Case Study: Green Swimming Pool Investigation

1446 Words3 Pages

Daniella Cowden
161127020069
Physical Science Department
Research Task

Green Swimming Pool Investigation

Problem Statement:
The Olympics pool in Rio turned green overnight and needs to be rectified. What went wrong also needs to be determined through the chemistry involved in maintaining a pool.

Normal Pool Chemistry:
The water in pools has to be disinfected to make it safe for swimming. But the disinfectants added to pools aren’t just killing harmful microbes. They’re also reacting with organic matter in the water to form unwanted disinfection by-products. Most of the precursors to those by-products are brought into the water by swimmers themselves.
The most common compounds used to disinfect swimming pools are forms of chlorine. Other disinfectants include bromine, ozone, and ultraviolet radiation. They all …show more content…

High levels can cause PH to rise. Total alkalinity indicates the water's ability to buffer PH changes. Buffering means you need to use a larger quantity of a chemical to change the pH. At low Total Alkalinity levels, the pH tends to swing around drastically. At high Total Alkalinity levels, the pH tends to drift up.
Calcium Hardness - Appropriate levels help prevent plaster damage. High levels can cause calcium scaling. Calcium hardness indicates the amount of calcium in the water. Over time, water with low calcium levels will tend to dissolve calcium out of plaster, pebble, tile, stone, concrete, and to some extent fiberglass surfaces.
Cyanuric Acid - Protects chlorine from sunlight and determines the required Free Chlorine level. Cyanuric acid, often called stabilizer or conditioner, both protects Free Chlorine from sunlight and lowers its effective strength. The higher the Cyanuric Acid level, the more Free Chlorine you need to use to get the same effect. It is important to know your Cyanuric Acid level so you can figure out what Free Chlorine level to aim for.
Disinfection

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