Chemical and physical analysis of bottled water

2. There are three classes of bottled water:
1. natural mineral water
2. spring water
3. other waters
European Communities (Natural Mineral Waters, Spring Waters
and Other Waters in Bottles or Containers) Regulations, 2007 (S.I.
No. 225 of 2007) lay down the requirements for the marketing:
definitions, exploitation, treatment, microbiological criteria,
chemical contaminants, sales descriptions and packaging

3. Defined by Directive 2009/54/EC (European Parliament & Council of
the European Union, 2009) as :
“microbiologically wholesome water, within the meaning of Article 5,
originating in an underground water table or deposit and emerging
from a spring tapped at one or more natural or bore exits”.
• No treatment only for the separation of unstable constituents and the
elimination, but the introduction or reintroduction of carbon dioxide. Fluoride
and ozone can be added
• Treatment to change the viable colony count of the natural mineral water is
strongly forbidden
European Parliament & Council of the European Union. (2009). Directive 2009/54/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral
waters. Official Journal of the European Union, L, 164/45-58.

4. • Nearly all water in the word contains pollutants
• Many dissolved minerals, carbon compounds, and microbes
find their way into drinking water
• Pollutants in drinking water may affect human health
• The only way to ensure safety of your water supply is doing
periodic laboratory water analysis

5. 5
Chemical
 Organic
 Inorganic
 pH
Microbiological
Bacteria
Virus
Protozoa
Helminths
Physical
 Turbidity
 Color
 Odor
 Taste

6. • Requirements for physical, chemical and physical-chemical
characteristics should include determining:
1. Organoleptic parameters
2. Global Parameters
3. Anions and cations

7. • Turbidity
• Color
• Odor
• Taste

8. • Turbidity
A measure of water clarity
Turbidity reduces the transmission of light into water
Turbidity increases as a result of suspended solids in the water

9. Taste
The bottled water shouldn’t have theoretically any taste but in special
cases depending on mineralization and temperature
Sensors - Language Electronics
Sensors set without difficulty basic standards of sweet, salty, sour and bitter taste at
concentrations below the human detection limit

10. • pH
• Alkalinity
• Conductivity
• Hardness
• Dry residue at 180 and 260º
• Silica

11. • pH
variations in pH value are mainly due to hydrolysis of salts of strong
bases and weak acids. Usually determined by using a specific
electrode

12. • Alkalinity
• Hardness
are usually determined by titration
methods

13. • Electric Conductivity
Specific conductance yields a measure of water’s
capacity to convey an electric current
• Increases when more salt (e.g., sodium chloride)
is dissolved in water
• Indirect measure of salinity
μ/cm or μS/cm
for resistance or
conductivity, resp.

14. • Silica
Can be measured by a colorimetric method that
determines molybdate-reactive silica
• It is applicable to most waters, but some waters
may require filtration and dilution to remove
interferences from color and turbidity. This is not
generally the case for mineral and spring water
This test method is useful for concentrations as
low as 20 μg/L

15. • Free CO2 in carbonated waters
• It is a method of measuring CO2 using thermal conductivity technology
to measure the “true” amount of CO2 in beverages independent of other
gases. This method was developed and patented by Hach Ultra
(www.hach.com)
• Sulphurous waters: total sulphur (mmol/L) and total
sulphonation (mL/L) must be determined. See titration
afterwards

16. • Anions
F- fluoride
Cl- chloride
HCO3
- hydrogen carbonate or bicarbonate
SO4
2- sulphate
NO2
- nitrite
NO3
– nitrate
hydrosulphide ion HS− and hydrogen sulphide (in sulphurous waters)

17. • Cations
Li+ lithium
Na+ sodium
K+ potassium
Mg2+ magnesium
Ca2+ calcium
Fe2+ and Fe3+ iron
NH4
+ ammonium

18. • Ion Chromatography
is one of the most used methods to determine ions in water;
is a sensitive and stable technique
• Titration
is the most common technic to measure H2S
• Spectrophotometry
is most commonly used to measure iron and nitrate contents
in water samples