Spectrophotometric determination of sulphate and nitrate in drinking water at asia-pacific international university campus, Muak Lek, Thailand

Abstract

The quality of water we drink is imperative and it forms a large percent of our bodies, allowing essential cellular chemical reactions to occur. It is, therefore, necessary to monitor for any physiochemical contaminants in the water. The aim of this research was focused to determine the level of sulphate and nitrate ions in drinking water at different locations from Asia-Pacific International University campus by using UV-Spectrophotometer. The drinking water has undergone by reverse-osmosis. Sulphate levels were measured using the turbidity method at 420 nm and nitrate levels by phenoldisulphonic acid methods at 410 nm. The research revealed the sulphate level to be 3.65 to 5.72 mg/L and nitrate level of 1.15 to 4.62 mg/L and these values are significantly lower than the WHO recommended guideline values for drinking water. The continued use of reverse osmosis as a mechanism to purify water is recommended.