What are the pH and TDS in the water? How can it be controlled?
The blog post discusses the concept of pH and TDS in water. It also suggests ways to control the presence of pH and TDS in the water.
Concept of pH
pH is the concentration of hydrogen ions in the water. A higher pH indicates fewer hydrogen ions in the water, and a lower pH means more hydrogen ions present in the water. The pH in liquid is measured through a pH scale. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14. While the nature of liquid of scale below seven is considered acidic, above seven is considered alkaline. The pH range of 7 is neutral, i.e., neither acidic nor alkaline. The water in this range is known as pure water.
The pH of vinegar is 2, whereas the pH of bleach is 13. Therefore, the nature of vinegar will be considered acidic, and the bleach would be alkaline, i.e., essential. The pH scale applies only to the water-based solutions.
Too much acidic and too much alkaline is neither good for the health of humans nor other purposes. It is recommended that the pH of the water should be between the scale of 6.5 to 8.5. Highly alkaline or highly acidic is harmful to health as well as the pipelines and appliances. So, we know that the pH limit should be within a considerable range. Therefore it becomes essential to know how the pH of the water can be controlled.
Ways to control pH
There are various ways to control the pH of the water. Essentially this can be divided into two types: first is if you want to reduce the pH, and the second is if you're going to increase the pH in a liquid solution.
Reducing the pH in the water
If you are looking the ways to reduce pH in the water, you should consider following the methods given below:
- 1. Add vinegar or citric acid to the solution to reduce the pH of the water. You can also consider adding lemon or lemon juice to the water solution.
- 2. You can install a water filter on the tap. It also helps reduce the pH of the water as it tries to neutralize the effects of minerals like sodium, fluoride, etc.
- 3. Food-grade acids such as phosphoric, lactic acid, and sulfuric acids can also be added to lower the pH of the water.
- 4. Muriatic acid or hydrochloride can be used to lower the pH levels of water if you want to reduce the pH level of pool water.
- 5. You can also add a phosphoric acid buffer to reduce the pH of the water.
Increasing the pH in the water
After having looked at the ways of lowering the pH of the water, now let us look at the ways to increase the pH in case the water is highly acidic. Some of the methods are discussed here as below:
- 1. If the water's pH is low, you can add soda ash and sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) in the water to increase the pH value of the water.
- 2. Milk of magnesia and ammonia are other alkaline substances that can be added to increase the pH in the water.
- 3. Also, there are some drops available in the market that you can add to the solution based on a need to increase the pH.
Concept of TDS
TDS expands to total dissolved solids. TDS is defined as the organic and inorganic matters, minerals, and contaminants dissolved in a particular quantity in water. When the water passes through the stones and pipelines, certain minerals and chemicals of larger size get dissolved in the water. Apart from it, TDS can get from different sources such as runoff from the salts, chemicals, and fertilizers from the farms.
They do not get removed by the normal filtration process. It is because the size of microns is more significant than 2 microns. The water filters can remove the microns that are less than 2 microns and even at best 0.45 microns. High TDS is considered very harmful to the life of human beings as well as other living organisms. It can bring in a lot of hazards for the heath.
It changes the taste and color of the water. Generally, the recommended TDS level for the water is 50-150 parts per million (ppm). Let us understand how the TDS level can be maintained so that it is suitable for drinking water.
Ways to reduce TDS
Three ways can help in reducing the total dissolved solids (TDS). These are discussed here as follows:
- 1. Reverse Osmosis: Using Reverse Osmosis is one of the most effective ways to maintain TDS levels. The filters present in the RO system force and pressurize the water through a synthetic membrane. In this process, the excessive TDS gets removed automatically.
- 2. Distillation: It is the process of boiling water so that water vapors are produced. These produced water vapors then rise to a cool surface where they are condensed where it reverses the process meaning, thereby getting condensed back into the liquid form. The dissolved particles do not get vaporized and settle at the bottom. From there, the TDS is removed.
- 3. Deionization: In the process of deionization, the water is passed through the negative and positive electrodes. The ion-selective membrane gives the water and enables the positive ions to separate themselves and move towards negative electrodes. The result is the highly deionized water that is highly purified. This method is highly recommended after the water has passed through a reverse osmosis unit.
We hope that you have got the concept of pH and TDS very well.
Netsol Water Solutions is proud to be the leading wastewater plant manufacturer in India. We take immense pleasure in designing and manufacturing machines to save the Earth and its resources, especially water. We continuously strive to make Environment eco-friendly.
Our vision is to provide sustainable and affordable management solutions to cope up with the challenges of increasing urbanization, industrialization, and population growth. Our products are of high quality. We work to provide eco-conscious solutions that are reliable, cost-effective, and durable. Our technology is designed so that it allows for clean and hygienic water for our customers.
If you have any doubts, please feel free to reach us. We will try our best to assist you. Contact us to discuss your requirements. We can be reached at 9650608473, or feel free to leave your query at enquiry@netsolwater.com.
