Increasing Drinking Water pH

We are ​planning to use ​sodium ​carbonate (​Na2CO3) or ​sodium ​hydroxide (NaOH)​ in few ​drinking water ​applications to ​raise the pH: ​

• Na2CO3 to ​raise pH from 7.​ 1 to 8 ​
• NaOH to raise ​pH from 5 to 7. ​5

Do we need to ​use the food ​grade  ​sodium ​carbonate and ​sodium ​hydroxide? What ​are the ​possible ​dangers of not ​using the food ​grade  ​Na2CO3 and ​ NaOH?  ​

Is there a ​cheaper method ​of increasing ​the drinking ​water pH if the ​food grade ​ Na2CO3 ​and  NaOH ​need to be used?​

Taxonomy

• Drinking Water Security
• Standards & Quality
• Drinking Water Treatment
• Drinking Water Managment
• Drinking Water
• Water Quality Management

14 Answers

1. You should not consider sodium hydroxide.

2. 1. Dose magnesium oxide(MgO).
   2. Addition of Baking soda ​
   3. Another method for increasing the pH of drinking water is to add alkaline ingredients like lemon juice in water. Lemon juice is a highly alkaline solution and can raise the pH level of water up to seven or more. This is an economical method of pH correction for acidic water.It's a citrus fruit. Inside the body however, when  lemon  juice has been fully metabolized and its minerals are dissociated in the bloodstream, its effect is alkalizing and therefore raises the Outside the body, lemon juice is acidic (pH is below 7).  This is a non-issue. Everyone knows this.  It’s a citrus fruit.Inside the body however, when lemon juice has been fully metabolized and its minerals are dissociated in the bloodstream, its effect is alkalizing and therefore raises the pH of body tissue (pH above 7 is alkaline).  Please notice the difference. pH of body tissue (pH above 7 is  alkaline )

   To function properly, your blood requires healthy acid versus alkaline, or pH, levels. Systems in your body carefully maintain normal blood pH levels, which fall between 7.35 and 7.45, regardless of your diet. While water with lemon juice may alter the pH of your urine, it won't likely influence the overall acidity of your body. Learning more about the tangy beverage and your body's pH system may inspire you to make wise dietary decisions

    

    

   https://youtu.be/TXzGEIjAcJw

    

    

    

3. pH can have an effect on the  corrosivity of the  water toward pipe and other plumbing materials. pH 5 is much too low and acidic. That is close to vinegar.  NaOH is  probably cheapest to raise pH because less is needed, but the carbonate could add some buffering stability.  So if your water is very low alkalinity it might be better to use carbonate or a mix. Use drinking water grade material. NSF International is one product certifier but there are others that are equivalent. In either case the sodium increase  is not significant.  Bottled water parameters are not relevant because the water does not contact plumbing materials.

4. Use only American,  NSF 60 certified chemicals for drinking water. Do a titration followed by an analysis  of the drinking water that you want to adjust the pH. Recommend using lime, baking soda--also buffers, sodium hydroxide. WHO guidelines for sodium is taste after 200 mg/L .  Lower is better. All depends on the characterization of the drinking water.

5. Use only American,  NSF 60 certified chemicals for drinking water. Do a titration followed by an analysis  of the drinking water that you want to adjust the pH. Recommend using lime, baking soda--also buffers, sodium hydroxide. WHO guidelines for sodium is taste after 200 mg/L .  Lower is better. All depends on the characterization of the drinking water.

6. Adding either NaOH or Na2CO3 (very small quantities are necessary) will let you achieve your target.

   However the full appreciation of the result requires for the following general considerations:

   a) pH of drinking water is not a must and 7.1 can be very well acceprable (why to raise it?)

   b) Na is considered a salt to be kept at minimum concentration in high quality dinking water (it is suspected to be harmful for heart because raising the blood pressure).

   Hence I recommend prudence in correction of pH.

   I attach the analysis of some of the best quality Italian bottled mineral water, and you can use it as a guideline for your added pH correctors

   Italian Natural Bottled Water Analysis
   	Samples	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
   		Vera Nestlè	Levissima	Laurentana	Rocchetta	Conad	xxx	Ferrarelle
   Conductivity	µS/cm	251	119	15,2	276	250	216	181
   pH		7,9	7,8	6,3	7,6	7,8	8,0	6,1
   Ca++	ppm	35,9	20,4	1,5	57,4	40,2	32,0	48,0
   Mg++	ppm	12,6	1,8	0,4	3,2	4,2	6,2	2,4
   Na+	ppm	2,8	1,9	1,0	4,1	14,0	6,4	5,0
   K+	ppm	0,5	1,6	0,2	0,3	0,2	0,8	4,6
   HCO3-	ppm	148,0	57,4	5,0	182,1	139,0	103,0	148,0
   SO4--	ppm	19,3	16,1	1,2	6,8	29,8	22,0	5,0
   Cl-	ppm	2,4	NA	0,4	6,8	NA	8,5	1,8
   NO3-	ppm	4,4	1,5	2,3	1,1	1,0	2,9	5,0
   F-	ppm	NA	0,2	NA	0,1	NA	0,1	1,1
   SiO2	ppm	NA	5,4	4,5	4,2	NA	7,0	8,5
   Total TDS	ppm	225,9	106,3	16,5	266,1	228,4	188,9	229,4
   Dry solids (180°C)	ppm	163	80	14	174	173	139,0	NA

    

    

   1 Comment

   1. Thanks for the input.

      a) In first case, we raise pH a bit using Na2CO3 to enhance iron precipitation.

      b) For the second case, we are using NaOH because it adds only a little amount of Na+ ions copared to Na2CO3.

      We are planning to include a pH monitoring unit as a fail safe.

7. Baking soda addition of 1tsp for 2gallons of purified water and mixed well will increase ph...make sure u measure and adjust soda accordingly.

   Lemons can do the job organically..inside body the alkaline nature is confirmed,provided u use cut lemons,and not juice,not exposed t air for more than 30mints. It has anionic nature.

   There are drops available in health stores that u may add t make water alkaline.

   1 Comment

   1. lemons are alkaline?

      1 Comment reply

      1. Lemon has the special nature of enhanced alkalinity on consumption..proven reports r available

8. I use Magnesium Oxide (MgO) prill beads to bring pH to 8.7 PERMANENTLY. Simple and works for decades, never dissolves, never wears out and never needs to be replaced. I have used this in 1000s of consumer's homes for a onetime retail cost of $40. Placed in a glass, plastic or ceramic containers. Removes pesticides, bacteria, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, chromium VI, Ecoli, arsenic, radiation, black mold, etc. Contact me for more info.

   1 Comment

   1. How does MgO last permanently?  Curious about the reaction mechanism  behind it.

9. What do you mean  by "FEW DRINKING WATER" applications? Why do you want to add Sodium  only? Have you analysed the composition of water wrt its mineral content? Is it OK for the present concentration of Potassium, Magnesium and Calcium? Which ion is increasing its acidity?

10. In order to do a good estimation of what is cheaper, let us know what is the flow rate ?

    maybe aeration can increase the pH to a nutral pH

    1 Comment

    1. Oz, flowrate is around 1000L/hr in both cases. In first case there are free Chlorine in water, aeration wouldn't do much. Will try aeration for 2nd case.

11. De[pending on the starting point of your water pH it is important NOT to under or over feed the chemical that you use to raise the pH to its target value.  I would first prepare a titration in the lab to determine what the curve looks like and how much chemical you need to add for a given pH and volume of water.  I would then monitor the water after addition of the base you are adding to insure that you are feeding the chemical in the right volume in order to achieve your end point pH.

12. I would suggest that you ensure that your suppliers provide chemicals that comply with the relevant standards for chemicals used within the water industry.

    The UK standards can be found here: http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/drinking-water-products/approved-products/Annex2.pdf. They are usually based on ISO ? EN standards, so you should have equivalent versions translated to your local conditions; if not, then use the EN standards and request compliance with them from your suppliers.

    1 Comment

    1. Thanks for the info. I found that the standard I should look for is  BS EN 896:2012 which I don't have free access.

13. I recommend you use baking soda. You really have no worry with issues.

    1 Comment

    1. We will have to use a large quantity of NaHCO3 to raise pH from 5 to 8 which leads to an unacceptable salt content.

14. If you plan to sell this water to consumers you will not acting responsibly if you didn't. If you treat pH before downstream processing to remove potential contaminants then you could still meet drinking water standards as product water. Be very careful of the sources & manufacturing methods of these chemicals potential risks heavy metals including mercury.