Paper No: 16 Environmental Chemistry

Module: 26 Properties of Water

Development Team
Prof. R.K. Kohli
Principal Investigator
& Prof. V.K. Garg &Prof. Ashok Dhawan
Co- Principal Investigator
Central University of Punjab, Bathinda

Prof. K.S. Gupta

Paper Coordinator
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Dr. C. P. Singh Chandel
Content Writer
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Content Reviewer Prof. K.S. Gupta
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur

Anchor Institute Central University of Punjab 1

Environmental Chemistry
Environmental
Sciences Properties of Water
 Description of Module

Subject Name Environmental Sciences

Paper Name Environmental Chemistry

Module Name/Title Properties of Water

Module Id EVS/EC-XVI/26

Pre-requisites A basic knowledge and interest in understanding the properties of water.

1. To learn about the hydrologic cycle (water cycle)

2. To discuss distribution of water
Objectives 3. To know unique properties of water
4. To learn about the chemical composition of water
5. To discuss the natural sources of water
Hydrologic cycle, evaporation, distribution of water, chemical composition of water, universal
Keywords
solvent

Environmental Chemistry
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 Module 26: Properties of Water

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Hydrologic Cycle
3. Distribution of Water
4. Chemical Composition of water
5. Unique Properties of Water
6. Suggested Reading

Introduction

Water is one of the most important material on Earth. It has unlimited applications. It is
therefore necessary to understand the distribution of water in different spheres. Due to its many unique
physical property water has acquired importance. In the following section the property and processes
are discussed.

Hydrologic Cycle / Water Cycle

Hydrologic cycle is related to the movement of water from the Earth's surface through
evaporation into the atmosphere. Its application is to model the storage and movement of water
between different spheres such as the biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. In
environment, there are reservoirs, which store water. The important reservoirs are oceans, lakes,
rivers, glaciers, soils, snowfields, and groundwater on the earth. It is found in liquid, solid or vapor /
gas. It is interesting to point out that no beginning or end can we assigned to hydrologic cycle. The
study of hydrologic cycle involves an understanding of the evaporation, condensation, precipitation,
interception, infiltration, percolation, transpiration, runoff and storage processes.

Environmental Chemistry
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 Figure-1 The hydrological cycle
Evaporation
When the physical state of water changes from liquid state to vapors state, the process is called
Evaporation. The natural evaporation is affected by the external factors such as solar radiation,
atmospheric temperature, vapor pressure, wind, and atmospheric pressure. It is also affected by surface
area and amount of water.

Condensation

When the water vapors change into a liquid state, the process is called condensation. Water
vapor condenses onto small airborne particles to form dew, fog, or clouds. Condensation occurs when
either the water vapor bearing air cools or the amount of water vapors in the air reaches its saturation
point.

Precipitation

Precipitation of water refers to the release of water from clouds in the form of rain, freezing
rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It leads to the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth. Precipitation is the
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 process that occurs of water particles fall from the atmosphere and reach the ground. Precipitated
water may fall into a water body or onto land. It is then dispersed in several ways. The water has
ability to adhere to objects. It is carried away through the land into stream channels, or it may
penetrate into the soil, or it may be intercepted by plants.

When rainfall is scanty and infrequent, a high percentage of water precipitation is returned to
the atmosphere by evaporation. The precipitated water that appears in surface streams is called runoff.

Percolation

Percolation is the movement of water though the soil, and its layers, by gravity and capillary
forces. The prime moving force of groundwater is gravity.

Transpiration

Transpiration is basically evaporation of water from plant leaves. In this process moisture is
carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor
and is released to the atmosphere.

Distribution of water

The most common liquid on our planet is water. It is vital to all life forms. Water is widely
distributed on Earth as freshwater and salt water in the oceans (Table -1). A freshwater ecosystem is
an aquatic ecosystem with a low salt concentration. It includes lakes, ponds, springs, rivers, streams
and wetlands. These are of two types, the lentic or still water ecosystem and the lotic or the flowing
water ecosystem.

Lakes and ponds belong to the lentic ecosystem. These bodies can be small or huge. Streams
and rivers are bodies of flowing water. The water from the lotic ecosystem originates from springs,
melted snow in the mountains, and even lakes.
Although the total amount of water on earth is enormous, only a small percentage is fresh
water. Over 97 percent of the world's total water supply is saline and found in oceans, of the remaining
approximately 3 percentage fresh water. Over 68.7 percent of fresh water is locked up in ice and
glaciers and another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground. (Table-1)

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 The distribution of water globally is as shown in Table-1.

Table-1 Distribution of water

Percent Percent
Water volume, in Water volume, in
Water source of of
cubic miles cubic kilometers
freshwater total water

Oceans, Seas, & Bays 321,000,000 1,338,000,000 -- 96.5

Ice caps, Glaciers, &

5,773,000 24,064,000 68.6 1.74
Permanent Snow

Groundwater 5,614,000 23,400,000 -- 1.7

Fresh 2,526,000 10,530,000 30.1 0.76
Saline 3,088,000 12,870,000 -- 0.93
Soil Moisture 3,959 16,500 0.05 0.001
Ground Ice & Permafrost 71,970 300,000 0.86 0.022

Lakes 42,320 176,400 -- 0.013

Fresh 21,830 91,000 0.26 0.007
Saline 20,490 85,400 -- 0.007
Atmosphere 3,095 12,900 0.04 0.001
Swamp Water 2,752 11,470 0.03 0.0008
Rivers 509 2,120 0.006 0.0002
Biological Water 269 1,120 0.003 0.0001

Data in Table-1 are taken from reference, Igor Shiklomanov ["World fresh water resources" in Peter H.
Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford
University Press, New York)]

Chemical Composition of Water

Water has chemical formula H2O. Water is composed of one atom of oxygen with two atoms
of hydrogen. Water is a polar molecule with oxygen having a partial negative charge and each

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 hydrogen atom having partial positive charge. Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid and appears
colorless in small quantities.
The composition of seawater, river water, lake water and groundwater is given in Tables 2,3
and 4. Seawater contains mainly Na+ and Cl- and river water contains mainly Ca2+ and HCO3-.

Table-2 Composition of seawater and river water (mmol kg-1)

Element Seawater (mmol kg-1) River water (mmol kg-1)
Na 468.0 0.26
Mg 53.1 0.17
Ca 10.3 0.38
K 10.2 0.07
Sr 0.09 -----
Cl 546.0 0.22
SO4 28.2 0.11
HCO3 2.39 0.96
Br 0.84 -----

Table -3 pH and concentration ranges of the ions ( mg L-1 ) in ground water

Composition of ground water
Parameters / Ions Ranges
Ca+2 200 - 240
Mg+2 58.3 - 87.5
Na+ 28 - 35
K+ 3.7 - 4.7
HCO3- 150 - 298
Cl- 188.9 - 212

Environmental Chemistry
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 F- < 0.5
NO3- 330 - 400
SO42- 103 - 202
Cu 0.01 - 0.04
Pb < 0.1
Zn 0.60 - 1.30
Fe 0.33 - 1.12
Mn 0.01 - 0.03
pH 7.36 - 7.80

Table-4 Composition of Lake water ( mg L-1 )

Composition of Lake water

Calcium 241

Magnesium 7200

Sodium 83,600

Potassium 4070

Bicarbonate 251

Sulfate 16,400

Chloride 140,000

Silica 48

TDS 254,000

pH 7.4
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 Unique Properties of Water

Water is one of God's gift to mankind. It is the only abundant common pure compound, which
is a liquid. It has many unusual chemical and physical properties. The Earth appears to be a majestic
blue marble from top. This is due to the abundance of water on the earth surface. While water itself is
not blue, water gives off blue light upon reflection.
In simplest terms, water makes up about 71% of the Earth's surface, while the other 29%
consists of continents and islands. To break the numbers down, 96.5% of all the Earth's water is
contained within the oceans as salt water, while the remaining 3.5% is freshwater lakes and frozen
water locked up in glaciers and the polar ice caps. Of that fresh water, almost all of it takes the form of
ice: 69% of it, to be exact. If you could melt all that ice, and the Earth's surface was perfectly smooth,
the sea levels would rise to an altitude of 2.7 km. Water is the clear sparkling fluid which covers three
quarters of the earth’s surface. Not to mention water is better known as the basis of life. Water is the
possessor of the world’s most recognizable chemical formula (H2O).
Water molecules are attracted to each other, and form hydrogen bonds. These weak
interactions determine the most physical property of water and many of its chemical properties too.
A large part of the mass of most organisms is simply water. In human tissues, the percentage of
water ranges from 20% in bones to 85% in brain cells. The water content is greater in embryonic and
young cells and decreases on ageing. About 70% of our total body weight is water.

Water -The Universal Solvent

Water has the ability to dissolve most of the substances; some have high solubility whereas
some are only sparingly soluble. It is, therefore, called a universal solvent. In rainwater, the substances
and atmospheric gases present in air get dissolved.
The important physical properties of water are in Table-5.

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 Table -5 Properties of water

Property Value

Molar Mass 18.015

Molar Volume 55.5 moles/liter

Boiling Point (BP) 100oC at 1 atm

Freezing Point (FP) 0oC at 1 atm

Triple Point 273.16 K at 4.6 torr

Surface Tension 73 Dynes at 20oC

Vapor Pressure 0.0212 atm at 20oC

H of Vaporization 40.63 kJ/Mol

H of Fusion 6.013 kJ/Mol

Heat Capacity (CP) 4.22 kJ/kg.K

Dielectric Constant 78.54 at 25oC

Viscosity 1.002 centipoise at 20oC

Density 1 g/cc

Density Maxima 4oC

Suggesting Reading:
1. Colin Baird(1998), Environmental Chemistry, W. H. Freeman and Company, New
York
2. A. K. De(2014), Environmental Chemistry, New Age International Publishers, Delhi
3. Mark J. Hammer and Mark J. Hammer, Jr. (2015), Water and Wastewater Technology,
PHI Learning Private Limited, Delhi

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 4. O G Palanna(2009), Engineering Chemistry, Tata McGraw Hill Education Private
Limited, New Delhi
5. James E. Girard(2011), Principles of Environmental Chemistry, Second Edition, Jones
and Bartlett India Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi
6. Gilbert M. Masters, Wendell P. Ela(2013), Introduction to Environmental Engineering
and Science, PHI Learning Private Limited, Delhi
7. P. S. Sindhu(2002), Environmental Chemistry, New Age International Publishers, New
Delhi
8. Stanley E. Manahan, Environmental Chemistry, Seventh Edition, Lewis Publishers,
New York
9. S.M. Khopkar (2015),Environmental Pollution Analysis, New Age International
Publishers, Delhi
10. C. D. Mishra, S. P. Bansal and K. S. Gupta, J Indian Chem Soc,2006,pp.210-212
11. http://ocean.stanford.edu/courses/bomc/chem/lecture_12.pdf
12. https://phys.org/news/2014-12-percent-earth.html#jCp
13. waterwwencyclopedia.com/En-Ge/Fresh-Water-Natural-Composition-of.html

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