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STERILIZATION OF
WATER USING
BLEACHING POWDER
A CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROGECT
ANSHUL KUMAR PANDEY
XII B

[THIS PROJECT LOOKS AT THE TECHNIQUE CALLED

STERILIZATION OF WATER USING BLEACHING POWDER
WHICH IS USED TO PURIFY WATER AND MAKES IT FIT FOR
DRINKING.]

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INDEX
1. Ce rtificate of Authe nt icit y
2. Acknowle dge m e nt
3. Intro duct ion
-Ne e d of Wate r
-Purification of Wate r
-Ne e d for a stable purification te chnique

4. The ory
-History of Wate r purification
-Ble aching powde r and its pre paration
-Use of Ble aching powde r in Ste rilization of wate r

5. Expe rim e nt
-Aim
-Pre -Re quisite Knowle dge
-Re quire m e nts
-Proce dure

6. Re sult
7. Bibliogra phy

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CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

This is to ce rtify t hat Anshul Kum ar Pande y , a stude nt of class XII has succe ssfully
com ple te d t he re se arch proje ct on t he to pic Ste rilizatio n o f Wate r by using
Ble aching Po w de r unde r t he guida nce of Mrs. Mohini Be lani (Subje ct Te ache r).

This proje ct is a bsolute ly ge nuine and doe s not indulge in plagiarism of any kind.
The re fe re nce s take n in m aking t his proje ct ha ve be e n de clare d a t t he e nd of t his
re port.

Signa ture ( Subje ct Te ache r)

Signat ure ( Exam ine r)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I fe e l pro ud to pre se nt m y Inve st iga tory proje ct in Che m ist ry o n t he topic Ste rilizat ion
of Wate r using Ble aching po wde r which aim s at using Ble aching po wde r as a
disinfe ctant a nd purifie r to m a ke wate r fit for drinking.

This proje ct wo uldnt ha ve be e n fe asible wit hout t he prope r a nd rigorous guida nce of
m y Che m ist ry te ache r Mrs. Mohini Be la ni who guide d m e throughout this proje ct in
e ve ry possible way. An inve st iga tory proje ct involve s various difficult lab e xpe rim e nts
which have to be carrie d o ut by t he st ude nt to o btain the obse rvatio ns and conclude
the re port o n a m e aningful no te . The se e xpe rim e nts are ve ry critical a nd in the case of
failure , m ay re sult in disastrous conse que nce s. The re by, I wo uld like to t ha nk bot h
Mrs.Be lani a nd La b Asst.Mr.Rajkum ar for guiding m e o n a ste p by ste p basis a nd
e nsuring tha t I com ple te d a ll m y e xpe rim e nts with e ase .

Rigorous hard wo rk has be e n put in t his proje ct to e nsure tha t it prove s to be t he be st. I
hope tha t this proje ct will prove to be a bre e ding gro und for the ne xt ge ne ratio n of
stude nts and will guide t he m in e ve ry possible way.

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INTRODUCTION

Ne e d o f w ate r

Wate r is a n im porta nt and e sse ntia l ingre die nt in our que st for survival o n t his pla ne t.
It is ve ry e sse ntia l for carrying o ut vario us m e ta bolic proce sse s in o ur body and a lso t o
carry out He m oglobin througho ut the bo dy.

A daily average of 1 gallon per man is sufficient for drinking and cooking purposes. A
horse, bullock, or mule drinks about 11 gallons at a time. standing up, an average
allowance of 5 gallons should be given for a man, and 10 gallons for a horse or a camel.
An elephant drinks 25 gallons, each mule or ox drinks 6 to 8 gallons, each sheep or pig
6 to 8 pints. These are minimum quantities.
One cubic foot of water = 6 gallons (a gallon = 10 lbs.).
In order to fulfill such a huge demand of water, it needs to be purified and supplied in a
orderly and systematic way.
But wit h t he incre asing world po pulatio n, the de m and for drinking wate r has also
incre ase d dram a tically a nd t he re fore it is ve ry e sse ntial to ide nt ify re source s of wa te r
from which we can use wate r for drinking purpose s. Many available re source s of wat e r
do no t ha ve it in drinkable form . Eithe r t he wate r conta ins e xce ss of Calcium or
Magne sium salts or a ny ot he r organic im purity o r it sim ply contains fore ign particle s
which m ake it unfit and unsafe for Drinking.

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Purificatio n o f Wate r

The re are m any m e t hods for the purification of wat e r. Som e of t he m are
1. Boiling
2. Filtra tio n
3. Ble aching powde r tre a tm e nt
4. SODIS (Solar Wate r Disinfe ctio n)
And the list goe s o n.
Boiling is pe rha ps t he m ost com m o nly use d wate r purificatio n te chnique in use today.
While in norm al ho use holds it is a n e fficie nt te chnique ; it cannot be use d for industria l
and large scale purpose s. It is be cause in norm al house holds, the wa te r to be purifie d is
ve ry sm all in qua nt it y and he nce the wa te r loss due to e va pora tion is alm ost ne gligible .
But in Indust rial or large scale purificat ion of wate r t he wate r loss due to e vapora tio n
will be quite high and the a m ount of purifie d wate r obta ine d will be ve ry le ss.

Filtra tio n is a lso use d for re m oving fore ign part icle s from wa te r. One m ajor dra wback
of this purifica tion proce ss is tha t it cannot be use d for re m oving fore ign che m icals a nd
im puritie s t ha t are m iscible wit h wa te r.

SODIS o r So lar Wate r Disinfe ctio n is re co m m e nde d by the Unite d Natio ns fo r

disinfe ctio n o f w ate r using so ft drink bo ttle s, sunlight, and a black surface -- at le ast in
ho t natio ns w ith re gularly inte nse sunlight.

Wate r-fille d t ranspare nt bo ttle s place d in a horizontal positio n atop a flat surface in
strong sunlight for around five ho urs will kill m icro be s in t he wa te r. The proce ss is
m ade e ve n m ore safe a nd e ffe ctive if t he bot tom half of t he bot tle or t he surface it's
lying on is blacke ne d, and/ or t he flat surface is m ade of plastic or m e ta l. It's the
com binat ion of he at a nd ultra viole t light which kills the orga nism s.

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The m ajor dra wback of this purificat ion te chnique is t hat it ca nno t be use d in count rie s
with cold we at he r. Also, t he tim e consum e d for Purificatio n proce ss is m ore a nd it also
ne e ds a blacke ne d surface , m uch like sola r cooke rs.

Ne e d fo r a stable purificatio n te chnique

The re fore we ne e d a purificat ion te chnique which ca n be use d a nytim e and a nywhe re ,
doe s not re quire the use of any third pa rt y conte nt a nd which is also e conom ically
fe asible o n bo th norm al scale a nd large sca le .
He nce we look a t the m e tho d of purificatio n of wa te r using t he te chnique of t re at m e nt
by ble aching powde r com m only known as Chlorinat ion.

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THEORY

History of water purification in different parts of the world.

In 1854 it was discove re d t hat a chole ra e pide m ic spre ad t hrough wa te r. The o ut bre a k
se e m e d le ss se ve re in a re as whe re sand filt e rs we re installe d. Brit ish scie nt ist John
Snow found t hat t he dire ct cause of t he o utbre ak was wa te r pum p contam ina tio n by
se wage wate r. He a pplie d chlorine to purify t he wate r, a nd t his pave d the way for
wate r disinfe ction. Since the wa te r in the pum p had taste d a nd sm e lle d norm al, the
conclusion was finally dra wn t hat good taste and sm e ll alone do not gua rante e safe
drinking wate r. This discove ry le d to gove rnm e nts starting to install m unicipal wa te r
filte rs (sa nd filte rs and chlorina tion), and he nce t he first go ve rnm e nt re gula tio n of
public wa te r.

In t he 1890s Am e rica sta rte d building large sand filte rs to pro te ct public he a lt h. The se
turne d out to be a succe ss. Inste ad of slo w sand filt rat ion, ra pid sand filtra tio n was no w
applie d. Filte r capacity was im prove d by cle aning it wit h po we rful je t ste a m .
Subse que nt ly, Dr. Fulle r found t hat rapid sand filtrat ion worke d m uch be t te r whe n it
was pre ce de d by coagulat ion a nd se dim e ntatio n te chnique s. Me anwhile , such
wate rborne illne sse s as chole ra a nd t yphoid be ca m e le ss a nd le ss com m o n as wate r
chlorinat ion won te rrain t hro ughout the world.

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But the victory obtaine d by the inve ntio n o f chlorinat ion did not last lo ng. Afte r som e
tim e t he ne ga tive e ffe cts of this e le m e nt we re discove re d. Chlorine vapo rize s m uch
faste r t han wa te r, and it was linke d to the aggrava tio n and ca use of re spiratory dise a se .
Wate r e xpe rts starte d looking for alte rnat ive wa te r disinfe cta nts. In 1902 calcium hypo
chlorite and fe rric chloride we re m ixe d in a drinking wa te r supply in Be lgium , re sulting
in bot h coagulat ion a nd disinfe ction.
The tre a t m e nt a nd dist ributio n of wate r fo r safe use is one of t he gre a te st achie ve m e nts
of the twe ntie th ce nt ury. Be fore citie s be gan routine ly tre a ting drinking wa te r wit h
chlorine (starting wit h Chicago and Je rse y City in US in 1908), chole ra , typho id fe ve r,
dyse nte ry and he pat itis A kille d t housands of U.S. re side nts annua lly. Drinking wate r
chlorinat ion a nd filtrat ion have he lpe d to virtua lly e lim inate t he se dise ase s in t he U.S.
and ot he r de ve lope d countrie s. Me e ting t he goal of cle a n, safe drinking wa te r re quire s a
m ult i-barrie r a pproach tha t include s: prote cting source wa te r from conta m inat ion,
appropriate ly tre a ting raw wa te r, a nd e nsuring safe distribut ion of tre a te d wa te r to
consum e rs ta ps. During the tre a tm e nt proce ss, chlorine is a dde d to drinking wa te r as
e le m e nta l chlo rine (chlorine gas),
sodium hypochlorite solutio n or dry calcium hypochlorite . Whe n a pplie d to wate r, e ach
of the se form s fre e chlorine , which de st roys pat hoge nic (dise ase -causing) orga nism s.
Alm ost all syste m s t hat disinfe ct t he ir wa te r use som e type of chlorine -base d proce ss,
e it he r alo ne or in com bina tion wit h ot he r disinfe ctants. In a ddit ion to
controlling dise ase -causing orga nism s, chlorinat ion offe rs a num be r of be ne fits
including:
Re duce s m a ny disagre e a ble taste s a nd odors;
Elim ina te s slim e bacte ria , m o lds a nd algae tha t c om m only grow in wate r supply
re se rvoirs, on t he walls of wate r m a ins a nd in storage ta nks;
Re m ove s che m ical com po unds tha t have unple asant t aste s and hinde r disinfe ct ion;
and
He lps re m ove iron a nd m a nga ne se from raw wate r.
As im portantly, only chlorine -base d che m icals provide re sidual disinfe cta nt le ve ls t hat
pre ve nt m icrobia l re -growt h and he lp prot e ct tre a te d wa te r t hrougho ut
t he dist ribution syste m .

For m ore t ha n a ce nt ury, the safe t y of drinking wate r supplie s has be e n gre a tly
im prove d by the addition of ble aching powde r. Disinfe cting our drinking wa te r e nsure s
it is fre e of t he m icroorga nism s t hat ca n cause se rio us and life -t hre ate ning dise ase s,
such as chole ra and typho id fe ve r. To this day, ble aching po wde r re m ains t he m ost
com m only use d drinking wa te r disinfe cta nt, a nd t he disinfe cta nt for which we have t he

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m ost scie ntific inform at ion. Ble aching powde r is adde d as part of t he drinking wa te r
tre at m e nt proce ss. Howe ve r, ble aching po wde r also re acts wit h t he organic m a tte r,
nat urally pre se nt in wa te r, such as de caying le ave s. This che m ical re act ion form s a
group of che m icals kno wn as disinfe ct ion by-pro ducts. Curre nt scie ntific da ta sho ws t hat
the be ne fits of ble aching o ur drinking wate r (le ss dise ase ) are m uch gre ate r t ha n any
he alth risks from THMs and ot he r by-pro ducts. Alt hough othe r disinfe ctants are
availa ble , ble aching po wde r re m ains t he choice of wa te r tre at m e nt e xpe rts. Whe n use d
with m ode rn wa te r filt rat ion m e t hods, chlorine is e ffe ctive a gainst virt ually all
m icroorga nism s. Ble aching powde r is e asy to apply and sm a ll a m ounts of the che m ica l
re m ain in the wa te r as it tra ve ls in the distribut ion syste m from the tre a t m e nt pla nt t o
the consum e rs ta p, this le ve l of e ffe ctive ne ss e nsure s tha t m icroorga nism s cannot
re contam inate the wa te r afte r it le ave s t he tre a tm e nt.

But what is bleaching powder and how is it prepared?

Ble aching powde r or Calcium hypochlorite is a che m ical com pound wit h form ula
Ca(ClO) 2 . It is wide ly use d for wa te r tre a tm e nt a nd as a ble aching age nt ble aching
powde r). This che m ical is conside re d to be re lat ive ly sta ble a nd has gre a te r
availa ble chlorine tha n sodium hypochlorit e (liquid ble ach).
It is pre pa re d by e ithe r calcium proce ss or sodium proce ss.
Calcium Proce ss
2 Ca(OH)2 + 2 Cl2

CA(CLO) 2 + CaCl2 + 2 H2 O

Sodium Proce ss
2 Ca(OH)2 + 3 Cl2 + 2 NaOH

CA(CLO) 2 + Ca Cl2 + 2 H2 O + 2 NaCl

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But how can this chemical be used to sterilize water?

This che m ical can be use d for ste rilizing wa te r by Using 5 drops of ble ach pe r e ach half
gallo n of wa te r to be purifie d, a nd allo wing it to sit undist urbe d for half an ho ur to m a ke
it safe for drinking. Le tt ing it sit se ve ral ho urs m ore will he lp re duce the chlorine tast e ,
as the chlorine will slowly e va porat e out. A diffe re nt re fe re nce advise s whe n using
house hold ble ach for purificat ion; a dd a single drop of ble ach pe r quart of wa te r which
is visibly cle ar, or thre e drops pe r quart of wate r whe re t he wate r is NOT visibly cle ar.
The n allow the wa te r to sit undist urbe d for half a n hour.

What are the actual processes involved in disinfecting and purifying water?

The com binat ion of follo wing proce sse s is use d for m unicipa l drinking wate r t re at m e nt
worldwide :
1. Pre -chlorinatio n - for a lgae control a nd a rre sting any biological growth
2. Ae ratio n - alo ng wit h pre -chlorinatio n fo r re m o val of dissolve d iron a nd m a nga ne se
3. Coagulat ion - for flocculatio n
4. Coagulant aids also kno wn as polye le ct rolyte s - to im prove coagula tio n and for
thicke r floc form atio n
5. Se dim e nta tion - for solids se para tio n, t hat is, re m oval of suspe nde d solids t rappe d in
the floc
6. Filtrat ion - for re m o val of carrie d ove r floc
7. Disinfe ction - for killing bacte ria

Out of t he se proce sse s, t he role of Ble aching powde r is only in t he last ste p i.e . for
Disinfe ct ion of wate r.

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EXPERIMENT
Aim : To De te rm ine the do sage o f ble aching po w de r re quire d fo r ste rilizatio n o r
disinfe ctio n o f diffe re nt sam ple s o f w ate r.

Re quire m e nts: Bure t te , t itra tio n flask, 100m l gra dua te d cylinde r, 250m l m e asuring
flask, we ight box, glaze d tile , glass wool.

Ble aching Po wde r, Glass wool, 0.1 N Na 2 S2 O3 solut ion, 10% KI solutio n, diffe re nt sam ple s
of wate r, sta rch solut ion.

Pre -Re quisite Kno w le dge :

1. A kno wn m ass of t he give n sam ple of ble aching powde r is dissolve d in wate r to
pre pare a solut ion of kno wn conce nt rat ion. This solut ion co ntains dissolve d chlorine ,
libe rate d by the actio n of ble aching po wde r wit h wate r.
CaOCl2 +H2 0

Ca(OH)2 +Cl2

2. The a m ount of Chlo rine pre se nt in the abo ve solution is de te rm ine d by tre a ting a
kno wn volum e of the a bove solution wit h e xce ss of 10% potassium io dide solutio n,
whe n e quiva le nt am o unt of Iodine is libe ra te d. The Iodine , thus libe rate d is t he n
e stim a te d by t it rat ing it aga inst a sta ndard solut ion of Sodium t hiosulpha te , using
starch solut ion as indicator.
Cl2 +2KI
I2 +2Na 2 S2 O3

2KCl+I2
Na 2 S4 O6 +2NaI

3. A kno wn Vo lum e of one of the give n sam ple s of wate r is t re ate d with a known
volum e of ble aching po wde r solutio n. The am ount of re sidual chlorine is de te rm ine d
by a dding e xce ss potassium iodide solut ion and t he n t itra ting against standard
sodium thiosulpha te solut ion.
4. From t he re a dings in 2 a nd 3, the am ount of chlorine and he nce ble aching powde r
re quire d for the disinfe ction of a give n volum e of the give n sam ple of wate r can be
calculate d.

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Pro ce dure :

1. Pre para tio n of ble aching po wde r solutio n. We igh accurate ly 2.5g of t he give n sam ple
of ble aching po wde r a nd tra nsfe r it to a 250m l conical flask. Add abo ut 100-150m l of
dist ille d wa te r. Sto ppe r t he flask and shake it vigo rously. The suspe nsion thus
obtaine d is filte re d t hrough glass wool a nd the filtrat e is dilute d wit h wate r (in a
m e asuring flask) to m a ke the volum e 250m l. The solut ion o bta ine d is 1% ble aching
powde r solut ion.
2. Take 20m l of ble aching powde r solut ion in a stoppe re d conical flask a nd a dd it to
20m l of 10% KI solut ion. Sto ppe r t he flask and shake it vigorously. Titra te this
solut ion aga inst 0.1N Na 2 S2 O3 solut ion take n in the bure tte . Whe n t he solutio n in the
conical flask be com e s light ye llow in color, add a bout 2m l starch solutio n. The
solut ion now be com e s blue in color. Continue titra ting till the blue color just
disappe ars. Re pe a t the titra tio n to ge t a se t of t hre e concordant re a dings.
3. Take 100m l of t he wate r sam ple in a 250m l stoppe re d conical flask a nd a dd it to
10m l of ble ching powde r solut ion. The n a dd 20m l of KI solut ion a nd stoppe r t he
flask. Shake vigorously and titra te against 0.1N Na 2 S2 O3 solutio n using starch solutio n
as indicator as de scribe d in ste p 2.
4. Re pe at the ste p 3 wit h ot he r sa m ple s of wate r a nd re cord t he obse rvat ions.

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RESULT

Am ount of t he give n sa m ple of ble aching powde r re quire d to disinfe ct o ne lit re of

wate r
Sam ple I = g
Sam ple II= g
Sam ple III= g

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.The Me dical front-"Wate r Supply"

htt p:/ / www.vlib.us/ m e dical/ sancam p/ wa te r.htm

2. Che m ist ry Proje cts

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3.How to live on Ve ry,Ve ry Little -"Cle a n drinking wate r: Ho w to de ve lop low cost
source s of drinking wate r just a bout a nywhe re "
htt p:/ / www.jm oone yham .com / wa t p.ht m l

4.Calcium Hypochloride
htt p:/ / e n.wikipe dia.org/ wiki/ Ble aching_powde r

5.Wate r Tre at m e nt
htt p:/ / e n.wikipe dia.org/ wiki/ Wate r_tre a t m e nt

6.Ble ach
htt p:/ / e n.wikipe dia.org/ wiki/ Ble ach

7.Drinking Wate r Tre a tm e nt:Cont inuous Chlorina tion

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8.Chlo rinatio n of Drinking Wa te r

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9.Chlo rinatio n Of Drinking Wate r (2)

www.e dst rom .com / doclib/ m i4174.pdf

10.Wage ne t , L, K. Mancl, and M. Sailus, 1995. "Hom e Wa te r Tre at m e nt ,"

Nort he ast Re gio nal Agricult ural Engine e ring Se rvice , Coope ra tive Exte nsion,
Ithaca, N.Y.

11."Tre at m e nt Syste m s for House hold Wat e r Supplie s: Chlorinat ion,"

Nort h Dakota State Unive rsit y Exte nsio n Se rvice

12."Wa te r Tre at m e nt Note s: Chlorina tion of Drinking Wa te r,"

Corne ll Coope ra tive Exte nsion, Ne w York State Colle ge of Hum an Ecology,USA

13."Drinking Wate r Standards,"

www.e pa.gov/ safe wa te r/ m cl.ht m l

14."Unde rstanding t he Ne w Consum e r Confide nce Re port ,"

www.awwa.org/ Advocacy/ blue thum b98/ consum e r.cfm

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15."Te sting for Drinking Wa te r Qualit y," Ne bGuide G89-907 Coope rative
Exte nsio n,
Inst it ute of Agriculture and Nat ura l Re source s, Unive rsity of Ne braskaLincoln,USA

16.DISINFECTING YOUR WELL WATER: SHOCK CHLORINATION

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