Engineering

Chemistry
CHY 1701
Dr. G. Santosh
Assistant Professor
Chemistry division, SAS
Email: santoshg@vit.ac.in
Phone: 044-3993 1597
1
 Textbooks
• O. G. Palanna, Engineering Chemistry, Tata
McGraw-Hill Education, Edition 2E.

• P. C. Jain & Monika Jain, Engineering

Chemistry, Dhanpatrai publishers, 2005

2
 Modules 1
Water Technology

Module 1
Characteristics of hard water - hardness, DO, TDS in water and their
determination – numerical problems in hardness determination by EDTA;
Modern techniques of water analysis for industrial use - Disadvantages of
hard water in industries.

3
 Introduction
• Most essential & basic component of life
• Incredibly fine-tuned properties to sustain life
• Water covers 71% of Earth’s surface
• Yet 97% of all water is saline (ocean)
• Fresh water (3%) – 2% locked in ice caps &
glaciers
• Ground water – 0.61%
• Freshwater lakes - 0.01%
• Essential in living systems, industrial processes,
agriculture & domestic use
Life without water is unimaginable!!

4
 Sources of water
• Surface water – Rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans
o Rain is most essential to replenish surface water
o Dissolves gases like CO2, SO2, NO2 etc

• Underground water – springs, wells

• Glaciers, snow

5
 Surface Water
River water
 Sources of river water, rain and spring
 Has considerable amount of dissolved and suspended
impurities
 Eg. Cl-, SO42-, HCO3- of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fen+, mineral
acids, K+, Mn2+, NO3-, F-, SiO2, organic matter, sand, rocks
etc.

Lake water
 Constant chemical composition
 Contains less amount of dissolved minerals
 Contains more amount of organic matter

Sea water
 Most impure of all forms of natural water
 3.5% dissolved salts, 2,6% is NaCl
6
 Impurities in water

Naturally available water is characterised by measurable

quantities such as
• Turbidity
Physical impurities
• suspended solids, total solids
• Colour
• Odour
• Taste
Chemical impurities
• pH
• conductivity
• hardness
• Bacteria and micro-organisms
Biological impurities
7
 Impurities in water
Turbidity
• Suspended solids and colloids make
water turbid
• Clay, silt, finely divided matter,
planktons
• Sedimentation, coagulation and
filtration can remove turbidity
• Adsorption on activated carbon

8
 Impurities in water
Colour
• Due to dissolved salts of iron, manganese etc, humus
materials, tannins, peat, industrial effluents
• Yellow colouration often due to Cr and organic
impurities
• Yellowish red may be due to iron
• Red-brown colour may indicate peaty matter

9
 Impurities in water
Odour and taste

• Organic and inorganic compounds contribute to both odour and taste

• Dissolved minerals of Fe, Al, Mn, lime, salts, dissolved CO 2

Odour maybe due to

• Living organisms

• Decaying vegetation

• Presence of compounds of N, S and P

• Putrefying proteins and other organic matter in sewage

• Industrial effluents containing alcohol, aldehydes, phenols, esters,

ketones etc

10
 Chemical impurities
• Chemical impurities from industries such as dye, paint, varnish, drug,
insecticide, pesticide, detergent, pulp, textile, tannery

• Acidity (pH) - number of free hydrogen ion

o Pure water pH = 7 (neutral) - suitable for plant and animal life
o Acid rain - caused by presence of CO2, SOx, NOx, HCl(g).
o Ground and surface water becomes acidic by industrial wastes.

• Dissolved gases
o CO2 and O2 most commonly found dissolved in water – concentration
depends on temperature, pressure and salt content in water.
o Dissolved CO2 has no significance but dissolved O2 induces corrosion.
o Dissolved NH3 arises from decomposition of nitrogenous organic
matter.

11
 Chemical impurities
• Minerals from rocks and industrial effluents
• Minerals acids, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Fe2+, CO3, 2- Mn2+, HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-, NO3-

Biological impurities
• Algae, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and worms
• High counts in surface waters, but deep well waters have low counts
• Algae, fungi and bcteria are the most common
• They form slime which can cause corrosion and fouling
• Slime also clogs spray nozzles in AC circulating pumps
• Chlorination disinfects water

12
 Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
o DO is measure of health of the water. Natural water bodies has 5-8
mg/l.
o Oxygen in water – important for survival of aquatic animals and plants.

o O2 transferred from atmosphere into surface waters, photosynthesis of

aquatic plants.

o DO level measured in ppm (i.e) No. of O2 molecule per million total

molecules
o Factors affecting DO: Temp., aquatic plant population, stream flow,
altitude, human activities, organic waste etc.
o Cold, fresh water holds more water than warm or salty water.

o DO in a water can be determined by Winkler’s method.

13
 Winkler’s
Method
1. To a water sample, Manganous sulphate and alkali-iodide (mixture of
potassium iodide and potassium hydroxide solution) are added, which
produces white flocculent precipitate of managnous hydroxide
MnSO4 +2KOH  Mn(OH)2 + K2SO4

2. DO then reacts with MnSO4 forming a brownish manganic oxide

precipitate
2Mn(OH)2 + O2  2MnO(OH)2 (brown ppt)

3. When the samples are ready to be titrated, H2SO4 is added to redissolve

the brownish ppt. Now Manganic hydroxide is converted to manganic
sulphate
2MnO(OH)2 + 2H2SO4  2Mn(SO4)2 +6H2O

4. This manganic sulphate immediately reacts with KI, liberating the

number of moles of iodine (I2) exactly equivalent to the number of moles
of O2 present in the sample
MnO(OH)2(s) + 2 I–(aq) + 4H+ → Mn2+(aq) + I2(aq) + 3H2O
5. This liberated iodine is titrated against standard thiosulphate solution,
with starch as an indicator
– –
 (TDS)

• Amount of particles dissolved in water

• Sources are leaves, silt, industrial waste and sewage, runoff from urban
areas, road salts, fertilizers and pesticides
• Rain water contains less than 10mg/L of TDS
• Drinking water should contain TDS levels of 25-50 mg/L

15
 Method to determine TDS in water sample
Gravimetric method

The material residue left in a vessel after evaporation of the sample and its
subsequent drying @ 103 – 105 °C is known as TDS

Principle: 50mL of well-mixed sample is evaporated in a pre-weighed dish

and dried to constant weight in an oven at 103-105 °C. the increase in
weight over that of the empty dish gives the total solids

Total solids (mg/L) = (W1-W2)x 1000/ Sample volume (mL)

Where W1 = Weight of dried residue+dish
W2 = Weight of empty dish

This method is very accurate but is time consuming

16
Conductivity method

Principle: Electrical conductivity of water is directly related to the

concentration of dissolved ionized solids in the water.
• Ions from the dissolved solids in water create the ability for that water to
conduct an electric current, which can be measured using a conventional
conductivity meter or TDS meter.
• When correlated with laboratory TDS measurements, conductivity
provides an approximate value for the TDS concentration, usually to
within 10% accuracy.

• The relationship of TDS and specific conductance of groundwater can be

approximated by the following equation:

TDS = ke.EC

where TDS is expressed in mg/L and EC is the electrical conductivity in

microsiemens per centimeter at 25 °C. The correlation factor k e varies
between 0.55 and 0.8

17
 BOD
• BOD is a measure of the amount of oxygen needed (mg/L or ppm) by
bacteria and other microorganisms, to oxidise the organic matter present
in a water sample over a period of 5 days
• Drinking water should have BOD < 1ppm. Raw sewage BOD = 500-800
ppm
• Amount of DO that bacteria may consume to oxidise organic matter in
water
• High BOD implies low DO
• Do of a sample is measured before and after incubation for 5days. The
difference in DO levels is the measure of BOD in the sample

18
 COD
o It is an indirect measure of chemical compound present in
given water. COD reflects the water quality

Less COD = good water

o It indicates mass of O2 required per liter of solution (mg/l or

ppm) to decompose chemical impurities.

o COD – No. of milligram of O2 required to oxidize all oxidisable

chemical impurities present in 1000 ml of waste water by
strong oxidizing agents (K2Cr2O7).

o COD>BOD

19
 Hardness of water
o Hard water prevents soap from lathering. Instead it forms a white
precipitate known as soap scum
o Hardness of water is due to the presence of certain salts of Ca 2+, Mg2+ and
other heavy metals
o Soap is a sodium or potassium salt of long chain fatty acid e.g sodium
palmitate, sodium stearate etc.
o With hard water, soaps form a white precipitate which is a calcium or
magnesium salt of the fatty acid

2 C17H35COONa + CaCl2 (C17H35COO)2Ca + 2 Nacl

sodium stearate calcium sterate

soluble in water insoluble! inwater

white scum

Soft water does not contain calcium and magnesium salts in it!

20
 Temporary hardness

Hard water

Permanent Hardness
 hardness
o Due to presence of dissolved bicarbonates (HCO3-) of calcium, magnesium

and the carbonates of iron (CO32-)

o temporary hardness is destroyed by boiling such water.

o The bicarbonates get decomposed to carbonates yielding insoluble

carbonates or hydroxides, which deposit as crus tin the bottom of the
vessel
o Thus boiling softens temporary hard water
Ca(HCO3)2 CaCO3 + H2O + CO2

insoluble

Mg(HCO3)2 Mg(OH)2 + 2CO2

insoluble
22
 hardness
o Due to presence of dissolved sulphates, chlorides and nitrates of Mg and Ca
o Not removed by boiling

Substances which do not contribute to

hardness

Eg. NaCl, KCl, SiO2, Na2SO4, Fe2O3, K2SO4 etc.

23
 o Total hardness of water measures the concentration of multivalent cations.
o From the concentration of the anions, one can estimate the permanent and
temporary hardness
Expressing hardness in Equivalents of CaCO3

• Hardness causing salts (Ca(HCO3)2, Mg(HCO3)2 CaCl2, MgCl2, CaSO4, MgSO4)

and non-hardness salts (NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4 etc) can be conveniently

expressed in terms of CaCO3 equivalents

[Mass of hardness [Chemical equivalent of CaCO3]
Equivalents of CaCO3 = X
producing substances] Chemical equivalence of
hardness producing substances

Mass usually expressed in mg and hardness expressed as

mg/L or ppm
Why CaCO3 is chosen to express hardness as it equivalents?

CaCO3; M.wt = 100, Equiv. wt. = 50

Most insoluble salt in water, thus it precipitates during water treatment.

24
 Hardness Molecular Chemical Multiplication factor
producing weight equivalent
substance

Ca(HCO3)2 162 81 100/162 or 50/81

Mg(HCO3)2 146 73 100/146 or 50/73

136 68 100/136 or 50/68
CaSO4
111 55.5 100/111 or 50/55.5
CaCl2
120 60 100/120 or 50/60
MgSO4
95 47.5 100/95 or 50/47.5
MgCl2
100 50 100/100 or 50/50
CaCO3 84 42 100/84 or 50/42
MgCO3 44 22 100/44 or 50/22
CO2 61 61 100/61

HCO-3 17 17 100/17

OH- 60 30 100/60 or 50/30

CO32-
25
 Express the concentration of the following in terms of
CaCO3 equivalents
81 mg of

Ca(HCO3)2

146 mg of

Mg(HCO3)2

34 mg of CaSO4

[Mass of hardness [Chemical equivalent of CaCO3]

222 mg of CaCl2 X
Equivalents of CaCO3 = producing substances] Chemical equivalence of
hardness producing substances
15 mg of MgSO4

quivalents of CaCO3 For 81 mg of Ca(HCO3)2

81 * 100/162 = 50 ppm CaCO3

equiv 26
Express the concentration of the following in terms of
CaCO3 equivalents

81 mg of 50 mg of CaCO3

Ca(HCO3)2 100 mg of CaCO3

146 mg of ≡ 25 mg of CaCO3

Mg(HCO3)2
200 mg of CaCO3

34 mg of CaSO4
12.5 mg of CaCO3

222 mg of CaCl2

15 mg of MgSO4 27
 Water hardness expressed in CaCO3 equivalents

Soft : 0 – 17 mg/L or ppm

Moderately hard : 60 – 120 mg/L or ppm

Hard : 120 – 180 mg/L or ppm

Very hard : 180 mg/L or ppm and above

28
Units of Hardness

29
Unit conversion

 1 ppm = 1 mg/L = 0.1° Fr = 0.07 ° Cl

 1 mg/L = 1 ppm = 0.1° Fr = 0.07 ° Cl

 1° Fr = 0.7 ° Cl = 10 ppm = 10 mg/L

 1° Cl = 1.433 ° Fr = 14.3 ppm = 14.3 mg/L

30
 Numerical problem 1
Calculate the temporary and permanent hardness of a water sample
in terms of CaCO3 equivalent. It has the following salts.
M.Wt
Mg(HCO3)2 – 146 mg/L Ca(HCO3)2 = 162
Ca(HCO3)2 – 81 mg/L Mg(HCO3)2 = 146
CaSO4 – 13.6 mg/L CaSO4 = 136
MgCl2 – 38 mg/L MgCl2 = 95
CaCl2 – 166.5 mg/L CaCl2 = 111
NaCl = 58.5
NaCl – 200 mg/L
a) Determine CaCO3 equivalents of each component
b) Categorise into ions contributing to temporary, permanent and no
hardness
c) Sum up the concentration for each category
Mg(HCO3)2 – 100 mg/L equiv Temporary hardness =
CaCO3 150mg/L
Ca(HCO3)2 – 50 mg/L equiv CaCO3 Permanent hardness = 200
CaSO4 – 10 mg/L equiv CaCO3 mg/L
MgCl2 – 40 mg/Lequiv CaCO3 Total hardness = 350 mg/L
31
CaCl – 150 mg/Lequiv CaCO
 Numerical problem 2
An analyzed sample of water containing only Ca(HCO3)2
is found to contain 150 ppm of hardness. Calculate the
amount of Ca(HCO3)2 dissolved in that water sample.

Ans = 243 ppm

32
 Numerical problem 3
A precipitate of 0.110 g of CaC2O4.H2O was obtained
from 250 mL of water sample. Express the calcium
content in the sample in ppm.

33
EDTA Estimation of hardness
method
• Complexometric titration
• EDTA is a hexadentate ligand, complexes many multivalent metal cations
• Eriochrome black T is the indicator (blue) which turns red in presence of
Mg2+ or Ca2+
• Ammonia buffer (NH4Cl+NH4OH) to be added to maintain alkaline pH
• EBT, when added in small quantity to hard water turns red due to a weak
complex formation with Ca2+ and Mg2+
• When EDTA is titrated into this solution, EDTA forms stronger complex
with free Ca2+ and Mg2+ (uncomplexed with EBT).
• Once all Mg2+ and Ca2+ are complexed with EDTA, any more addition will
remove the metal ion from Ca-EBT or Mg-EBT complex, releasing the free
uncomplexed EBT.
• Thus the solution turns red to blue at the end point!

35 35
Estimation of hardness of water by EDTA
method
Step I : Preparation of standard Hard water
1g of pure dry CaCO3 is dissolved in 1L of distilled water.
1000 mg of CaCO3 is present in 1000 mL of water
Or 1 mg of CaCO3 is present in 1mL of standard hard water

Step 2: Standardization of EDTA solution

50mL of standard HW+ 10mL buffer + few drops of EBT indicator
and let the volume of EDTA consumed = V1mL

Therefore, V1mL of EDTA consumed by = 50mL Std.HW

(1mL Std.HW contains = 1mg CaCO3)
V1 mL EDTA is consumed by = 50mg CaCO3 eq
1mL EDTA will be consumed by = 50/V1 mg CaCO3 eq

36
Step 3: Estimation of Total Hardness using Standardized EDTA solution
50mL of sample hard water + 10mL buffer + few drops of EBT indicator and
let the volume of EDTA consumed = V2 mL

Therefore, 50mL Sample. H W = V2mL of EDTA

We know that, 1mL EDTA = 50/V1 mg CaCO3 eq
V2mL EDTA will contain = (50/V1)*V2 mg CaCO3 eq

Therefore, 50 mL sample HW contains = (50/V1)*V2 mg CaCO3 eq

50 * V2
And 1L sample HW contains = * 1000 mg/L CaCO3
V1 *50

Total Hardness = (V2/V1)*1000 ppm

37
Step 4: Estimation of Permanent Hardness
50mL of Boiled sample hard water + 10mL buffer + few drops of EBT indicator
and let the volume of EDTA consumed = V3 mL

Therefore, 50mL Boiled sample. H W = V3mL of EDTA

We know that, 1mL EDTA = 50/V1 mg CaCO3 eq
V2mL EDTA will contain = (50/V1)*V3 mg CaCO3 eq

Therefore, 50 mL sample HW contains = (50/V1)*V3 mg CaCO= eq

And 1L sample HW contains = 50 * V3 * 1000 mg/L CaCO3
V1 *50

Permanent Hardness = (V3/V1)*1000 ppm

Temporary Hardness = (Total – Permanent )

38
• 50 mL of a standard hard water containing 1 mg of
pure CaCO3 per 1 mL, consumed 20 mL of EDTA. 50
mL of a water sample consumed 25 mL of EDTA
solution using EBT indicator. Calculate total hardness
of the water sample in 1L.

• Ans = 1250 ppm

39
 Disadvantages of hard
water

Domestic

 Washing - doesn’t produce lather cause wastage of soap,

white scum formed adheres to fabric giving spots and streaks.

 Bathing - cleansing quality of soap is depressed.

 Cooking - boiling point of water increased so fuel and time

wasted. Tea or coffee unpleasant taste. Salt deposition in
heating utensils.

 Drinking – affect digestive track, form stones in urinary track.

 Disadvantages of hard
water
Industry
 Textile – during dyeing dissolved salts cause poor quality
shades and give spots.

 Sugar – crystallization becomes difficult, sugar so-produced is

deliquescent.

 Paper – affects smoothness and glossiness of paper.

 Concrete making - affects hydration of cement and strength

of concrete.

 Steam generation and boilers – scale and sludge

formation, wastage of fuel, priming and foaming, corrosion
and caustic embrittlement.
 Scale and sludge formation in boilers

• Continuous water evaporation Loose

precipitate
causes concentration of (sludge)
dissolved salts
Hard
• At saturation point, the salts
adhering
precipitate out coating(scal
• Sludge is the loose and slimy e)
precipitate
• Scale is the hard adhering Boiler wall
crust/coating on the inner
wall of boilers
Heat

• Sludge is a soft, loose and slimy precipitate formed within the boiler. It can
be easily scrapped off with a wire brush.
• It is formed at comparatively colder portions of the boiler and collects in
areas of the system, where the flow rate is slow or at bends.
• It is formed by substances which have greater solubility's in hot water than
in cold water, e.g. MgCO3, MgCl2, CaCl2, MgSO4 etc.,
 Scales in boilers
• Hard deposits, difficult to remove even with hammer and chisel
• Deposits of calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, calcium
phosphate and insoluble silicates
• Influence of scale on the temperature drop across a boiler tube
is

Q is the heat transferred in W cm–2

L is the thickness of the scale in cm
K is the thermalconductivity in Wcm–1 K–1
DT is the temperature drop across the pipe in K or
°C
K values for: CaCO3 = 0.03 Wcm–1 K–1
CaSO4 = 0.003 Wcm–1 K–1
silicate scale = 0.0008 Wcm–1 K–1

A scale of just 0.15mm thick calcium carbonate can cause

temperature gradient of ~200K and raise the temperature
on the outside to unsafe levels
 Formation of Scales in boilers
• Decomposition of calcium bicarbonate – in low pressure boilers
Ca(HCO3)2 CaCO3 + H2O +
CO2
• In high pressure
Calcium boilers, CaCO
bicarbonate
3 decomposes to Ca(OH)2 which is soluble
Calcium Carbonate
(scale)

• Deposition of calcium sulphate– solubility of CaSO4 drops from 3200

ppm at 15°C to 27 ppm at 320°C
• Gets deposited as very hard scale on heated portions of boilers
• Hydrolysis of magnesium salts– Mg salts hydrolyse to Mg(OH)2 which
forms a soft type of scale
MgCl2 + 2H2O Mg (OH)2 + 2HCl
Magnesium chloride scale

Presence of silica – SiO2, even in small amounts, can deposit as very

firmly sticking CaSiO3 or MgSiO3
 Disadvantages of scale
formation

1. Fuel wastage – scales have low thermal conductivity

2. Degradation of boiler material and increases the risk of accident
3. Reduces the efficiency of the boiler and- deposit on the valves and
condensers
4. The boiler may explode – if crack occurs in scale

Scale Removal

1. Using scrapper, wire brush

2. By thermal shock- heating and cooling suddenly with cold water
3. Using chemicals – 5-10% HCl and by adding EDTA , especially for
CaSO4 scales
4. Blow-down operation to remove loosely adhering scales – Very
hard water is removed from a tap at the bottom and topped with
softened “make up” water
Modern techniques of water analysis

46
Lab-on-a-chip

• A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a device that integrates one or several

laboratory functions on a single integrated circuit (commonly called a
"chip") of only millimeters to a few square centimeters to achieve
automation and high-throughput screening.
• LOCs can handle extremely small fluid volumes down to less than pico
liters.
• Lab-on-a-chip devices are a subset of microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) devices and sometimes called "micro total analysis systems"
(µTAS).
• LOCs may use microfluidics, the physics, manipulation, and study of
minute amounts of fluids. Microfluidics deals with the
behaviour, precise control and
manipulation of fluids that are
geometrically constrained to a small,
typically sub-millimeter, scale at
which capillary penetration governs
Microfluidics and Lab-On-A-Chip for Water Analysis
• Microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems are advanced technologies that
may replace the traditional methods of water analysis in the near future.
• Lab-on-a-chip technology employs microfluidics, which deals with very
minute amounts of fluids in microchannels, to perform the analysis.
• The lab-on-a-chip device is a chip that resembles electronic chips,
but with micro-channels instead of electrical circuits.
• It shrinks the lab to the chip size and can perform complete analysis or
even series of analysis.
•
Using the lab-on-a-chip technology in water analysis can reduce time
and manpower in the sampling process because this technology can
offer immediate, onsite results.
• In addition, this technique is much less expensive and offers higher
accuracy, because of the small volumes analyzed and the possibility of
eliminating the sampling process, which reduces the human error.
 Components of Lab-On-A-Chip Systems
The main components of a lab-on-a-chip system for water analysis are; a
liquid delivery system (injector and fluidic transporter), mixer, reactor,
separator, and power supply.
• The Injector is used to deliver precise volumes into the chip. The most
common types of the injectors are syringe pumps and robotic pipets.
• Transporters control all aspects of the flow. They can be active, which
need an energy source, or passive, which are achieved by manipulating
the geometries of the channels and do not require any energy source.
The choice between the active and passive types is based on the
application. There are multiple types of active transporters, but the
most preferred is electrochemical pumping systems, such as
microsyringe pumps, because they eliminate the design complexity.
• Mixers are used to mix different fluids into the channels. Similar to the
transporters, the types of mixers are divided into passive, which are
achieved by design manipulation, and active, which require power.
• The Reactor is where the reaction takes place. There are three types
of reactors used in lab-on-a-chip systems: gas phase, liquid phase, and
packed-bed reactors.
• Controllers are used for controlling all types of activities in the chip as
well as data acquisition and signal processing.
• Power supplies, such as batteries, are essential to run the lab-on-a-
chip systems. Many research studies focus on finding more advanced 49
power supplies because some types of lab-on-a-chip systems require
Advantages of Lab-on-a-chip

• Low fluid volumes consumption (less waste, lower reagents costs, and
fewer sample volumes)
• Faster analysis and response time due to short diffusion distance & high
surface to volume ratio.
• Better process control because of a faster response of the system
compactness of the systems due to the integration of much functionality
and small volumes
• Lower fabrication costs, allowing cost-effective disposable chips,
fabricated in mass production
• Safer platform for chemical, radioactive or biological studies because of
integration of functionality, smaller fluid volumes, and stored energies
Current Applications in Water
Analysis
• Though LOC technology for water analysis are still developing, some lab-
on-a-chip applications in water analysis are already established, such as
pH testing and detection of various chemicals (e.g., nitrates and nitrites,
manganese, phosphates, and silicates).
• For example, the microfluidic pH analysis uses sulfonephthalein as the
main indicator, which includes the absorption cell, a static mixer, as well
as a syringe pump and four valves attached to the chip to regulate the
flow.
 Ion Selective Electrodes (ISE)

• Ion Selective Electrodes (ISE) are membrane electrodes that respond

selectively to ions in the presence of others.
• These include probes that measure specific ions and gases in solution.
• The most commonly used ISE is the pH probe.
• Other ions that can be measured include fluoride, bromide, cadmium,
and gases in solution such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen
oxide.

• The use of Ion Selective Electrodes in environmental analysis offer

several advantages over other methods of analysis. First, the cost of
initial setup to make analysis is relatively low. The basic ISE setup
includes a meter (capable of reading millivolts), a probe (selective for
each analyte of interest), and various consumables used for pH or ionic
strength adjustments.
• The expense is considerably less than other methods, such as Atomic
Adsorption Spectrophotometry or Ion Chromatography.
• ISE determinations are not subject to interferences such as color in the
sample. This makes them ideal for clinical use (blood gas analysis) where
they are most popular
• A large number of indicator electrodes with good selectivity for specific
ions are based on the measurement of the potential generated across a
membrane
 Electronic nose (e-nose)

• An electronic nose (e-nose) is a device that identifies the specific

components of an odor and analyzes its chemical makeup to identify it.
• An electronic nose consists of a mechanism for chemical detection, such
as an array of electronic sensors, and a mechanism for pattern
recognition, such as a neural network.
• Current research is focused on making the devices smaller, less
expensive, and more sensitive.
• The smallest version, a nose-on-a-chip is a single computer chip
containing both the sensors and the processing components
• An odor is composed of molecules, each of which has a specific size and
shape.
• Each of these molecules has a correspondingly sized and shaped
receptor in the human nose.
• When a specific receptor receives a molecule, it sends a signal to the
brain and the brain identifies the smell associated with that particular
molecule.
• Electronic noses based on the biological model work in a similar manner,
though substituting sensors for the receptors, and transmitting the
signal to a program for processing, rather than to the brain.
 Electronic tongue (e-tongue)

Similar to E-nose, E-tongues are also analytical instruments that can

detect specific substances in solution in water, consisting of sensor
array, signal transduction system and involving signal processing and
pattern recognition (resulting in detection)

Uses of e-nose and e-tongue

• Mixing of sewage in drinking water
supply can be detected
• Presence of specific ions and their
concentrations can be monitored
• Contamination by toxic metal ions can be
detected
• Water treatment processes can be
continuously monitored