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Identifying effects of pipe material, hydraulic condition, and water composition on elemental accumulation in pipe corrosion scales

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Abstract

Identification of the accumulation mechanism of major elements on pipe surface is essential to investigate the development of corrosion scales and co-occurrence of trace inorganic contaminants. In this study, corrosion scale samples were collected from old, corroded iron pipes made of different materials and exposed to different water qualities and operation conditions. Elemental composition of these scales was determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Cumulative occurrence analysis, Q-style hierarchical cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted to ascertain major elements typical for corrosion scales and to estimate the dominant influencing factor to each elemental constituent. The major elements in the examined scales are Fe, C, Zn, Si, Ca, Al, and S in the descending prevalence. Their occurrences are influenced by an interactive effect. Pipe material imposes a significant effect on the accumulation of Fe, Zn, and Ca in corrosion scales; water composition can account for the presence of Si, Al, and S in this study; hydraulic condition is identified as the primary factor influencing the occurrence of C and Ca. Q-style CA and PCA are verified practicable for data interpretation and identification of dominant factors influencing scale characteristics.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [No. 2016YFC0502204] and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 51579130, 91647116].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Manjie Li, Zhaowei Liu & Yongcan Chen

  2. Southwest University of Science and Technology, 59 Qinglong Road, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China

    Yongcan Chen

  3. School of Software, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Mingdong Zhang

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  1. Manjie Li
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Correspondence to Zhaowei Liu.

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Li, M., Liu, Z., Chen, Y. et al. Identifying effects of pipe material, hydraulic condition, and water composition on elemental accumulation in pipe corrosion scales. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 19906–19914 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05401-w

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