1.

Summary
The study was conducted to determine the physical properties of wastewater sample, total

solid, analyzing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and assessment of pollution level of
wastewater sample. Table 6.1 shows the data for physical analysis which pH, temperature,
turbidity and conductivity. It was found that the pH values for sample A and B is 8.40 and 8.24,
respectively. The pH of wastewater needs to remain between 6 and 9 to protect beneficial
organisms or else, in specific pH should be maintain within 5.5 to 9 to be acceptable as in
Standard B in Industrial Effluent Regulations (IER) 2009. Temperature for sample A and B are
22.0C and 22.5C respectively. While for turbidity for sample A is 8.88 NTU and sample B is
8.41 NTU. Followed by the conductivity, sample A has the value of 9.40mS and sample B is
9.51mS. For total suspended solid (TSS), it was noticed that TSS values for sample A and sample
B are 116 mg/L and 112mg/l respectively. TSS was observed higher than limit of 100 mg/L as
stated in Standard B in IER 2009. TDS values for sample A and sample B were 338 mg/L and
218 mg/L. When TDS levels exceed 1,000 ppm (parts per million) it is deemed unfit for human
consumption. For COD measurement, both data were over range at 345mg/L (Wastewater A) and
296 mg/L (Wastewater B). COD must be control in the controlled range since it can cause
complete depletion of dissolved oxygen leading to the mortality of aquatic organisms if
discharged into natural water bodies.

2.0

Aims
The aim of this experiment is to determine the physical properties of wastewater sample

in term of pH, turbidity and conductivity. Besides, this experiment are focusing on the
determination of the total solid and analyzing chemical oxygen demand (COD) of wastewater
sample using the latest technology which is vial method. It also emphasizes the assessment of
pollution level of wastewater sample.

3.0

Introduction
Environmental pollution is currently one of the most important issues facing humanity. It

was increased exponentially in the past few years and reached alarming levels in terms of its
effects on living creatures. (Renge V. C., et. al., 2012). Water of high quality is essential to
human life and water of acceptable quality is essential for agriculture, industrial, domestic and
commercial uses. All these activities are also responsible for polluting the water. Billions of
gallons of waste from all these sources are thrown to freshwater bodies every day. Referring to
the current situation, urbanization is one of the most critical issues governing the production and
use of wastewater.
Water quality determines the goodness of water for particular purposes. Water quality
tests will give information about the health of the waterway. By testing water over a period of
time, the changes in the quality of the water can be seen. Parameters that may be tested include
pH, temperature, turbidity, conductivity, total solid and COD. The source of a wastewater will
determine its characteristics and how it must be treated. Major pollutants in wastewaters are high
suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, heat, color, acidity, and other soluble substances
(Venceslau et al., 1999; World bank, 2007).
Therefore, this study assesses the characteristics of wastewaters which to comply the
industrial effluent or mixed effluent (IER) 2009. This act specifies two standards of industrial
effluent or mixed effluent which are standard A and standard B.

4.0

Theory
Physical characteristic of the wastewater is important parameter to determine the type of

wastewater treatment to use. Wastewater has physical characteristics such as temperature, solids,
odor and color. In plumbing work the temperature and type of solids in the wastewater are
important considerations. High temperature condition of wastewater can affect the piping
material and treatment unit system. Thus, the characteristic of wastewater is important
consideration for wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater contains chemicals such as nitrogen,
phosphorus and levels of dissolved oxygen as well as others that may affect its composition and
pH rating. Highly acidic or alkaline wastewater is probably trade waste and will require pretreatment before discharge to the sewer.
Turbidity is a measure of water clarity how much the material suspended in water
decreases the passage of light through the water. Suspended materials include soil particles (clay,
silt, and sand), algae, plankton, microbes, and other substances. Higher turbidity increases water
temperatures because suspended particles absorb more heat (Myre and Shaw, 2001). This will
reduces the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) because warm water holds less DO than
cold. Higher turbidity also reduces the amount of light penetrating the water, which reduces
photosynthesis and the production of DO. There are several factor can cause the turbidity in
water which is (Mann et.al, 2007):
a) Soil erosion
b) Waste discharge
c) Excessive algal growth
Figure 1: Turbidity simulations (Augustin, 2001)

Conductivity in water is measurement of the ability of water to pass an electrical current.

Conductivity in water is affected by the presence of inorganic dissolved solids that carried a
negative and positive charge ion that caused an ionic reaction in water. Temperature also
influence the conductivity in water, high temperature will increase the conductivity rate
(APHA,1992). Conductivity meter is the measurement tools to measure the conductivity in
water. Total dissolve solid (TDS) is the small size of inorganic matter that dissolved in water.
Formula below used to calculate the amount of TDS in wastewater stream:

mg total dissolved solid/L

where;

(Eq. 1)

A = weight of dried residue + dish

B = weight of dish, mg
Total Solids (TS) known as all the matter that remains as residue upon evaporation at 103

C to 105 C (Bull et al., 1982) and it may refer to Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total
Suspended Solids (TSS). TDS, this term refers to those solids that cannot be filtered out of the
water through a standard glass fiber filter will while TSS which those solids which will not pass
through a standard glass fiber filter. This includes both those solids that will settle or float in the
clarifier and the lighter non settle able (colloidal) solids.
Oxygen is used to oxidize the organics to carbon dioxide and water. However, instead of
free dissolved oxygen, chemically bound oxygen in potassium dichromate K 2Cr2O7 is used to
oxidize the organics (Brookshire and Whittington, 1993). As the potassium dichromate is used up
the Cr+3 ion is produced. The amount of dichromate used is proportional to the amount of
organics present. Likewise, the amount of Cr+3 ions present is proportional to the amount of
organics digested.
Organics + K2Cr2O7

Cr+3

(Eq. 2)

5.0

Experimental Methods

Section A: Physical Analysis of pH, Turbidity and Conductivity

Prepared wastewater sample for
analysis

pH of sample was checked using

pH meter

Conductivity of water was

checked using conductivity meter

Turbidity sample was checked

using turbidity meter

All reading data was recorded

Section B: Total dissolve solid and Total suspended solid

1. A glass-fibre filter disc are washed using clean water to remove all unwanted impurities
on the surface of filter disc.
2. Then, the filter disc was keep dried in drying oven before being weighted using analytical
balance. Reading data was recorded.
3. Evaporating dish was weighted using analytical balance. Reading data was recorded.
4. Next, the filtration apparatus was setup using dried glass-fibre filter disc.
5. 50ml of wastewater sample is poured onto the filtration apparatus and applied the
vacuum effect to the filtration apparatus.
6. Glass-fibre filter disk was removed from filtration apparatus and keep dried in the oven at
103C for about 1hours.
7. Then, the filtrates from filtration apparatus was poured into evaporating dish and keep
dried in the oven at 180C until the water dried.
8. Finally, dried filter disc and evaporating dish were weighted using analytical balance and
all the data was recorded for analysis purpose.

Section C: Determination of COD in wastewater

Prepared wastewater sampleand

was stored at 4C temperature.

This experiment used COD

Medium range (0-1,500mg/L)

Mixture are mixed by inverting

the COD tube

Adding 2ml deionized water into

COD tube using pipette

Adding 2ml of wastewater

sample into COD tube using
pipette

1)Inverting the COD tube several times for a

proper mixed of mixture.
2) The vial was inserted to COD reactor for
about 2hours at 150C.
3) COD reactor was turned off after 2hours
and the vial is cooled at 120C for 20
minutes.
4) COD is analyzed by using
Spectrophotometer.
5) COD reading for wastewater sample is
recorded.

6.0

Apparatus Diagram
Apparatus were pH/conductivity meter, turbidity meter, filtration apparatus and COD

reactor used for the experiment is presented in Figure 5.1, Figure 5.2, Figure 5.3 and Figure 5.4.

Figure 2: pH/conductivity meter

Figure 3: Turbidity meter

8

Figure 4: Filtration apparatus

Figure 5: COD reactor

7.0

Experimental Results

Calculations
A Weight of filter, mg
B Weight of filter + dried residue, mg
C Weight of Dish, mg
D Weight of Dish + Dried Residue, mg

Total Suspended Solids

( B A) * 1000
TSS (mg / L)
SampleVolu me, mL

Total Dissolved Solids

( D C ) * 1000
TS ( mg / L)
SampleVolu me, mL

Calculation for Sample A:

Total Suspended Solids
=

( B A) * 1000
TS (mg / L)
SampleVolu me, mL

(0.2440 0.2382) * 1000

116 ( mg / L)
1L
=
50mL *
1000mL

Total Dissolved Solids

( D C ) * 1000
TSS ( mg / L)
SampleVolu me, mL

(35.4329 35l 4125) * 1000

338( mg / L)
1L
50mL *
1000mL

10

Section A:
Table 1: pH, turbidity and conductivity experiment data.
Sample
Parameter

pH

8.40

8.24

Temperature (C)

22.0

22.5

Turbidity (NTU)

8.88

8.41

Conductivity [S]

9.40mS

9.51mS

Section B:
Sample size = 50 ml = 0.05L
Table 2: Total suspended Solid (Filter paper) TSS
Sample

D
Dry Weight
(g)
0.2440

TSS
(mg/L)

C
Initial Weight
(g)
0.2382

0.2435

0.2397

112

116

Table 3: Total Dissolved Solid (TDS)

Sample
A

Initial Weight
(g)
35.4329

Dry Weight
(g)
35.4498

TDS
(mg/L)
338

35.4016

35.4125

218

Section C:
11

Table 4: COD readings for sample A and B

Samples
A
B

8.0

COD (mg/L)
345
296

Discussion
The study was conducted using two sample of wastewater to determine the physical

properties of wastewater sample, determination of total solid, analyzing chemical oxygen

demand (COD) and assessment of pollution level of wastewater sample also been investigated.
Howard et al., 2004 stated that the wastewater components that most wastewater facilities
are designed to remove such as suspended solids, biodegradable organics, and pathogenic
organisms. Thus, wastewater quality detection as per conducted in this study was divided into
three parts. The first part covered physical analysis on wastewater such as pH, turbidity and
conductivity. This part is an important wastewater characteristic due to improper checking to
wastewater may affect public health and the environment, as well as the design, cost, and
effectiveness of treatment. Next, second part covered total solids determination which the residue
left after evaporation; and it includes the total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids
(TDS). According to Vazquez-Montiel et al. (2006), proper solids analysis is important for the
control of biological and physical wastewater treatment processes and assesses compliance with
effluent quality limits. In addition, the last part covered chemical oxygen demand (COD)
analysis where this test determines whether treatment is in compliance with state, local, and
federal regulations.
From the Table 1, it shows the data for physical analysis which pH, temperature, turbidity
and conductivity. It was found that the pH values for wastewater A and B is 8.40 and 8.24,
respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that both of wastewater pH were alkaline. pH usually has
no direct impact on consumers. It is one of the most important operational water quality
parameters. If pH is above 7, this will indicate that water is probably hard and contains calcium
and magnesium (David, 2004). The low pH (5.3) affected the bacterial growth. The pH of
wastewater needs to remain between 6 and 9 to protect beneficial organisms or else, in specific
12

pH should be maintain within 5.5 to 9 to be acceptable as in Standard B in Industrial Effluent

Regulations (IER) 2009 (Appendix A).
Based on the observation, the temperature obtained for wastewater A is 22.0C while the
temperature for wastewater B is 22.5C. From the result obtained, it can be conclude that both of
the water has temperature above 20C which can be described as warm water. Temperature
influences the amount of dissolved oxygen in water in turn influences of survival of aquatic
organisms. When temperature is increased, the dissolved oxygen saturation level will be
decreased thus increasing the rate of chemical reactions that takes place in the water. Table 5
shows the examples of life according to the range of temperature.
Table 5: Examples of life according to the range of temperature.
Temperature(C)
Greater than 20C (warm water)

Examples of life
Much plant life, many fish diseases.Most bass,

Middle range (12-20C)

crappie, bluegill, crap, catfish,caddis fly.

Some plant life, some fish diseases.Salmon,

Low range (cold-less than 12C)

trout, stone fly, mayfly, caddisfly, water beetles

Trout, caddis fly, stone fly, mayfly

Based on the result, the value of turbidity of wastewater A is 8.88 NTU while for the
wastewater B is 8.41 NTU. The difference in value of turbidity will determine the type of
wastewater. Turbidity is a measure of water clarity how much the material suspended in water
decreases the passage of light through the water (Rogers and Kenneth, 1985; Smith et al., 1997)
where turbidity can affect the color of the water (Augustin, 2001). There is correlation between
turbidity and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) because it is due to the fact that the greater the
amount of TSS in the water, the murkier it appears and the higher the measured turbidity. The
excessive turbidity in water causes the problem with water purification process such as
flocculation and filtration, which may increase treatment cost.
Conductivity of water is also an important parameter for determining the water quality. It
is a measurement of waters capacity for carrying electrical current and is directly related to the
13

concentrations of ionized substance in the water. It was found the conductivity to be at 9.40 for
wastewater A and 9.51 for wastewater B. Maurer and Gujer (1995) said that too high
conductivity causes corrosion problem in the sewage pipe network. Levels affected by the
electrical conductivity of water are a direct function of its total dissolved solids, organic
compounds and temperature.
Table 2 shows result for total suspended solid (TSS) where it was noticed that TSS values
for wastewater A and wastewater B 116 mg/L and 112mg/l respectively. In this experiment,
wastewater A has high value of TSS than wastewater B. High TSS in waste water means by
higher concentration of bacteria, nutrients, pesticides and metals (Murphy, 2007).

TSS was

observed higher than limit of 100 mg/L as stated in Standard B in Industrial Effluent Regulations
(IER) 2009 (Appendix A). High concentrations of suspended solids can cause many problems for
stream health and aquatic life. The value of TSS also will affect physical parameter such as
turbidity and chemical parameter likes dissolved oxygen (DO).
In table 3, it can be observed that TDS values for wastewater A and wastewater B were
338 mg/L and 218 mg/L. When TDS levels exceed 1,000 ppm (parts per million) it is deemed
unfit for human consumption (Howard, 1933). A high level of TDS is an indicator of potential
concerns and should be investigated before drinking. Even the best water purification systems on
the market require monitoring for TDS to ensure the filters and/or membranes are effectively
removing unwanted particles from your water.
Table 4 shows result for chemical oxygen demand (COD). The study was only conducted
for COD low range where the ranges were from 0 150 mg/L. It was observed that both data
were over range at 345mg/L (Wastewater A) and 296 mg/L (Wastewater B). According to
Brookshire and Whittington (1993), wastewater effluents may contain very high amounts of
organic matter and if discharged into natural water bodies, it can cause complete depletion of
dissolved oxygen leading to the mortality of aquatic organisms. The amount of oxygen needed to
consume the organic and inorganic materials is called the chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Thus, from this data, it was expected that the large amount of oxygen needed by microorganisms
in the wastewater.

14

9.0

Conclusion
The differences between polluted and unpolluted water can be determine by using

chemical and physical parameters of water. Different place that the water sample has been take
present different results. People keep doing a lot of activity related to water every day such as
industry, camping, fishing, swimming, bathing and else. Those activities did affect the water yet
adds more content to the water. Result shown the wastewater A is more polluted compared to
wastewater B. In this experiment, we learnt on how to test the water quality by using chemical
and physical parameters of water. Water quality may be not be determine only by using a
parameter. This is not enough to ensure whether the water is polluted or not, thus variety of
instruments is used to stabilize our result. All these data were important as an assessment of
pollution level of wastewater sample and to avoid the wastewater harm to affect public health
and the environment. Lastly, this study determines whether treatment is in compliance with state,
local, and federal regulations in Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009.

10.0

References

Augustin, M. (2001). Urban wastewater use in plant biomass production, Resources,

Conservation and Recycling, Volume 27, Issues 1-2, pp. 39-56.
Brookshire, D. S. and Whittington, D. (1993). Water resource issues in developing countries.
Water Resources Research. Vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 1883-1888.
David, C. (2004). Small Water Supplies. Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wiltshire. India.
Howard, C.S. (1933). Determination of total dissolved solids in water analysis. Ind. Eng.
Chem., Anal. Ed. 5:4.

15

Howard, I., Espigares, E., Lardelli, P., Martn, J. L. and Espigares, M. (2004). Evaluation of
microbiological and physicochemical indicators for wastewater treatment, Environmental
Toxicology 19 (3) 241-249.
Maurer, M. and Gujer, W. (1995). Monitoring of microbial phosphorus release in batch
experiments using electric conductivity. Wat. Res. 29 (11) 2613-2617.
Murphy,

S.

(2007).

General

Information

on Solids.

Access

fromhttp://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/BACT/info/TSS.htmlon January 24, 2009.

Rogers, R. P. and Kenneth, R. (1985). Management of Water Resources in the United States:
Current Context and Future Strategies. Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Discussion Paper: 141D. pp. 34.
Tsagarakis, K. and Angelakis, A. N. (1998). Evaluation of Domestic Wastewater Treatment
Plants with Emphasis on the Disposal of Treated Effluent and Sludge. East-West Series in
Economics, Business, and the Environment. Vol. 1 (2), pp. 85-93.
Vazquez-Montiel, O. Nigel, J. H., and Duncan, D. M. (2006). Management of domestic
wastewater for reuse in irrigation, Water Science and Technology, Vol. 33, no. 10-11, pp. 355362.
Renge, V. C., Khedkar S.V.,

and Pande S. V. (2012). Removal Of Heavy Metals From

Wastewater Using Low Cost Adsorbents : A Review. Sci. Revs. Chem. Commun.: 2(4), 2012,
580-584 ISSN 2277-2669
Venceslau, M. C., Tom, S. and Simon J. J. (1994). Characterization of textile wastewaters-a
review, Environmental Technology, 15, 917-929.
World Bank, (2007), Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines for Textile Manufacturing,
International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, Last Accessed on 9 October 2013.
Available Online at: http://www.ifc.org.

16

Myre, E, Shaw, R (2001),The Turbidity Tube: Simple and Accurate Measurement of Turbidity in
the Field, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 3.
A.G. Mann, C.C. Tam, C.D. Higgins, &L.C.Lodrigues.(2007),The association between drinking
water turbidity and gastrointestinal illness: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 7(256): 1-7
APHA.(1992), Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 18th ed.
American Public Health Association, Washington, DC
Bull, M. A., Sterritt, R. M. and Lester, J. N. (1982). The treatment of wastewaters from the textile
industry: A review of Environmental Technology Letters 3:117-126.

11.0

Personal Statement
This experiment gave the overview of how to determine the physical properties of

wastewater sample, total solid, analyzing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and assessment of
pollution level of wastewater sample. From the experiment conducted, it can be said that
wastewater must be treated properly since a high quality of water is essential to human life and
water of acceptable quality is essential for agriculture, industrial, domestic and commercial uses.
This study indicated the importance of wastewater quality detection in term of the characteristic
of wastewater involving the measurement of physical and chemical characteristics of the
wastewater such as pH, temperature, conductivity, turbidity and total suspended solid (TSS),
total dissolved solid (TDS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). All these parameter in treating
wastewater must be controlled in the range of parameter limit set in the most common standard
which is industrial effluent or mixed effluent (IER) 2009 standard A and standard B. This
standard used to assess water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact
and drinking water.
APPENDIX A
FIFTH SCHEDULE
[Paragraph 11(1)(a)]
17

ACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS FOR DISCHARGE OF INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT OR

MIXED EFFLUENT OF STANDARDS A AND B
Parameter

Unit

(1)
(2)
o
(i)
Temperature
C
(ii)
pH Value
(iii)
BOD at 20oC
mg/L
(iv)
Suspended Solids
mg/L
(v)
Mercury
mg/L
(vi)
Cadmium
mg/L
(vii)
Chromium, Hexavalent
mg/L
(viii)
Chromium, Trivalent
mg/L
(ix)
Arsenic
mg/L
(x)
Cyanide
mg/L
(xi)
Lead
mg/L
(xii)
Copper
mg/L
(xiii)
Manganese
mg/L
(xiv)
Nickel
mg/L
(xv)
Tin
mg/L
(xvi)
Zinc
mg/L
(xvii)
Boron
mg/L
(xviii)
Iron (Fe)
mg/L
(xix)
Silver
mg/L
(xx)
Aluminium
mg/L
(xxi)
Selenium
mg/L
(xxii)
Barium
mg/L
(xxiii)
Fluoride
mg/L
(xxiv)
Formaldehyde
mg/L
(xxv)
Phenol
mg/L
(xxvi)
Free Chlorine
mg/L
(xxvii)
Sulphide
mg/L
(xxviii)
Oil and Grease
mg/L
(xxix)
Ammoniacal Nitrogen
mg/L
(xxx)
Colour
ADMI*
*ADMI-American Dye Manufacturers Institute

Standard
A
(3)
40
6.0-9.0
20
50
0.005
0.01
0.05
0.20
0.05
0.05
0.10
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
2.0
1.0
1.0
0.1
10
0.02
1.0
2.0
1.0
0.001
1.0
0.50
1.0
10
100

B
(4)
40
5.5-9.0
50
100
0.05
0.02
0.05
1.0
0.10
0.10
0.5
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
4.0
5.0
1.0
15
0.5
2.0
5.0
2.0
1.0
2.0
0.50
10
20
200

18