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M Alkalinity and P Alkalinity


Three Types of Alkalinity
Alkalinities are classified according to the endpoint of titration with strong acid: 1

(1a) M alkalinity = Alk = total alkalinity (endpoint: CO2 EP)


(1b) P alkalinity = carbonate alkalinity (endpoint: HCO3- EP)
(1c) caustic alkalinity (endpoint: CO3-2 EP)

Here, “M” refers to the pH indicator methylorange (endpoint 4.2 to 4.5); “P” refers to
the pH indicator phenolphthalein (endpoint 8.2 to 8.3). 2 “M alkalinity” is what we
usually call “alkalinity” or “general alkalinity” or “total alkalinity”.

For a simple carbonate system (i.e. a pure CO2 solution with a background electrolyte,
but without any other weak acids or bases) alkalinities are defined by: 3

(2a) M alkalinity = ( [OH-] – [H+] ) + [HCO3-] + 2 [CO3-2]


(2b) P alkalinity = ( [OH-] – [H+] ) + [CO3-2] – [H2CO3*]
(2c) caustic alkalinity = ( [OH-] – [H+] ) – [HCO3-] – 2 [H2CO3*] = 2P – M

From these three alkalinities it is sufficient to measure M and P alkalinity only; the
caustic alkalinity is then given by 2P – M.

Once M alkalinity and P alkalinity is known we are able to calculate the total amount of
dissolved inorganic carbon:

(3) M–P = [H2CO3*] + [HCO3-] + [CO3-2] = DIC

The equations above are restricted to carbonate systems without other weak acids or
bases. The formula for the general case is given here, which is used in standard
hydrochemistry programs (including aqion). The calculated M and P alkalinities are then
displayed in output tables and simple overviews.

Alkalinity Relationships (Approximations)

Things become simpler at pH > 4.2, i.e. above the M-alkalinity titration endpoint. In this
pH range (which is typical for natural waters), the two species H2CO3* and H+ almost
vanish and Eqs. (2a) and (2b) reduce to:

(4a) M alkalinity ≈ [OH-] + [HCO3-] + 2 [CO3-2]


(4b) P alkalinity ≈ [OH-] + [CO3-2]

Five special cases are obtained after inserting the following five conditions into Eqs.(4a)
and (4b):

(5a) [OH-] = 0 , [CO3-2] = 0 ⇒ [HCO3-] = M and P=0


(5b) [OH-] = 0 ⇒ [HCO3-] = M – 2P and P = [CO3-2]
(5c) [OH-] = 0 , [HCO3-] = 0 ⇒ [CO3-2] = M/2 and P = [CO3-2]
(5d) [HCO3-] = 0 ⇒ [CO3-2] = M – P and [OH-] = 2P – M
(5e) [HCO3-] = 0 , [CO3-2] = 0 ⇒ [OH-] = M and P=M

These results can be rearranged into the following table where Eq. (5a) corresponds to
column P = 0, Eq. (5b) to column P < M/2, Eq. (5c) to column P = M/2, Eq. (5d) to column
P > M/2, and Eq. (5e) to column P = M:

P=0 P < M/2 P = M/2 P > M/2 P=M


[OH-] 0 0 0 2P–M M
2 · [CO3-2] 0 2P M 2(M–P) 0
[HCO3-] M M–2P 0 0 0

[OH-] + 2 [CO3-2] + [HCO3-] M M M M M


The bottom row represents the sum in each column. According to Eq.(4a) the sum of
the first column embodies the M alkalinity. This equality is fulfilled across the whole
table.

The table above is often used by water-treatment professionals to estimate the content
of HCO3- and CO3-2 from measured M and P alkalinities. In contrast to these
approximations, modern hydrochemistry programs provide the complete/exact
carbonate speciation based on thermodynamic data – for the whole pH range and for
any aqueous solution.

Two remarks:

1. In the equations above, [HCO3-] represents the free hydrogen carbonate HCO3- plus
all hydrogen-carbonate complexes such as CaHCO3+. Similarly, [CO3-2] represents the
free carbonate CO3-2 plus all carbonate complexes such as CaCO3.

2. The quantities in square brackets are given in molar units such as mol/L or mmol/L.
Thus, the quantity “2 · [CO3-2]” in the first column of the table stands for carbonate in
eq/L or meq/L (which is the same as val/L or mval/L).

Alkalinity and Proton Balance

The three alkalinities defined in Eqs. (2) rely on the concept of proton balance. Proton
balance states that – relative to a specific proton reference levels (PRL) – the amount of
excess protons is equal to the amount of deficient protons:

(6) proton balance: 0 = deficient protons – excess protons

Let’s abbreviate the carbonate ion by A-2 = CO3-2, then we get for each reference level
H2-n A-n (distinguished by n = 0, 1, and 2) the proton balance

(7) 0 = ([OH-] – [H+]) – n [H2A] – (n-1) [HA-] – (n-2) [A-2] at PRL of H2-n A-n

Thus the stage is set to define the alkalinity as follows: Alkalinity is the deviance from
proton balance. There are three types of PRL and, hence, there are three types of
alkalinity:

(8) alkalinity of type n = deficient protons – excess protons at PRL of H2-n A-n

or, more explicitly,

(9) alkalinity of type n = ([OH-] – [H+]) – n [H2A] – (n-1) [HA-] – (n-2) [A-2]

where
n = 0: PRL H2CO3 ⇔ M alkalinity
n = 1: PRL HCO3- ⇔ P alkalinity
n = 2: PRL CO3-2 ⇔ caustic alkalinity

Equation (9) is nothing else than a compact notation of Eqs. (2a) to (2c). Equation (9)
also tells us that the alkalinity vanishes when the proton balance is exactly fulfilled.
This, in fact, is the case for the following solutions:

pure H2CO3 solution: M alkalinity = 0


pure NaHCO3 solution: P alkalinity = 0
pure Na2CO3 solution: caustic alkalinity = 0

The statements remain valid when Na is replaced by K or NH4.

Remarks & Footnotes

1. To be more precise, one should distinguish between titration endpoint (where the
indicator changes its color) and equivalence point (or stoichiometric point, where the
molar amount of acid and base is exactly equal). ↩

2. Note that equivalence points are not rigid quantities; they vary with the total content
of carbonate (DIC) in the solution – as shown in this example. ↩

3. The asterisk on H2CO3* symbolizes the composite carbonic acid. ↩


[last modified: 2016-10-23]

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