Name:______________________ Reg. No.

:_____________
Measurement of Electrical Conductivity
Experiment: Measurement of electrical conductivity of water samples.
Apparatus required: Digital conductivity meter with conductivity cell
Reagents required: Standard potassium chloride solution (0.1 M KCl)

Theory:
Rainwater as it passes through the atmosphere dissolves the gases from the air, including nitrogen,
oxygen and carbon dioxide. In passing through polluted atmosphere, it may also dissolve gases associated
with air pollution, such as, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. Some of these gases make the water acidic and
increase its ability to dissolve salts contained in soils and rocks. By the time, the rainwater flows over
land and percolates through ground, to become surface or groundwater, it dissolves many chemical
species. The precise chemical composition of the water will depend on the types of soil and rock the
water has been in contact with and the anthropogenic influences in the area.
The presence of ions in water increases its ability to conduct an electrical current. The electrical
conductivity (EC) of a sample of water is a measure of the gross chemical characteristic of water
reflecting its total ionic concentration. It is reciprocal of resistance and is reported in units of
microsiemens per centimeter or millisiemens per centimeter (μS/cm or mS/cm) or micromhos per
centimeter or millimhos per centimeter (µ mho/cm or mmho/cm).

The EC of water can be approximated by the following equation:

EC = ∑ (Ci × fi) (1)
where:
EC = electrical conductivity, μS/cm or mS/cm
Ci = concentration of ionic specie i in solution, mg/L
Fi = conductivity factor for ionic specie i, μS/cm per mg/L. The conductivity factors
for the major ions are given in Table below:

Table: Conductivity factors at 25 oC for major ions per mg/L

Ion Ca+2 Mg+2 K+ Na+ HCO3- CO32- Cl- NO3- SO42-
Conductivity 2.60 3.82 1.84 2.13 0.715 2.82 2.14 1.15 1.54
factor, µS/cm

EC increases with increase in the temperature of water as follows:

EC25 = ECt /[0.0191(t – 25) + 1] (2)

where EC25 and ECt are conductivity at 25 and t0C respectively. The temperature coefficient 0.0191/0C is
for a 0.01 M KCl standard solution at 250C. This may be taken to be approximately the same for natural
waters. More the sample deviates from 250C, greater the uncertainty in applying the correction. The
sample is brought as close to 250C as easily possible before measuring the EC value. It is customary to
report the EC value at 250C after making the necessary temperature correction. Most of the modern EC
meters have a built in temperature compensation and display the EC value at 250C.
EC value of a water sample is often used to estimate the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water from the
following relation:

TDS (mg/L) = A × EC (μS/cm) (3)

1
where A is a constant and is commonly taken as 0.67. It may range between 0.55 and 0.75 depending
upon the ionic composition of the water.

Procedure:

1. Measure the temperature of 0.1 N KCl.

2. Put the cell in 0.1 N KCl solution and switch ON the instrument and select 10 mmho range switch.
3. Set the temperature knob to the actual temperature of the solution under test.
4. Set the display to proper value of the conductivity with CALIB knob as per the chart given below for
corresponding temperature of the solution (0.1 N KCl).
5. Now the instrument is calibrated and unknown conductivity can be measured.

Temp. Sp. Conductivity of 0.1 N KCl Temp. Sp. Conductivity of 0.1 N KCl
(0C) solution (mmhos/cm) (0C) solution (mmhos/cm)
10 9.33 26 13.13
20 11.67 27 13.37
21 11.91 28 13.62
22 12.15 29 13.87
23 12.39 30 14.12
24 12.64 31 14.37
25 12.88 32 14.62

Record your Observations:

Sl Sample EC Value
No.
01 River water
02 Ground water
03 Tap water
04 0.1N KCl solution

Further Reading:
1. Chapter 3 dealing with Conductivity (Pages 73-77) from Chemistry for Environmental Engineering by
Clair N Sawyer, Perry L McCarty & Gene F Parkin from Tata McGraw Hill India.
2. Chapter 2510 dealing with Conductivity from Standard Methods for Examination of Water and
Wastewater by APHA, AWWA & WEF from Water Environment Federation, USA.