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HAMBI
MATRIC NUMBER: S45915
TITLE: DETERMINATION OF WATER
QUALITY AT KUALA TERENGGANU
ESTAURY
LECTURER: DR.KESAVEN BHUBALAN
1. INTRODUCTION
Kuala Terengganu Estuary is situated on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia facing
the South China Sea. The maximum depth at this area ever recorded is 6 m and the average
depth is 4 m. Two river systems are channel into this estuary that is Nerus River and
Terengganu River. The major waste waters discharged into the estuary come partially from
treated domestic waste.
Phosphate is naturally formed from the phosphorus. Phosphate enters into water
from human and animal waste. Phosphate is common element in the agriculture fertilizer
and organic waste in sewage and industrial effluent. Phosphate also available in tap water
as a rust inhibitor and to prevent dissolves lead and copper inside the plumbing. Phosphate
gets into surface of water from runoff and tends to attach to the soil particles. Phosphate can
also be found in laundering and commercial cleaning fluids. The phosphate content in Kuala
Terengganu Estuary may contributed by agricultural farm and residential area nearby.
Phosphate will stimulate the growth of plankton and aquatic plants and thus provide
food for the fish. This can lead to increase of fish population and overall will improve the
water quality. The low level of phosphate limits the production of freshwater systems. The
phosphate are not toxic to people or animals unless there are high levels of phosphate.
The excess of phosphate can also cause trouble in the water system. Excess
phosphate can cause the algae and aquatic plant grows rapidly, clog the waterways and use
large amount of oxygen. This situation is called eutrophication. The oxygen depletion
occurs when the algae and aquatic life die because they will use up the oxygen for decaying
process. Low dissolved oxygen level can lead to death of aquatic life and encourage the
growth of bacteria. The concentration of phosphate that may trigger the algal bloom in water
is around 0.05 mg/L.
3. APPARATUS
UV spectrophotometer Pipette
Test tube Distilled water
Test tube rack Conical flask
Cuvette Van Dorn Water Sampler
Volumetric flask Burette
Polyethylene Bottle
4. CHEMICAL REAGENT
Potassium dihydrogenphosphate
Ammonium molybdate solution- prepared by dissolving 7.5g ammonium
paramolybdate in 250 ml distilled water. The solution is stored in a bottle out of
sunlight.
Sulphuric acid- prepared by adding 70 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid to 450 ml
of distilled water. Allow the solution to cool and stored it inside a glass bottle.
Potassium antimonyl tartrate solution - is prepared by dissolving 0.34 g of
potassium antimonyl tartrate in 250 ml of warm distilled water and stir. The solution is
then store in a plastic bottle.
Ascorbic acid solution- prepared by dissolving 13.5 g of ascorbic acid in 250ml of
distilled water. The solution is store in a plastic bottle in a freezer.
Hydrochloric acid
5. METHODOLOGY
Sampling Station
Experimental procedure
Before starting the experiment, the glass ware that wants to be use must be wash
thoroughly with the hot water and rinsed with the distilled water. Do not wash the using the
detergents containing phosphate to clean the apparatus use in this experiment.
4ml of combined reagent is added to each sample. The combined reagent contained
sulphuric acid, potassium antimonyl tartrate, ammonium molybdate and ascorbic acid. The
solution is left for 10-30 minutes. The solution will converted into blue coloured complex in
the presence of ascorbic acid. This occurs due to the reaction of potassium antimonyl
tartrate and ammonium molybdate in the presence of sulphuric acid will develop antimony-
phospho-molybdate complex.
While waiting for the blue colour to develop, set the 880mm wavelength on the
spectrometer. To set the spectrometer to read the zero absorbance, blank solution is used.
Transfer the each sample solution into the cuvette after the blue colour is developing.
Measure the absorbance of the blue sample.
6. RESULT
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 1
Concentration(ppm)
By using above equation, amount of phosphate presence in the solution can be calculated.
Sampling station Phosphate concentration
1 2 3 Average
Station 1
Station 2
Station 3
Station 4
Station 5
Table 3: Concentration of phosphate using spectrometer
7. Reference