Physio-chemical and EDXRF Analysis of Water Samples from District Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

Abstract

The analysis of physiochemical parameters of groundwater from nineteen locations of District Kurukshetra, Haryana was carried out. Each parameter was compared with the standard desirable limits prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO), Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to assess the quality of ground water. The physiochemical parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium, and dissolved oxygen were determined. Systematic calculation was made to determine the correlation coefficient 'r' amongst the parameters. Significant value of the observed correlation coefficients between the parameters was also carried out. The results showed significant variations in water quality parameters in the study areas. Elemental analysis of different samples was carried out using the EDXRF technique. It is concluded that the water quality of water supply systems in different locations of Kurukshetra is of medium quality and can be used for domestic use after suitable treatment. Suitable suggestions were made to improve the quality of water.

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Nature and Science 2017;15(2) http://www.sciencepub.net/nature
62
Physio-chemical and EDXRF Analysis of Water Samples from District Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
Prem Singh1*, Poonam Gramni2, H. S. Kainth3, A. Upmanyu4 and S. Kumar5
1Dept. of Physics, S.D. College Ambala Cantt., Haryana, India
2Dept. of Physics, Govt. School, Sambhaleri, Ambala Haryana, India
3Dept. of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
4Chitkara University, Punjab-140 401, India, Chandigarh, India
5G.G.D.S.D. College, Sector 32C, Chandigarh, India
Corresponding Author: *pspundir1@gmail.com
Abstract: The analysis of physiochemical parameters of groundwater from nineteen locations of District
Kurukshetra, Haryana was carried out. Each parameter was compared with the standard desirable limits prescribed
by World Health Organization (WHO), Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) and Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) to assess the quality of ground water. The physiochemical parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity,
Total Dissolved Solids, Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium, and dissolved oxygen
were determined. Systematic calculation was made to determine the correlation coefficient ‘r’ amongst the
parameters. Significant value of the observed correlation coefficients between the parameters was also carried out.
The results showed significant variations in water quality parameters in the study areas. Elemental analysis of
different samples was carried out using the EDXRF technique. It is concluded that the water quality of water supply
systems in different locations of Kurukshetra is of medium quality and can be used for domestic use after suitable
treatment. Suitable suggestions were made to improve the quality of water.
[Prem Singh, Poonam Gramni, H. S. Kainth, A. Upmanyu and S. Kumar. Physio-chemical and EDXRF Analysis
of Water Samples from District Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. Nat Sci 2017;15(2):62-67]. ISSN 1545-0740
(print); ISSN 2375-7167 (online). http://www.sciencepub.net/nature. 10. doi:10.7537/marsnsj150217.10.
Keywords: pH, Kurukshetra, ground water, water quality, physiochemical parameter, water pollution, EDXRF
1. Introduction
Water is the most important natural resource,
available on the earth, for the welfare of the society.
Water is essential for human being, all other living
organisms, ecological systems, food production and
economic development. The main applications of
water are domestic uses, irrigation, commercial uses,
industrial uses and for the production of h ydropower.
The safety of drinking water is affected by various
chemical and microbiological contaminants and these
contaminants cause serious health problems. Due to
these contaminants, the quality of the drinking water
is deteriorating day by day, which causes many
diseases in the humans. The domestic sewage and
industrial waste are the leading causes of ground
water pollution (Singh et al, 2010, Singh et al, 2012;
Garg et al, 1999 and Muthulakshmi et al, 2015). The
physiological and energy dispersive x-ray
fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis is, therefore,
beneficial and provide valuable information for the
water quality parameters.
Quality of ground water is the resultant of all
processes and reactions that act on the water from the
moment it is condensed in the atmosphere to the time
it is discharged by a well or a spring and varies from
place to place and with the depth of the water table
(Jain et al, 1994). Many diseases are caused by the
inability of the environment to supply the mineral
needs of man and animals in adequate. Sometimes
these nutritional abnormalities occur as simple
deficiencies or excesses. Many investigations have
found a correlation between cardiovascular deaths and
water composition (Pitt et al, 1995). The disorder of
teeth and bones is due to consumption of fluoride-rich
water (Susheela, 1999). Atomic Absorption Spectro-
photometry has been used to analyze soils from
Ketaren Gwari area of Minna for possible heavy metal
contamination due to dumping of refuse and mechanic
activities (Dauda et al, 2011). The objective of the
scientific investigations is to determine the
hydrochemistry of the ground water in Kurukshetra,
Haryana and to classify the water in order to evaluate
the water suitability for drinking, domestic and
irrigation uses and its suitability for municipal,
agricultural and industrial use. The social relevance of
the problem has encouraged us in carrying out this
work.
Kurukshetra is the holy city of the state of
Haryana and it is situated 160 km north of Delhi on
the National Highway NH1. The Kurukshetra district
lies between latitude 29º52' to 30º12' and longitude
76º26' to 77º04' in the North Eastern part of Haryana
State. The district has a total of 419 villages. In
Kurukshetra District, Markanda, Saraswati (since
dried up before 1900BCE) and Ghaggar are the
important rivers. Kurukshetra is a place of great

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63
historical and religious importance, revered all over
the country for its sacred associations. The battle of
Mahabharata was fought in Kurukshetra and Lord
Krishna preached His Philosophy of "Karma" as
enshrined in the Holy Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta to
Arjuna at Jyotisar. In Shrimad Bhagwad Gita,
Kurukshetra is described as Dharamkshetra, i.e., field
of righteousness.
2. Materials and Methods
Physio-Chemical Analysis was carried out for
various water quality parameters such pH, Total
dissolved solids (TDS), Total Hardness, Total
alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, fluoride,
Dissolved oxygen, as per standard procedure
described in standard methods for the examination of
water and waste water (American public Health
Association, 1992). The physical parameter pH was
determined using the digital pH meter (LT-10,
Labtronics, Panchkula, India) and EC was determined
using the digital conductivity meter (LT-16,
Labtronics, Panchkula, India). The water samples
have been analyzed using the EDXRF setup available
at EDXRF Laboratory, Physics Department, Panjab
University, Chandigarh. This technique uses
proportional characteristics of the multichannel semi-
conductor detectors, to produce a distribution of
voltage pulses proportional to the spectrum of photon
energies from the target. Interactions of photons with
matter permit analysis of the sample constituents
using excited x-rays. These samples were analyzed
without any chemical pre-treatment. In the EDXRF
method, the ionization cross-section for an atomic
level is greatest when the exciting x-ray energy just
exceeds the binding energy of the electron in that
level, and falls off drastically with an increasing
difference between the excitation energy and the
electron binding energy. The pellets were mounted
into a target holder specially made for irradiation of
thin target. The energies of the characteristic x-rays
were used to identify the elements present in the water
samples. All the calculations were done using 42Mo
Kαβ incident photon energy from intense Mo anode x-
ray tube (Panalytical X-ray generator, model PW 3830
4kW). The tube voltage was kept at 29 kV and current
12 mA. The spectra were recorded using a Low
Energy Germanium LE(Ge) detector coupled to a PC
based multichannel analyzer (MCA) through a
spectroscopy amplifier. The resolution of the LE(Ge)
detector is about 143 eV at 5.89 keV. Measurements
were carried out in vacuum of 10-2 Torr for optimum
detection of elements. The standard samples of the
elements present in the samples were also run to
compare and to find the concentration. The EDXRF
technique has proven to be a useful tool for elemental
analysis of water samples. The strength of the
technique relies on simple preparation of the samples,
a reasonable time of measurement, and a non-
complicated data analysis. Besides, the calculated
concentrations are accurate and reliable.
3. Study Area
The water samples were collected from nineteen
locations of District Kurukshetra for their physio-
chemical and from seventeen locations for EDXRF
analysis. The different sampling locations are given in
Table 1. Samples were collected in good quality
polythene bottles of one-liter capacity. Sampling of
water is truly representative of any aquatic
environment. Once a sample has been taken it should
have no possibility of transporting trace elements
either to or from the sampling container walls. Natural
water in its different forms has been interesting
material of study. Sampling was carried out without
adding any preservative. For the energy dispersive x-
ray fluorescence (EDXRF) study, the samples were
collected in clean polyethylene bottles five liter
capacity without any air bubbles. The bottles were
well rinsed before sampling and tightly sealed after
collection and labeled in the field. For EDXRF
analysis, each sample was passed through a coarse
2mm screen to remove the organic debris and then
through a 250 lm nylon screen into a pre-cleaned
plastic container. Each sample was dried in the oven
at constant temperature of 150˚C. After drying, each
sample was ground using a freezer-mill. The thin
samples were prepared in pellet form by mixing and
pressing the powder. To be sure that the sample holder
was not going to introduce analytical errors, blanks
were previously checked. The samples were scanned
thoroughly to reduce the risk of analytical error and
non-uniformity of the samples.
4. Results and Discussions
4.1 Physio-Chemical Studies
Characterization of the physiochemical
parameters of groundwater from nineteen different
locations in Kurukshetra, Haryana are reported in
Table 2. Each parameter was compared with the
standard desirable limits prescribed by Bureau of
Indian Standard (Specification for drinking water,
1991) and World Health Organization (WHO)
(Guidelines for Drinking water Quality, 1984) and
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to assess
the quality of ground water. The physiochemical
parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity, Total
Dissolved Solids, Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness,
Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium, and dissolved oxygen
were determined. Systematic calculation was made to
determine the correlation coefficient ‘r’ amongst the
parameters. The desirable limit of pH value for
drinking water is specified as 6.5 to 8.5. Measured pH

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64
value of the water samples ranges from 7.45 to 8.53.
pH values show a slightly alkaline trend. The
electrical conductivity of the samples ranges from 0.2
to 1.1. The TDS value ranges from 142ppm to
847ppm. The standard desirable limit of alkalinity in
portable water is 120 ppm and the maximum
permissible level is 600 ppm. The values of alkalinity
in the water samples of locations of District
Kurukshetra are in between 45 ppm to 210 ppm. The
value of alkalinity of water provides an idea of natural
salts present in water.
Table 1: Sampling Locations of Kurukshetra
S
.
N
o.
Sampling Locations
Sample Name
Sources
1.
Bus Stand (Pipli)
S1
Water Tap
2.
New Bus Stand
S2
Water Tap
3.
Railway Station (Thanesar)
S3
Hand pump
4.
Dept. of Physics (KU.K.)
S4
Water Tap
5.
Bhramsarovar
S5
Pond
6.
Petrol Pump Sector
-
17
S6
Water Tap
7.
Lok Nayak Jai Parkash Hospital
S7
Water Tap
8.
NIT (K.U.K.)
S8
Water Tap
9.
Sri Durga Mandir
S9
Water Tap
10.
Lohar Majra
S10
Hand pump
11.
Jyotisar ( Kund )
S11
Pond
12.
Jyotisar Tap
Water
S12
Water Tap
13.
Jyotisar Nahar
S13
Water Tap
14.
Mohan Nagar
S14
Water Tap
15.
Arya Girls College
S15
Hand pump
16.
Arunaya Dham (
Shiv Temple)
S16
Hand pump
17.
Geeta Colony
S17
Water Tap
18.
Sainsha Village
S18
Hand pump
19.
Village
Murtzapur
S19
Hand pump
Table 2: Physiochemical parameters of groundwater from nineteen different locations in Kurukshetra, Haryana
Sample
No.
Sample
Name
Location
pH
value
Total
Alkalinity
(ppm)
Electrical
Conductivity
Total
Hardness
(ppm)
Ca2+
(ppm)
Mg2+
(ppm)
Dissolved
Oxygen
(ppm)
TDS
(ppm)
Cl
(ppm)
1.
S1
8.36
155
0.4
189.19
32.44
156.75
5.0
292
35
2.
S2
8.36
160
0.5
275.67
140.54
135.13
5.0
375
40
3.
S3
7.75
210
1.1
464.86
205.41
259.45
3.2
847
195
4.
S4
7.96
165
0.7
286.49
145.95
140.54
4.5
497
150
5.
S5
7.45
50
0.2
113.51
27.03
86.48
4.1
142
23
6.
S6
8.24
160
0.6
297.29
162.16
135.13
4.0
444
98.4
7.
S7
8.09
185
0.6
297.29
151.35
145.94
4.8
444
155.1
8.
S8
7.94
160
0.5
248.64
108.1
140.54
4.2
375
145.2
9.
S9
7.90
165
0.7
302.7
140.54
162.16
6.3
497
79.8
10.
S10
7.59
140
0.5
286.48
151.35
135.13
3.3
375
171
11.
S11
8.53
120
0.3
172.97
48.64
124.32
4.3
219
80
12.
S12
7.86
115
0.4
205.4
44.24
162.16
4.1
292
78.3
13.
S13
8.37
45
0.2
118.91
16.21
102.7
2.2
142
20
14.
S14
8.43
135
0.4
156.75
54.05
102.7
4.5
292
75.2
15.
S15
8.17
180
0.5
189.18
81.08
108.1
4.6
375
180
16.
S16
7.65
140
0.5
156.75
16.21
140.54
4.3
375
78.8
17.
S17
7.92
190
0.6
156.75
59.46
97.29
3.3
444
202.4
18.
S18
9.96
190
0.5
243.24
80.62
162.16
2.9
375
195
19.
S19
7.96
150
0.5
297.29
108.1
189.19
3.5
375
180.2

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Water hardness is a measure of capacity of water
to react with soap. Hardness is very important
property of ground water from utility point of view for
different purposes. Standard permissible limit for total
hardness specified by ICMR and BIS is 300 ppm of
CaCO3. A fluctuating trend i.e., from 113.51 ppm to
464.86 ppm is observed in the measured total
hardness values in the nineteen locations of District
Kurukshetra. The permissible limit of chloride in
drinking water is 250 ppm. The chloride concentration
in water samples from all the locations ranged from
20 ppm to 205 ppm. The concentration of chloride in
the samples is within the permissible limit. For
domestic use, the maximum desirable limit for
calcium is 75 ppm whereas in case of non availability
of water calcium upto 200 ppm could be accepted.
Calcium concentration in water samples from all the
locations was found to vary from 16.21 ppm to 205.41
ppm. Magnesium concentration in water samples from
all the locations ranged from 86.48 ppm to 259.45
ppm. The highest permissible limit of Magnesium
concentration is 150 ppm. Magnesium concentration
in most of the samples is above the highest
permissible limit. Dissolved oxygen (DO) in water is
the vital gas for many animal organisms. It is
consumed in water from decomposition of organic
matters. It is a highly fluctuating factor in water. In
this study dissolved oxygen content varied in a limited
range of 2.9 ppm to 6.3 ppm.
4.2 Correlation Studies
Study of correlation reduces the range of
uncertainty associated with decision making. The
correlation coefficient ‘r’ was calculated using the
equation.
 


22 yx
xy
r
The correlation matrix for the water quality
parameters are given in Table 3.
Table 3: Correlation matrix for the water quality parameters
Parameters pH EC TDS TA TH Cl
-
Ca
2+
Mg
2+
DO
pH 1 -0.25329 -0.2572958 0.0032212 -0.182283 -0.297284767 -0.13136328 -0.208094 0.1441
EC 1 0.9977 0.7957 0.8631 0.5987 0.7932 0.7292 0.1086
TDS 1 0.7966 0.8669 0.6101 0.7885 0.74453 0.0720
TA 1 0.6527 0.7293 0.6228 0.5166 0.2143
TH 1 0.4997 0.9272 0.8331 0.0774
Cl
-
0.4916 0.3734 -0.302784
Ca
2+
1 0.5654 0.1421
Mg
2+
1 -0.03816
DO 1
4.3 EDXRF Studies
Samples from seventeen different locations of
Kurukshetra were analyzed using EDXRF technique
without any chemical pre-treatment. Elements such as
Ca, Fe, Mn, Br, Sr and Zn are measured. The final
concentration of the elements present in the different
samples is given in Table 4. Typical X-ray spectra of
the water sample from Brahma Sarovar is presented in
Figure 1. The peaks of Cu and Zn are from the
absorbers used in the geometrical setup. The Mo Kα
and Mo Kβ peaks are of the x-ray tube anode used. It
can be seen from the peak heights that there is no
variation between the fractions for the calcium. The
mean concentration of the elements for this study
were found to follow the order
Ca>Sr>Zn>Mn>Fe>Br.
From the quantification of the samples, it is
observed that the concentration of calcium is high.
Calcium is responsible for hardness of the water.
Hardness of water leads to encrustation of water
supply structure. It can be explained that dilution,
precipitation, adsorption to sediments and local
anthropogenic input probably affect metal
concentrations in the ground water of Kurukshetra
region. In regard to the concentration change of the
heavy metals along the different locations, water
samples showed the varied variation of the elements.
A close look at the elemental concentration in table
for water samples of different locations shows
variation in concentrations but all elements are within
the safe limit.
The best thing in the water samples of
Kurukshetra is that it is free from the toxic elements,
e.g., sulphur, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, lead etc,
which may pose hazards to the health. Presence of
these elements affects the biotic and abiotic systems.
These may interact with antibodies and the auto-
immune response system. Also the uptake of these
elements onto surfaces during DNA replication and
transcription may result in the genetic damage like
excess of Fe in the human body is dangerous and can
cause cancer.

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3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Mo K

Sr K

Mo K

Sr K

Br K

Zn K

Fe K

Mn K

Ca K

Counts
Energy (keV)
Brahma Sarovar
Ca K

Table 4: Elemental concentration (g/cm2) in water samples from seventeen different locations
Sample Name
Ca
Fe
Br
Sr
Mn
Zn
S1
98.225
0.125
0.172
6.213
-
-
S2
91.358
0.065
0.023
1.515
-
0.176
S3
121.387
0.254
-
4.159
0.058
0.653
S4
71.582
0.036
0.065
2.142
0.062
-
S5
59.630
0.095
0.308
3.305
-
0.846
S6
96.364
0.211
0.045
3.678
0.016
0.022
S7
106.550
0.025
-
2.063
-
0.190
S8
50.086
0.313
0.153
4.215
-
-
S9
52.223
0.200
-
1.508
-
2.514
S10
78.084
0.039
0.056
2.604
-
1.545
S11
41.379
0.040
-
2.381
-
0.741
S12
304.052
0.040
-
3.908
2.621
6.672
S13
92.713
0.033
-
1.446
-
0.531
S14
150.910
0.342
-
7.996
-
0.117
S15
272.842
3.078
-
4.247
-
-
S16
77.927
0.021
0.164
2.262
-
0.482
S17
139.588
1.706
-
2.576
-
1.263
Median
92.713
0.095
0.109
2.604
0.06
0.653
Maximum
304.052
3.078
0.308
7.996
2.621
6.672
Minimum
41.379
0.021
0.023
1.446
0.016
0.022
Mean
112.05
0.39
0.12
3.31
0.69
1.21
Figure 1. Typical X-ray spectra of water sample from Brahma Sarovar
5. Conclusions
The present studies of physiochemical
parameters of groundwater from nineteen locations of
District Kurukshetra, Haryana was carried out. The
quality of drinking water depends upon the harmful
elements present in it. Each parameter was compared
with the standard desirable limits prescribed by World
Health Organization (WHO), Bureau of Indian
standard (BIS) and Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) to assess the quality of ground
water. The physio-chemical parameters namely pH,
electrical conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total
Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Chloride, Calcium,
Magnesium and dissolved oxygen were determined.

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The results showed significant variations in water
quality parameter in the study areas. The pH of water
samples ranges in the entire area shows alkaline trend.
The average of alkalinity has exceeded the desirable.
Ground water of District Kurukshetra is suitable for
drinking and domestic purposes but in some areas
there is need of treatment to minimize the
contamination specially alkalinity. It is hard to
imagine that one person can make a difference in
protecting and conserving water supplies but each
individual can really help the environment. However,
the hazardous effects of fertilizers, pesticides, animal
wastes and sediments have not been detected in the
ground water samples. It is advised that the animal
waste and domestic waste should not be deposited
near the water sources. The use of fertilizers and
pesticides in the agriculture should be limited and
proper and only the standard quality pesticides should
be used. Our study reveals that EDXRF can be used to
measure the elemental concentrations in different
water samples.
Acknowledgement:
Authors are thankful to Prof. (Dr.) Devinder
Mehta, Chairperson, Dept. of Physics, Panjab
University, Chandigarh for providing the EDXRF
facility.
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