: A 1 kg sample of soil is analyzed for the chemical

solvent trichloroethylene (TCE). The analysis indicates that the
sample contains 5.0 mg of TCE. What is the TCE concentration
in ppm and ppb?

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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Volume/Volume Units:

Volume Fraction:

volume fraction = vi / vtotal

where vi = volume of constituent

vtotal = total volume of solution (same units as vi)

Volume Percentage:

volume percentage = (vi * 100%)/ vtotal

CVG Volume/volume units are commonly used in

2132 the air pollution
niche of environmental engineering and are
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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Volume/Volume Units:
Parts Per Million by Volume (ppmv) is defined as the number of
units of volume of a constituent of interest per million units of
the total volume of the sample.

ppmv = vi / vtotal x 106

ppbv = vi / vtotal x 109

pptv = vi / vtotal x 1012

The advantage of volume/volume units is that gaseous

concentrations reported in these units do not change as a gas
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is compressed or expanded.
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ENGINEERING UNITS
Expressions of density:
Density is a measure of the concentration of matter and is
expressed in three ways:
Mass density, : mass per unit volume = m/v
Specific weight, : force per unit volume = x g
Units often expressed as kN/m3

The specific weight of a fluid is related to its density by

gravity.
Specific gravity, S: unit less fraction of densities relative to
water = / w
Also calculated as S = / w

where the subscript w denotes water.

w = 1,000 kg/m3; w = 9.81 kN/m3

Unless
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kg/m3
ENGINEERING UNITS
Expressions of viscosity:

Viscosity is the resistance of fluids to movement; a measure of

internal friction and is expressed two ways:
Dynamic viscosity, or absolute viscosity, : mass per unit
length and time.

Units commonly used are kg/m/s or Pa/s.

Kinematic viscosity, : dynamic viscosity divided by the

density of the fluid at that temperature= /

Units commonly used are m2/s.

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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Conversion of units:
Density:

= mi/vi

Concentration:
[constituent]= mi/vtotal

Example: Substance A is dissolved in homogenous solution.

The mass of constituent A is MA and the volume of the solution
is VA. What equation is used to find the concentration of A?

[A] = MA / VA

Solution A is added to solution B. Find the resulting

concentration of A in the new solution. Note solution B does
not contain any measurable concentration of constituent A.
CVG 2132= M / (V + V )
[A]
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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Converting Mass Fraction to Concentration:

[constituent]= (mi / mtotal) x (mtotal / vtotal)

[constituent]= mass fraction x total

Converting ppm to mg/L for aqueous solutions (class

example):

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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Converting Units:

Example: Convert 12 mg/L to kg/m3.

Volumetric Flux (Flow Rate):

Q = volume/ time = V/t

Note: V is usually vtotal

Mass Flux (Mass Flow Rate):

F = mass/ time = M/t

CVG 2132 Note: M can be mtotal or mi

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 ENGINEERING UNITS
Converting Flow Rate to Mass Flux for Total Mass:

FT= Q x T

Converting Flow Rate to Mass Flux for a Constituent of

Interest:

Fi= Q x C i

Example: If the flow rate is 1240 m3/d in a groundwater aquifer

and the concentration of a benzene in the aquifer is 26 mg/L, find
the mass flux of benzene.

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 WATER CHEMISTRY
(Mines: Chapter 3)

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 SOLIDS IN WATER

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SOLIDS IN WATER

Solids or particulates in mixtures can exist as one of three

classifications: suspended, colloidal, or dissolved.

Mixtures and solutions contains a variety of solid/particulate

material ranging from suspended material to colloidal material and
to dissolved material.
Suspend Colloidal Dissolve
ed d

100 10 0.00 10 -4

0 1
m = 10-6
m

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SOLIDS IN WATER

Suspended, colloidal or dissolved particles are not limited to

any particular group of substances.

Classified according to size.

Suspended particles are defined by the fact that they can be

removed by gravity settling.

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COLLOIDAL ELECTRICAL DOUBLE LAYER
Electrical Double Layer:
Stern Layer: Adsorbed layer of cations that becomes bound
to the surface.
Diffuse Layer: A loose layer of ions beyond the Stern layer.

Double
Layer

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ORGANIC SOLIDS ISSUES WITH DRINKING
WATER
Natural Organic Matter (NOM): Term used to describe
particulate and dissolved organic matter (usually detritus in
nature) found in natural waters.

Colloidal NOM are disinfection by-product (DBP)

precursors.

Electrical double layer that forms around colloids causes them

to remain in suspension and are therefore difficult to
remove by physical means

Colloids are therefore of important concern in potable water

treatment.

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SOLIDS IN SOLUTION

Settleable Solids are classified as the solids that will settle out
of suspension within a specified time period.

Turbidity is a measure of light scattering properties of the water.

Used an indirect measurement of the quality of the water.

Solids can be classified into various solids fractions:

Total Solids, Suspended Solids, Dissolved Solids,

Volatile Solids and Fixed Solids.

Classified from a series of filtration, drying and ignition

tests on a water sample.

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SOLIDS IN SOLUTION

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SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Solids classification in solution:

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SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Total Solids (TS): Total Suspended Solids (TSS) & Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS).
Filtration by glass filter with nominal pore size of 2.0 m or
less.
Dry and weigh the filter (with TSS attached) to measure the
TSS.
Dry and weigh the fluid passing through filter (with TDS
suspended) to measure the TDS.

Total Suspended Solids (TSS): Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS)

& Fixed Suspended Solids (FSS).
Ignite the dried filter (with TSS attached) at 500 50C.
Weigh the filter (with FSS attached) to measure the FSS.
Difference in weight between TSS (non-ignited solids) and FSS
(ignited solids that remain on the filter) is the VSS.

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SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): Volatile Dissolved Solids (VDS) &
Fixed Dissolved Solids (FDS).
Ignite the dried solids (TDS) at 500 50C.
Weigh the solids remaining to measure the FDS.
Difference in weight between TDS (non-ignited solids) and
FDS (ignited solids that remain) is the VDS.

TSS is of key importance in wastewater treatment plants where

the standard provincial effluent regulations are set at 25 mg/L.

VSS is used as a quick, indirect, approximate measure of

biomass in treatment systems and in sludge.

TDS is comprised of colloids (0.001 to 1 m) and dissolved solids.

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REMOVAL OF TOXIC SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Suspended solids can be removed by physical means: settling,
filtration centrifugation.

Colloids are often removed by physiochemical means of

coagulation and flocculation.

Change the electrical repulsion of the colloids through the

addition of chemical additives and cause the colloids to
coagulate into larger particles.

Dissolved solids must be removed using more advanced

methods: distillation, precipitation, adsorption or extraction.
REMOVAL OF TOXIC SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Distillation: Either the liquid or the substance itself is changed to
the gas phase.

Precipitation: The substance in the liquid phase combines with

another chemical to form a solid, thus achieving separation from
the water

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REMOVAL OF TOXIC SOLIDS IN SOLUTION
Adsorption: The dissolved substance attaches to the surface of
solid particles by either chemical or physical attractive forces.

Extraction: A substance is separated from water or a solid by

extracting it into another liquid.
 THE MOLE CONCEPT

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PERIODIC TABLE

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THE MOLE - DEFINED

Mole (abbreviated mol): Defined as the number equal to the

number of carbon atoms in 12.01 grams of carbon.

A mol consists of 6.022 x 1023 units.

The number 6.022 x 1023 is also called Avogadros number.

Very useful number because 1 atom of carbon weighs

12.01 amu (no scale can measure this) but 1 mol of carbon
atoms weighs 12.01 g (perfect for a scale).

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THE MOLE - DEFINED
The mol related to all elements.

1 mol of an element equals molecular weight in grams of

that element.

Sample Question: Calculate the number of moles and the number

of atoms in 57.7 g of sulfur.
1 mol of sulfur equals 6.022 x 1023 atoms of sulfur.
1 mol of sulfur equals 32.06 g of sulfur.

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MOLAR MASS DEFINED

Molar mass: Defined as the mass (in grams) of 1 mol of the

substance.

Molar mass of an element is the elements molecular weight.

How many grams of oxygen and hydrogen are in 10.0g of water?

How many Cl- ions are present in 34.25g of MgCl2?

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 CHEMISTRY OF SOLUTIONS

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CHARACTERSITICS OF A SOLUTION
Solution: Defined as a homogeneous mixture of two or more
substances that are uniformly intermingled.
Homogeneous mixtures: have the same composition
throughout the entire mixture.
Solutions can be in any of the three phases (solid, liquid of gas).
Solvent: Defined as the dissolving medium in a solution.
Water is the is the solvent in aqueous solutions.
Solute: Defined as the substance dissolved in a solvent to form a
solution.
Solubility: Defined as the amount of a substance that dissolves
in a given volume of solvent at a given temperature.

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CHARACTERSITICS OF A SOLUTION
Concentration: Defined as the mass of the solute present in the
solution per total volume of the solution.
Molarity (M): Defined as the mass of the solute present in the
solution measured in terms of moles per liter of solution.
Molarity (M) = (moles of solute/liters of solution)
The resulting units are mol/L.
Calculate the molarity of a solution prepared by dissolving 15.6 g
of solid KBr in enough water to make 1.25L of solution.

AW (molecular weight) KBr = 39.10 + 79.90 = 119.0 g/mol

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CHARACTERSITICS OF A SOLUTION
Calculate the molarity of a solution prepared by dissolving 8.55 g
of solid MgCl2 in enough water to make 65.0 mL of solution.

65.0mL = 0.065L

AW (molecular weight) MgCl2 = 95.21 g / mol

8.55 g MgCl2 x (1 mol MgCl2 /95.21 g MgCl2) =

0.0898 mol

0.0898 mol/0.065L = 1.38M

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CHARACTERSITICS OF A SOLUTION
Molality (m): Defined as the moles of the solute present in the
solution measured in terms of moles per kilogram of solvent
(not per kg of solution).
Normality (N): Defined as the grams-equivalent of the solute
present in the solution measured in terms of grams-equivalence
per liter of solution.
The resulting units are g-eq/L.
Grams / grams-equivalence are the units for the
equivalent weight (EW) of a constituent.
EW = molecular weight (MW) / n
n = n number, is the number of electrons transferred in
a redox reaction or the number of protons transferred in an
acid/base reaction or the number of hydrogen protons
exchanged in a buffering reaction. Units of n are g-eq/mol.
N = n*M
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Measurement Notation Generic Formula Units

Mass Percentage - %

Volume percentage - %

M or
Molarity M
mol/L
M or
Molality m
mol/Kg

Normality N N

Part per million ppm ppm

Part per billion ppb ppb

Part per trillion ppt ppt

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 CHEMICAL REACTIONS &
STOICHIOMETRY

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STOICHIOMETRY
Stoichiometry: The theory of proportions in which chemical
compounds combine.
Stoichiometrically balanced equations display the quantity or
relative number of mols of reactants and products that
partake in the reaction.
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

This balanced reaction shows that:

1 mol of gaseous methane reacts with
2 mols of gaseous oxygen to produce
1 mol of gaseous carbon dioxide and
2 mols of gaseous water (i.e. vapor)

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STOICHIOMETRY

CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

1 mol of 2 mols of 1 mol of carbon 2 mols of

+ +
methane oxygen dioxide water

1 molecule of 2 molecules of 1 molecules of 2 molecules

+ +
methane oxygen carbon dioxide of water

1 g of 1 g of carbon
+ 2 g of oxygen + 2 g of water
methane dioxide

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STOICHIOMETRY

CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

1 mol of 2 mols of 1 mol of carbon 2 mols of

+ +
methane oxygen dioxide water

1 molecule of 2 molecules of 1 molecules of 2 molecules

+ +
methane oxygen carbon dioxide of water

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STOICHIOMETRY

Example: Carbon Emission from Natural Gas

The worldwide combustion of methane, CH4 (natural gas),
provides about 10.9 x 1016 kJ of energy per year. Methanes
energy content is approximately 39 x 103 kJ/m3 (at STP) and its
density is 22.4 x 10-3 m3/mol. Greenhouse gas emissions is
often expressed as mass of CO2 as carbon. What mass of CO2
as carbon is emitted into the atmosphere each year due to
methane combustion? Express the emission rate as metric
tons (tonnes) of carbon per year. 1 tonne is equal to 1000 kg.

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STOICHIOMETRY

1.5 gigatonnes of C/yr (1.5 Gt C/yr) represents about 20% of the

total, worldwide carbon emissions that enters our atmosphere due
to fossil fuel burning alone.
What are the effects of the anthropogenic activity of burning fossil
fuels:
Greenhouse effect.

Complexity of additional environmental effects.

Coal burning effects go beyond greenhouse effects.

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 CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM

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CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM
Chemical equilibrium: The condition when the rate of the
forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.
Described mathematically: K (equilibrium constant)
K is based on thermodynamics of the reaction.
aA + bB cC + dD

Units must be in activity or Molarity (for dilute solutions).

Units are based on activity measurements and by definition the
activity of a pure liquid or solid is 1. Therefore the
concentrations of pure solids and liquids are dropped from the
equilibrium equation.

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CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM

K is a function of temperature.

Since K is a very small number, it is reported as pK

p denotes the negative logarithm (base 10)

pK = - log K

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