Effect of Ionic Species on Drinking Water’s Corrosion and Scaling ‎Potential of Rural Water Distribution Network in Different Climate Zones of ‎Kermanshah Province, Iran‎

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Soil Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources Campus, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

2 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran.

3 Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

10.22034/nawee.2025.554328.1173
Abstract
Objective: Corrosion can damage pipelines and release harmful substances into drinking water, thereby reducing water quality. Various factors influence water corrosivity, including water chemistry (pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, and total dissolved solids), hydraulic conditions (such as temperature and flow velocity), surrounding environmental conditions (soil), climate, and pipe material. This study aimed to investigate the effects of water type and ionic speciation on the corrosion and scaling potential of drinking water in rural distribution networks across different climatic zones of Kermanshah Province, Iran, during 1999–2018.
Methods:Water quality data from rural areas in five climatic zones—cold semi-dry, warm semi-dry, warm and dry, cold Mediterranean, and moderate humid—were used to calculate the most common corrosion and scaling indices. These included the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), Ryznar Stability Index (RSI), Aggressive Index (AI), Puckorius Scaling Index (PSI), and Larson–Skold Index (L-SI). Water type and ionic speciation were determined using AqQA and Visual MINTEQ software, respectively.
Results:Although the Piper diagram showed that the water type in all climatic zones was similar (calcium–bicarbonate, Ca–HCO₃), the corrosion and scaling indices, as well as ionic speciation, showed significant differences among the studied climatic zones (p < 0.001).In the warm semi-dry climate, LSI and AI values were higher, whereas RSI and PSI values were lower than in the other climatic zones. In the moderate humid climate, the lowest LSI and AI values and the highest RSI and PSI values were observed.
Ionic speciation analysis showed that calcium and magnesium were predominantly present as free ionic species, followed by complexes with sulfate and bicarbonate.
Conclusions: Lower corrosion potential and higher scaling tendency in warm and dry and warm semi-dry climates were attributed to the higher proportion of free calcium and magnesium ions in these climates.Consequently, water in the moderate humid climate exhibited greater corrosion potential than water in the other climatic zones.

Keywords


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