Phosphate can be harmful when excessive amount is present in the drinking water system. The U.S. Public Health Service has set the maximum value of phosphate in drinking water at 3.0 mg/L. In this experiment, several samples were diluted and its concentration were analyzed through a spectrophotometer. The results obtained (0.1 mg/L and 2.28mg/L) are within the U.S. Public Health Service’s standards and are deemed to be safe.
Introduction
It is important that drinking water is monitored regularly to assure that the quality is within recommend range. Water pollutant can occur in various ways and ingestion of excess minerals (such as phosphate) poses health threats such as gastrointestinal illness, neurological disorders and reproductive issues [1]. Phosphate in drinking water is one of many minerals monitored through solution sampling. Performing a serial dilution process with the use of an indicator and a blank (composed of ammonium vanadomolybdate indicator and distilled water) as a reference, …show more content…
Through calculation, the percent transmittance allowed for the determination of absorbance. To zero-out the spectrophotometer, about 2/3 of the blank solution was poured into a cuvette and placed in the spectrophotometer device until it displayed 100% (allowed for the measurement of the absorbance of just the phosphate). The solution in the cuvette was disposed in a designated beaker, then it was thoroughly rinsed with distilled water and dried with Kimwipes. About 2/3 of the first solution was poured into the cleaned cuvette and placed in the spectrophotometer for testing. The previous steps were repeated for each of the remaining solutions.
Results
The results obtained were calculated using the following formulas respectively.
The initial volume of solution number 2 was determined by using dilution
Introduction
It is important that drinking water is monitored regularly to assure that the quality is within recommend range. Water pollutant can occur in various ways and ingestion of excess minerals (such as phosphate) poses health threats such as gastrointestinal illness, neurological disorders and reproductive issues [1]. Phosphate in drinking water is one of many minerals monitored through solution sampling. Performing a serial dilution process with the use of an indicator and a blank (composed of ammonium vanadomolybdate indicator and distilled water) as a reference, …show more content…
Through calculation, the percent transmittance allowed for the determination of absorbance. To zero-out the spectrophotometer, about 2/3 of the blank solution was poured into a cuvette and placed in the spectrophotometer device until it displayed 100% (allowed for the measurement of the absorbance of just the phosphate). The solution in the cuvette was disposed in a designated beaker, then it was thoroughly rinsed with distilled water and dried with Kimwipes. About 2/3 of the first solution was poured into the cleaned cuvette and placed in the spectrophotometer for testing. The previous steps were repeated for each of the remaining solutions.
Results
The results obtained were calculated using the following formulas respectively.
The initial volume of solution number 2 was determined by using dilution