Does Magnetic Field Change Water pH?

Abstract

ph magnetic

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*Corresponding author: E-mail: m_hozien4@yahoo.com;
Asian Research Journal of Agriculture
8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
ISSN: 2456-561X
Does Magnetic Field Change Water pH?
Hamza Ben Amor
1,2
, Anis Elaoud
1
and Mahmoud Hozayn
3*
1
Laboratory of Environmental Science and Technologies, Higher Institute of Sciences and Technology
of Environment, Carthage University, Tunisia.
2
National Institute of Agronomic, University of Carthage, Tunisia.
3
Agriculture & Biology Division, Department of Field Crops Research, National Research Centre,
Cairo, Egypt.
Authors’ contributions
This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author HBA designed the study,
conducted the experiments and analyzed the results, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript.
Authors AE and MH managed the analyses of the study. Author AE
made the necessary corrections
and validated the results. Author MH managed the literature searches. All authors read and approved
the final manuscript.
Article Information
DOI: 10.9734/ARJA/2018/39196
Editor(s):
(1)
Jean Beguinot, Department of Biogeosciences, University of Burgundy, France.
Reviewers:
(1) Fábio Henrique Portella Corrêa de Oliveira, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Brazil.
(2)
S. O. Adesogan, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Complete Peer review History:
http://www.sciencedomain.org/review-history/23026
Received 3
rd
January 2018
Accepted 31
st
January 2018
Published 6
th
February 2018
ABSTRACT
Salt-laden waters pose major problems in the hydraulic field. Scaling problems can be troublesome
for sanitary, potable and irrigation water networks. Also, irrigation water salinity is a major concern
for agriculture, affecting crop productivity and yield. To alleviate some of these problems, various
physical processes are put to the test such as magnetic processes. A laboratory experiment was
conducted at the Laboratory of Natural Water Treatment of Borj Cedria Tunisia, to study the effect of
different magnetic treatments (M
1
=3300 Gauss, M
2
=2900 Gauss, M
3
=5000 Gauss and
Electromagnetic Em=900 Gauss) under two flow rate (0.03 and 0.06 letter/second) and two
temperature (18 and 24
o
C) on water characteristics in order to observe the variation in the pH of
water. The application of all magnetic field treatment showed slightly an increase in the pH of
treated water compared to untreated water.
Short Research Article

Ben Amor et al.;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
2
Keywords: Magnetic device; pH; water treatment; flow rate.
1. INTRODUCTION
The quality of drinking water or irrigation is a
huge problem, so improving the physicochemical
character of these is a concern for researchers,
industrialists and farmers alike. Several
treatment methods have been used. However,
these different techniques have anomalies,
because chemical techniques are expensive,
while membrane techniques are the seat of the
clogging problem that requires maintenance and
cleaning membranes. In this context appears the
magnetic treatment as a water treatment process
in different fields namely industries, households,
agriculture, etc. Magnetic devices are
environmentally friendly, with low installation
costs and no energy requirements [1], given the
expected global water shortage, and can also
improve water productivity [2]. Crops promote
seed germination and improve human health and
even animals. Many researchers have shown
that magnetic treatment has no effect on the
chemical properties of water, such that its
composition remains the same after treatment on
the other hand, it influences the physical
parameters, including pH, electrical conductivity,
etc., and it would slightly change the
configuration of ionic particles in water [3], in fact,
an arrangement of ions occurs during the
passage of water through the magnetic field.
The hydrogen potential noted pH is a measure of
the chemical activity of hydrogen ions H
+
also
commonly called protons. More commonly, pH
measures the acidity or basicity of a solution.
Thus, in an aqueous medium, at 25°C: A solution
of pH = 7 is called neutral; A solution of pH <7 is
called acid; A solution of pH> 7 is called basic.
Natural waters usually have pH values ranging
from 4 to 9 however, most are slightly alkaline
due to the presence of bicarbonates and
carbonates, alkali and alkaline earth metals [4].
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The experimental study of this work was
conducted in the Laboratory of Natural Water
Treatment, Water Researches and Technologies
Center, Borj-Cedria.
2.1 Magnetic Devices Used
In this work, the magnetic devices (M
1
= 3300
Gauss, M
2
= 2900 Gauss, M
3
= 5000 Gauss and
Electromagnetic Em = 900 Gauss) are mounted
on the experimental system to obtain magnetized
water.
2.2 An Experimental Device of the
Laboratory
To follow the effects of the magnetic devices on
the water, a laboratory pilot was realized. It
consists of magnetic devices, pump, probes
linked to a recorder connected to a computer for
the instantaneous monitoring of physicochemical
parameters of water such as pH. The
experimental tests consist of heating the water to
the desired temperature then the sample is
pumped to the other beaker by passing through
the magnetic apparatus. The second beaker was
put in another thermostatic bath to keep the
water at the same temperature, the pH
measurement before and after treatments were
conducted using the probes connected to a
recorder and the reading is on the computer
using the D230 software.
Fig. 1. Experimental device at the laboratory scale

Devices
M
1
Pics
Intensity
0.33 Tesla / 3300 Gauss
Languor
8.5 cm
Diameter
60 mm
Arrangement of the magnets
Bipolar
Weight
0.5 Kg
Ben
Amor et al.
3
Tabel 1. Characteristics of magnets
M
2
M
3
0.33 Tesla / 3300 Gauss
0.29 Tesla / 2900 Gauss 0.5 Tesla / 5
000 Gauss
33 cm 15 cm
33 mm 46 mm
Monopolar Monopolar
13 Kg 1.5 Kg
Amor et al.
;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
Em
000 Gauss
0.09 Tesla / 900 Gauss
20 cm
30 mm
-
-

Ben Amor et al.;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
4
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Effect of Magnetic Treatment on pH
The results of the pH measurements recorded
during laboratory tests are presented. For a
temperature of 18 ° C and a flow rate of 0.03 l/s,
the variation of the pH is not very high presented
in Fig. 2.
For a flow rate of 0.06 l/s, the pH remains almost
unchanged compared to the first figure, but it is
noted that the time of return of the pH to its initial
value for M
1
increased 4 min more, compared to
the treatment with a flow rate of 0.03 l/s (Fig. 3).
While Fig. 4 shows that by multiplying the flow
rate by 10 (0.6 l / s) and keeping the same
temperature, the pH of the water is virtually
invariable for all magnetic devices.
Also, Fig. 5 illustrates the pH changes for a
temperature of 24° C. At this level; we note that
M
2
affects the pH by increasing its value by 0.09
while it returns to its initial value 13 hours later.
Fig. 2. pH monitoring with magnetic devices M
1
, M
2
, M
3
and Em at T = 18 degrees, flow rate 0.03
l/s (NT: untreated)
Fig. 3. pH monitoring of water treated with magnetic devices M1, M2, M3 and Em at T = 18 ° C,
flow rate = 0.06 l / s (NT: untreated)
7.54
7.55
7.56
7.57
7.58
7.59
7.60
7.61
7.62
7.63
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
pH
Time (h)
NT
M2
M1
M3
Em
7.49
7.51
7.53
7.55
7.57
7.59
7.61
7.63
7.65
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
pH
Time (h)
NT
M2
M1
M3
Em

Ben Amor et al.;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
5
Fig. 4. pH monitoring of water treated with magnetic devices M
1
, M
2
, M
3
and Em at T = 18 ° C,
flow rate = 0.6 l / s (NT: untreated)
Fig. 5. pH monitoring of water treated with magnetic devices M
1
, M
2
, M
3
and Em at T = 24 ° C,
flow 0.03 l / s (NT: untreated)
The same test with a double flow 0.06 l / s. Fig. 6
shows that the increase of the latter reduces the
impact of magnetic fields on the pH of the water.
With even higher flow rates 0.6 l / s confirms the
stability of the pH of the water after passing
through the various magnetic devices (Fig. 7).
Water becomes more volatile as a result of
magnetic processing. This result is confirmed by
some scientists such as [5], who explain these
variations by the weakening of the hydrogen
bonds between water molecules. According to
[6], magnetic processing can increase or
decrease the pH of water samples. They
suggested that many of the pH values recorded
were close to their true values with an accuracy
of + or - 0.20 pH. It should be noted that
impurities in the treatment device could also
affect pH readings. pH has slightly increased in
some cases, a finding confirmed by [7]. Water is
a solvent for almost all ions, and pH compares
the most water-soluble ions. The result of a pH
measurement is defined by the amounts of H
+
ions and OH
-
ions present in the water. When the
amounts of these two ions are equal,
7.55
7.55
7.55
7.55
7.56
7.56
7.56
7.56
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
pH
Time (h)
NT
M1
M2
M3
Em
7.54
7.55
7.56
7.57
7.58
7.59
7.6
7.61
7.62
7.63
7.64
7.65
0 2 4 6 8 10 1 2 14
pH
Time (h)
NT
M1
M2
M3
Em

Ben Amor et al.;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
6
Fig. 6. pH monitoring of water treated with magnetic devices M
1
, M
2
, M
3
and Em at T = 24 ° C,
flow rate = 0.06 l / s (NT: untreated)
Fig. 7. pH monitoring of water treated with magnetic devices M
1
, M
2
, M
3
and Em at T = 24 ° C,
flow rate = 0.6 l/s (NT: untreated)
the water is considered neutral. According to our
results the pH slightly increases, it means the
absorption of H
+
ions and the increase of the
number of OH
-
ions in the water. The pH
increases by 5.6% and this increase show that
the magnetic treatment of water has a memory
effect such that this treatment lasts about three
days [8] and this percentage change in the pH of
the water is higher than the one we found 1.17%.
This difference is mainly due to the quality of the
water used and these physicochemical
parameters. However, according to the work of
[9], for tap water, the pH varies from 0.53% to
1.06%.
The influence of magnetic treatment to really
increase the pH of water by a small percentage
and this corresponds with our results. The pH
return time to the initial value after treatment is
explained according to [10] by the memory of
water.
Our results also show that this parameter varies
according to the intensity of the magnetic field
and the flow rate.
Finally, the results showed that M
2
was
significantly more efficient, while the intensity of
the field is lower than for M
1
. This shows that the
7.54
7.55
7.56
7.57
7.58
7.59
7.60
7.61
7.62
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
pH
Time (h)
NT
M1
M2
M3
Em
7
7.5
8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
pH
Time (h)
NT
M1
M2
M3
Em

Ben Amor et al.;
ARJA, 8(1): 1-7, 2018; Article no.ARJA.39196
7
performance of the magnetic field depends on
three parameters which are the intensity, the
polarization of the field (agitation of the water
molecules), and the length of the apparatus (time
of passage of the water inside the field).
4. CONCLUSION
Following the use of four magnets of different
size and intensity. First, we noticed that the pH
increased slightly over time, then return to its
original value, confirming the memory of water
effect. It is also noted that the flow rate and the
temperature of the water have a great influence
on the magnetic treatment, notably the pH
variation after passing through magnetic devices.
COMPETING INTERESTS
Authors have declared that no competing
interests exist.
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© 2018 Ben Amor et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Peer-review history:
The peer review history for this paper can be accessed here:
http://www.sciencedomain.org/review-history/23026