CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

TSS is solid materials, including organic and inorganic, that are suspended in the

water. These would include silt, plankton and industrial wastes.

1.1 Background of the study

Total suspended solids is a water quality measurement usually abbreviated TSS.

This parameter was at one time called non-filterable residue (NFR), a term that refers to

the identical measurement: the dry-weight of particles trapped by a filter, typically of a

specified pore size. However, the term "non-filterable" suffered from an odd (for science)

condition of usage: in some circles (Oceanography, for example) "filterable" meant the

material retained on a filter, so non-filterable would be the water and particulates that

passed through the filter. In other disciplines (Chemistry and Microbiology for examples)

and dictionary definitions, "filterable" means just the opposite: the material passed by a

filter, usually called "Total dissolved solids" or TDS. Thus in chemistry the non-filterable

solids are the retained material called the residue.

High concentrations of suspended solids can lower water quality by absorbing

light. Waters then become warmer and lessen the ability of the water to hold oxygen

necessary for aquatic life. Because aquatic plants also receive less light, photosynthesis

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decreases and less oxygen is produced. The combination of warmer water, less light and

less oxygen makes it impossible for some forms of life to exist.

Suspended solids affect life in other ways. They can clog fish gills, reduce growth

rates, decrease resistance to disease, and prevent egg and larval development. Particles

that settle out can smother fish eggs and those of aquatic insects, as well as suffocate

newly-hatched larvae.

Suspended solids can result from erosion from urban runoff and agricultural land,

industrial wastes, bank erosion, bottom feeders (such as carp), algae growth or

wastewater discharges.

Solids suspended in water may consist of inorganic and organic particles or of

immiscible liquids. Inorganic solids such as clay, silt, and other soil constituents are

common in surface water. Organic material such as plant fibers and biological solids

(algal cells, bacteria, etc.) are also common constituents of surface waters. These

materials are often natural contaminants resulting from the erosive action of water

flowing over surfaces. Because of the filtering capacity of the soil, suspended material is

seldom a constituent of groundwater.

Other suspended material may result from human use of the water. Domestic

wastewater usually contains large quantities of suspended solids that are mostly organic

in nature. Industrial wastewater may result in a wide variety of suspended impurities of

either organic or inorganic nature. Immiscible liquids such as oils and greases are often

constituents of wastewater.

Prevention methods include protection of the land in our watershed from erosion

by use of conservation tillage measures and giving urban runoff time to settle out before

reaching our surface waters.

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TSS of a water sample is determined by pouring a carefully measured volume of

water (typically one liter; but less if the particulate density is high, or as much as two or

three liters for very clean water) through a pre-weighed filter of a specified pore size,

then weighing the filter again after drying to remove all water. Filters for TSS

measurements are typically composed of glass fibers. The gain in weight is a dry weight

measure of the particulates present in the water sample expressed in units derived or

calculated from the volume of water filtered (typically milligrams per liter or mg/l).

Recognizes that if the water contains an appreciable amount of dissolved

substances (as certainly would be the case when measuring TSS in seawater), these will

add to the weight of the filter as it is dried. Therefore it is necessary to "wash" the filter

and sample with deionizer water after filtering the sample and before drying the filter.

Failure to add this step is a fairly common mistake made by inexperienced laboratory

technicians working with sea water samples, and will completely invalidate the results as

the weight of salts left on the filter during drying can easily exceed that of the suspended

particulate matter.

1.2 Scope of the study

In way to measure the TSS in wastewater, it has been compared between three

different types of wastewater which are river, industrial and domestic. A well-mixed

measured sample is filtered through a weighed standard glass-fiber filter and the residue

retained on the filter is dried to a constant weight at 103°C to 105°C. The increase in

weight of the filter represents the total suspended solids. If the suspended material clogs

the filter and prolongs filtration, it may be necessary to increase the diameter of the filter

or decrease the sample volume.

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1.3 Objective

The goal of this experiment is to determine value of total suspended solid (TSS)

in water and wastewater such as water sources from river, industrial as well as domestic.

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Solids refer to matter suspended or dissolved in water or wastewater. Solids may

affect water or effluent quality adversely in a number of ways. Waters with high

dissolved solids generally are of inferior palatability and may induce an unfavourable

physiological reaction in the transient consumer. For these reasons, a limit of 500 mg

dissolved solids/L is desirable for drinking waters. Highly mineralized waters also are

unsuitable for many industrial applications. Waters high in suspended solids may be

esthetical unsatisfactory for such purposes as bathing. Solids analyses are important in

the control of biological and physical wastewater treatment processes and for assessing

compliance with regulatory agency wastewater effluent limitations.

2.1 Total suspended solid (TSS)

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) is solids in water that can be trapped by a filter.

TSS can include a wide variety of material, such as silt, decaying plant and animal

matter, industrial wastes, and sewage. High concentrations of suspended solids can cause

many problems for stream health and aquatic life.

High TSS can block light from reaching submerged vegetation. As the amount of

light passing through the water is reduced, photosynthesis slows down. Reduced rates of

photosynthesis causes less dissolved oxygen to be released into the water by plants. If

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light is completely blocked from bottom dwelling plants, the plants will stop producing

oxygen and will die. As the plants are decomposed, bacteria will use up even more

oxygen from the water. Low dissolved oxygen can lead to fish kills. High TSS can also

cause an increase in surface water temperature, because the suspended particles absorb

heat from sunlight. This can cause dissolved oxygen levels to fall even further because

warmer waters can hold less DO, and can harm aquatic life in many other ways, as

discussed in the temperature section.

The decrease in water clarity caused by TSS can affect the ability of fish to see

and catch food. Suspended sediment can also clog fish gills, reduce growth rates,

decrease resistance to disease, and prevent egg and larval development. When suspended

solids settle to the bottom of a water body, they can smother the eggs of fish and aquatic

insects, as well as suffocate newly hatched insect larvae. Settling sediments can fill in

spaces between rocks which could have been used by aquatic organisms for homes. High

TSS in a water body can often mean higher concentrations of bacteria, nutrients,

pesticides, and metals in the water. These pollutants may attach to sediment particles on

the land and be carried into water bodies with storm water. In the water, the pollutants

may be released from the sediment or travel farther downstream. High TSS can cause

problems for industrial use, because the solids may clog or scour pipes and machinery.

2.2 Factor affecting total suspended solid

Soil erosion is caused by disturbance of a land surface. Soil erosion can be caused

by building and road construction, forest fires, logging and mining. The eroded soil

particles can be carried by storm water to surface water. This will increase the TSS of the

water body. During storm events, soil particles and debris from streets and industrial,

commercial, and residential areas can be washed into streams. Because of the large

amount of pavement in urban areas, infiltration is decreased, velocity increases, and

natural settling areas have been removed. Sediment is carried through storm drains

directly to creeks and rivers.

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As plants and animals decay, suspended organic particles are released and can

contribute to the TSS. The effluent from wastewater treatment plants can add suspended

solids to a stream. The wastewater from our houses contain food residue, human waste,

and other solid material that we put down our drains. Most of the solids are removed

from the water at the treatment plant before being discharged to the stream, but treatment

plants only remove some of the TSS. Important components of the TSS load from the

treatment plants include phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic matter.

2.3 Interpreting Test Results

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes standards for drinking

water which fall into two categories - Primary Standards and Secondary Standards.

Primary Standards are based on health considerations and Secondary Standards are based

on taste, odour, colour, corrosives, foaming, and staining properties of water. There is no

Primary drinking water standard for total dissolved solids, but the Secondary standard for

TDS is 500 mg/L.

The treatment option for an elevated total dissolved solid really depends on the

nature of the cations and anions. If the elevated total dissolved solid is due to cations like

calcium, magnesium, and iron, it may be possible to remove these ions using a water

softener. This process may not reduce the TSS concentration, but reduce the aesthetic

problems with the water. If the problem is associated with an elevated concentration of

sodium, potassium, etc, the primary recommendations would include a reverse osmosis

system or distillation unit.

2.4 Potential Health Effects

An elevated total suspended solids (TSS) concentration is not a health hazard. The

TSS concentration is a secondary drinking water standard and therefore is regulated

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because it is more of an aesthetic rather than a health hazard. High total dissolved solids

may affect the aesthetic quality of water interfere with washing clothes and corroding

plumbing fixtures. An elevated TSS indicates the following:

a) The concentration of the dissolved ions may cause the water to be corrosive, salty or

brackish taste, result in scale formation, and interfere and decrease efficiency of hot

water heaters

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CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY

3.0 MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY

3.1 Material

i. Glass fiber filter disk, 47 mm

ii. Measuring cylinder, 100 mL

iii. Analytical balance

iv. Oven – preheated purpose (1030C to 1050C)

v. Desiccator

vi. Bunchner flask and funnel

vii. Vacuum pump

viii. Aluminium weigheing dishes/ crucible dish

ix. 50 mL of river sample

x. 50 mL of domestic sample

xi. 50 mL of industrial sample

xii. 50 mL of distilled water

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3.2 Methodology

Figure 3.1: Method Determination of TSS for Different Sources of Water

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1. 3 filter disks with different tagging (industrial, river, domestic) were dried in oven at 1050C for 1 hour, cooled in desiccator and weighted

2. The filtering apparatus, filter and begin suction were assembled and the pump is switched on

3. 50mL of industrial samples was flow through filter disk in a Buchner flask

4. 10mL of distilled water was flow to allow complete drainage about 3 minutes after sample's filtration was complete

5. the filter disk was removed carefully from filtration apparatus and transfered to aluminium weighing dished

6. step 4 until 6 was repeated by domestic and river samples

7. All the filter disks were dried in oven at 1050C at least 1 hour, cooled in dessicator and weight

CHAPTER 4

RESULT & DISCUSSION

4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Result

Table 4.1: TSS value of industrial, domestic and river

Sample

Sources

Weight of

Filter (mg)

Weight of

filter + dried

residue (mg)

Net weight

(mg)

TSS

(mg/L)

Industrial 0.1536 0.1550 0.0014 0.0280

Domestic 0.1531 0.1534 0.0002 0.0004

River 0.1519 0.1529 0.0010 0.0200

TSS – total suspended solid

4.2 Discussion

The solid has property which is able to disperse in water in both types whether as

suspended forms or dissolved forms. The solid in the suspended forms is known as the

suspended solid meanwhile the solid in the dissolved form is known as dissolved solid.

The suspended solid is one of the types of physical water-quality parameters (Peavy

1985). The suspended solid usually comprised of fine particulate matter with the diameter

less than 62µm.

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According to the result above, the value of total suspended solid (TSS) can be

calculated by using equation below:

mgTSS

L=

( A−B )V

x1000 ..... (1)

Where:

A = weight of filter + dried residue (mg)

B = weight of filter (mg)

V = Sample’s volume (mL)

Therefore, the TSS value for the industrial sample is:

TSSindustrial=(0.1550−0.1536 ) mg

50 mLx 1000

¿0.028 mg /mL

Then, the value of total suspended solid for the domestic and river samples also

calculated by using equation 1 above and the value are 0.0004 mg/mL and 0.02mg/L

respectively. This experiment also shows that industrial waste contain high amount of

TSS, followed by river water and lastly is domestic wastewater. This result also has been

approved by Mulligan (2009) which state that the pollution from the industrial effluents

able to produce high levels of suspended solids in water.

According to the third schedule of environmental quality act, EQA 1974 for

environmental quality of sewage and industrial effluents, there are several parameter

limits such temperature, pH, BOD, COD as well as suspended solid for the effluents of

standard A also standard B. Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd. has stated that the

effluent that discharged upstream of the water supply intake should meet the standard A.

Meanwhile, effluent that will discharges to the downstream needs to meet the standard B.

The limit value of the suspended solid for the standard A is 50mg/l and for standard B is

100mg/l (Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd.; EQA 1974). When comparing the standard

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value from Environmental Quality Act, EQA 1974 with the result in this experiment, it

shows that value of total suspended solid (TSS) for all three samples which industrial,

domestic and river in this experiment are lower than the standard value which are

0.028mg/l, 0.004mg/l and 0.02mg/l respectively.

The suspended solid (SS) may affects several properties of water bodies which are

can be divided into three such as physical, chemical and biological properties. These

changes of properties is caused by the increasing the SS concentration in water (Bilotta,

2008).

The changing of physical properties by SS are likes reduction of penetration of

light onto water because of the cloudiness of water surface, changing temperature in

water as well infilling of channels and reservoirs when solid are deposited. In the term of

chemical properties changing caused by SS are releasing the contaminants like heavy

metals and pesticides, and nutrients such phosphorus. Last but not least, the effect on

biological property which usually on organisms are as described in table below:

Table 4.2: Effect of different concentration of SS on organisms

Organism SS Concentration

(mg/l)

Effects

Macrophytes and

algae

8 3-13% reduction in primary productivity

2100 No primary production

Phytoplankton 10 40% reduction in algal biomass

Macrophytes and

algae

40 13-50% reduction in primary productivity

Periphyton

200 Significant reduction in biomass and

filament length

0 - 6500 Abrasive damage and reduced biomass

Source: Bilotta, G. S & Brazier, R. E. (2009)

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Besides that, organisms like phytoplankton, periphyton and mac rophytes, SS also

able give effects on the aquatic invertebrates and also salmonid fish. The invertebrates’

aquatics are determined to those that remaining in the water column like zooplankton.

The SS can damage exposed respiratory organs or will make the organisms more

susceptible to predation through dislodgement. Meanwhile, salmonid fish is considered as

important members of aquatic food chain, including trout, whitefish, grayling and

salmon. The presence of SS can directly act on the free-living fish by clogging and being

abrasive to their delicate gill structures. Besides that, it also prevents the sufficient

exchange of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide between respiring eggs/ larvae and

flowing water.

The suspended solid occur in water may contain of inorganic or organic particles

or also of immiscible liquids. The inorganic particles or solids can be divided into clay,

silt, or the other soil constituents. Meanwhile, the matter considered as organic materials

are like plant fibers and biological solids such algal cells, bacteria and others. All these

materials are often natural contaminants resulting from the erosive action of water

flowing over surfaces.

The other suspended solid also may cause from human use of the water such

domestic wastewater. The domestic wastewater usually contains large quantities of

suspended matter which mostly organic in nature. In addition to that, SS also caused by

livestock confinement areas, grazing lands, forest, cropland, building sites, stream banks,

urban areas as well as roadways (K.State).

In order to determine the amount of solids, there are several available tests can be

conducted like electro coagulation (Solak, 2009) as well filtration (Mulligan, 2009). Most

of the suspended solid can be determined or removed from water by using filtration

process (Peavy, 1985; Mulligan, 2009).

Besides that, in conjunction with the different concentration of suspended solid in

the water, there are several assumptions has been made most people about appearance of

water. For instance, most people have considered water to be clear if concentration of

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TSS is less than 20mg/l. Meanwhile, water may tend to appear cloudy with TSS

concentration in the range of 40mg/l to 80mg/l and lastly water will appear dirty when

the TSS concentration is more than 150mg/l.

The suspended solids such as organic or biological in nature are an important

parameter of wastewater. There are several usage of the suspended solids parameter

which are used to measure the quality of the wastewater influent and to monitor several

treatment processes. Besides that, this type of parameter is used to measure the quality of

the effluent. EPA has set that the maximum suspended solid standard of 30mg/l for the

most treated wastewater discharges.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATION

5.0 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

As the encapsulation, the goals of this experiment which is to determine the total

suspended solid (TSS) from different sources of water such industrial, domestic and river

were achieved. The TSS amount of industrial, domestic and river water sources are

0.028mg/l, 0.004mg/l and 0.02mg/l respectively and these amount is far away less than

standard A and standard B limit in Environmental Quality Act, 1974 for environmental

quality of sewage and industrial effluents.

5.2 Recommendation

The amount of the total suspended solid (TSS) may increase by reduce the size of

filter disk, where with the smallest size, there are no solid able to flow through the filter

disk. The filter paper need to be dried properly so there is no moisture at all on the filter

paper that can affect the result of the experiment.

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REFERENCES

Bilotta, G. S., & Brazier, R. E. (2009). Understanding the influence of suspended solids

on water quality and aquatic biota. Review. Water Research, 42, 2849 – 2861

DEGEN, J. & F.E. NUSSBERGER. 1956. Notes on the determination of suspended

solids. Sewage Ind. Wastes 28:237.

Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd. Sewage Facts. Available online at

http://www.iwk.com.my/f-sewerage-fact.htm [Accessed on November 2011]

Mulligan, C. N., Davarpanah, N., Fukue, M., & Inoue, T. (2009). Filtration of

contaminated suspended solids for the treatment of surface water. Chemosphere,

Chemosphere, 74, 779 – 786

Peavy, H. S., Rowe, D. R., & Tchobanoglous, G. Environmental Engineering. McGraw-

Hill International Editions, pp 15 – 17

SMITH, A.L. & A.E. GREENBERG. 1963. Evaluation of methods for determining

suspended solids in wastewater. J. Water Pollut. Control Fed. 35:940.

Solak, M., Kılıç, M., Yazıcı, H., & Şencan, A. (2009). Removal of suspended solids and

turbidity from marble processing wastewaters by electrocoagulation: Comparison of

electrode materials and electrode systems. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 172, 345 –

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Suspended solids: A water quality concern forn Kansas. Kansas State University

Agricultural Experiment Station and Coorporative extension Service. Available online at

http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/h20ql2/mf2501.pdf. [Accessed on November 2011]

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Third schedule, Environmental Quality Act 1974. Available online at

http://www.sabah.gov.my/jpas/Assessment/eia/sp-eias/Benta/eia/AnnexB/AnnexB.pdf

[Accessed on November 2011]

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