Characterization of Scale Deposits in a Drinking Water Network in a Semi-Arid Region

Pedro Padilla González, Carlos Bautista-Capetillo, Antonio Ruiz-Canales, Julián González-Trinidad, Hugo Enrique Júnez-Ferreira, Ada Rebeca Contreras Rodríguez and Cruz Octavio Robles Rovelo
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Pedro Padilla González: Doctorado en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
Carlos Bautista-Capetillo: Doctorado en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
Antonio Ruiz-Canales: Doctorado en Agricultura, Recursos y Tecnologías Agroambientales y Alimentarios, Miguel Hernández de Elche—Campus de Orihuela, 03202 Orihuela, Spain
Julián González-Trinidad: Doctorado en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
Hugo Enrique Júnez-Ferreira: Doctorado en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
Ada Rebeca Contreras Rodríguez: Licenciatura en Ciencia y Tecnología del Agua LUMAT, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
Cruz Octavio Robles Rovelo: Licenciatura en Ciencia y Tecnología del Agua LUMAT, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara Km. 6, Ejido La Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The quantity and quality of the supply of fresh water to households, commercial areas, small industries, green spaces irrigation and public and private institutions in large cities face challenges from the supply sources availability and suitable distribution network performance to the full satisfaction of the established drinking water guidelines. In Mexico, the main source of water comes from groundwater. Most of the Mexican aquifers are located in arid and semi-arid weather conditions. The groundwater’s physical–chemical properties are closely related to geology. This study was carried out at the north-central part of the country in which igneous and sedimentary rocks predominate, with high calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) concentrations. The accumulation of CaCO 3 in the pipelines is also known as scale deposit that decreases the fluid flow, causing a deficiency in the water supply. The main objectives of this study were determining the physical–chemical groundwater parameters and saturation indexes injected into the drinking water networks and characterizing the scale deposits by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the scale deposits are mainly calcium carbonate and silica oxide crystals, caused by the water aggressiveness according to the saturation indexes and the lack of control over the saturation pH.

Keywords: groundwater; drinking water; quality and quantity; scale deposits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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