Water chlorination is the process of adding chlorine (Cl2) or hypochlorite to water. This method is used to kill certain bacteria and other microbes in tap water as chlorine is highly toxic. In particular, chlorination is used to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, jaundice, typhoid etc.
Procedure:
When dissolved in water, chlorine converts to an equilibrium mixture of chlorine, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and hydrochloric acid
(HCl):Cl2 + H2O \overrightarrow{\leftarrow} HOCl + HCl
In acidic solution, the major species are Cl2 and HOCl, whereas in alkaline solution, effectively only ClO? (hypochlorite ion) is present. Very small concentrations of ClO2?, ClO3?, ClO4? are also found.
William Cumberland Cruikshank was the first to demonstrate that a particular crystallizable substance exists in the urine and is precipitated from it by nitric acid.He identified carbon monoxide as a compound containing carbon and oxygen in 1800.In 1800 he also used chlorine to purify water.
