In the abstract, Chlorine is an element with the atomic number seventeen and the second lightest halogen in the periodic table. Most importantly, chlorine is illustrious for its disinfecting property and especially the cleaning of swimming pools by killing bacteria efficiently. However, both Shock and Chlorine are active chemical components, which are used to sanitize the pool.
Shock vs Chlorine
The main difference between Shock and Chlorine is that the shock is a high dose of chlorine, whose only function is to shock by raising the chlorine level in the swimming pool. On the other hand, Chlorine is a general sanitiser used to maintain a crystal and clear pool for swimming.
Shock is also known as shock chlorination, a process of reducing the bacteria and algae residue in swimming pools, water wells, springs, and other water sources. A shock refers to the amount of chlorine added to raise the level of chloramine by ten times its original presence in the pool water.
On the other hand, Chlorine is a chemical element, which is used as a primary component in the disinfection process. Apart from cleaning pools, chlorine is also used to treat drinking water. In other words, water chlorination is the process of adding chlorine compounds to water to kill bacteria, viruses, and other microbes in water.
Comparison Table Between Shock and Chlorine
| Parameters of Comparison | Shock | Chlorine |
| Definition | It is a process of adding chemicals like- chlorine or non-chlorine to the water, that eliminates the free-chlorine level and develops chloramine ten times the water. Shock chlorination is mostly done in swimming pools. | Chlorine is the process of dissolving chlorine gas in water to form an equilibrium mixture of three chemicals- chlorine hypochlorous acid, and hydrochloric acid that kills microbes in the water. |
| Formation | The shock comes either in liquid or powder form, which has 12.5% sodium hypochlorite, which augments chlorine level to 5-10 ppm. | Chlorine forms the hydrogen and hydrochloride ions that are later dissociated, to make the water high-degree of acidic for the microbe killing. |
| Components | Three components are used to engender shock in the water such as sodium di-chlor, Calcium hypochlorite and potassium monopersulfate that comes in granular form. | There are three components used to form chlorine such as chlorine, hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid. |
| Purpose | Shock is used in the pool or any water bodies in order to cleanse, accelerate the free-chlorine level that sanitises the water, dissipate all the bacteria and present lucid and crystal clear water. | Chlorination is used to kill the microbes in the water bodies and also PVC. |
| Reaction | Adding shock to the water, gives the reaction of disinfectant active chemicals and eliminates the free-chlorine level and increases the chlorine level to 5 ppm and above. | Chlorine works as an efficient halogen that helps to break the bonds in disease-engendering pathogens with a small concentration of chlorine and more acidic reaction aids to eliminate germs. |
What is Shock?
Shock chlorination is a process of adding a huge amount of chlorine to reduce the presence of bacteria and algae in the water bodies, especially in swimming pools. It might be either in a powder or liquid form and added in the pool to increase the level of chloramines present by ten times.
To put it in simple words, shock is referred to as super chlorination. Shock is typically recognized as a strong concentration of 12.5 per cent sodium hypochlorite, which reacts with water to form an active disinfectant chemical in the pool.
Shock is made by adding a concentrated chlorine solution to the water in any water body. This concentrated water is sent to the aquifer and then passed through the system to sit for a certain amount of time for disinfection. There are three chemicals in granular form that are used to shock a pool, which includes Calcium hypochlorite, sodium di-chlor, and potassium monopersulfate.
Moreover, only a certified well driller can use Shock to remove bacterial traces from water bodies, like pools, wells, well casings, and tanks.
What is Chlorine?
Similarly, chlorine is also a major element used in disinfecting water bodies and drinking water. However, unlike shock, water chlorination is a process done by dissolving chlorine gas in water to form an equilibrium mixture of chlorine, hypochlorous acid, and hydrochloric acid for killing microbes in the water. Eventually, hydrogen and hydrochloride ions are dissociated to make the water more acidic for the microbe killing.
Chloramines are very small concentrations but are widely used in generating germ-free water. Back in 1894, a paper published an article on adding chlorine to water for a germ-free environment. And soon after, the first water chlorination was carried out in 1893 in Germany for the prevention of waterborne diseases and other deleterious effects.
Subsequently, Chlorine has been regarded as the efficacious halogen that can break the bonds in disease-engendering pathogens. Besides, chlorine is also used to treat drinking water. Moreover, the Environmental Protection Agency has validated that the amount of chlorine in water is much safer for humans than a contaminated one.
On the whole, chlorine is used to disinfect water bodies as well as to manufacture paper, paints, textiles, insecticides, and PVC.
Main Differences Between Shock and Chlorine
- Shock is a process of chemical reaction of adding chlorine or non-chlorine chemicals to the water bodies in order to raise free-chlorine levels above 5 ppm. On the other hand, Chlorine is the process of disinfecting the water bodies with the help of an equilibrium mixture.
- Shock is formed by 12.5% Sodium Hypochlorite that aids to accelerate the free-chlorine level in the level to 5-10 ppm. Whereas, Chlorine is formed in the water by generating Hydrogen and Hypochlorite ions, ultimately engendering more acidic and killing germs.
- Shock is a combination of Sodium di-chlor, Potassium Monopersurfate and Calcium Hypochlorite. Notwithstanding, Chlorine is a mixture of components- Hypochlorous acid, Chlorine and Hydrochloric acid.
- Shock is used to increase the level of free-Chlorine in the water bodies, which makes the water pure and clear. On the contrary, Chlorine is employed with an aim to disinfect the water as well as kill the bacteria or germs in the water bodies.
- When the shock chlorination process is implied in the water, it will show the reaction of an increase in the chlorine level to 5 ppm or above. Albeit, Chlorination in the water bodies breaks the bonds/ions in the disease-progressing pathogens with the help of high levels of acidic.
Conclusion
Both the chemical processes are used to make the water bodies clean and germs-free. Whereby Shock is the process of augmenting the free-chlorine level in the water that eventually purifies the water. Shock is a component of sodium di-chlor, Calcium hypochlorite and potassium monopersulfate. Besides, shock is generated by 12.5 % of Sodium Hypochlorite that increases the chlorine level to 5 ppm or above that. Shock is used mostly in swimming to increase the chlorine level and makes the water look clear and lucid.
Chlorine is a process of dissolving chlorine gas in order to form an equilibrium mixture of chlorine, hypochlorous acid, and hydrochloric acid, which helps to kill bacteria or germs in the water bodies. Chlorine is generally used in many water bodies such as drinking water, PVC while manufacturing paper and textile processes to ensure germs-free.
Chlorine is formed with the help of three major chemical ingredients that help to break the bonds in the disease-engendering pathogens and create more acidic ones that ultimately kills the germs. Moreover, Chlorine is a very small concentration and safe to consume in the day-to-day lives of water bodies to disinfect the microbes.
References
- https://aip.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.1840853
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135401001877