Pitting corrosion of copper tubes in Soft Drinking Waters: Corrosion Mechanism

摘要

The pitting corrosion of copper tubes in drinking water systems is a sporadic but persistent problem along the east coast of Australia, New Zealand, and other locations where predominantly soft water is found. Historically, the lack of an adequate theory for localized soft water copper corrosion has made remedial treatments speculative and based only on long-term field trials. The authors used novel microelectrode electrochemical techniques, supported by field observations and thermodynamic calculations, to propose a new mechanism of copper-pitting corrosion in soft waters. In this article, the authors also discuss how the theory may be applied to the development of a remedial water treatment strategy and used to calculate the optimum pH and alkalinity set points for a soft water.