| Q. My hot water is higher in Copper than my wastewater district allows for effluent ! What's up with that? |
| A. Copper is soluble in water as almost any kind of salt. That means it dissolves in almost any kind of acid, and in fact, is appreciably soluble in deionized water ! Hold on there, doesn't that mean that you couldn't use copper pipe to transport water ???? If it weren't for the hardness ions in your water supply, the answer would be YES. Silicate and carbonate react with the copper to form a water insoluble layer. |
When your boiler does not have enough silicate hardness, the copper within readily extracts to the water. The fix is to provide just the right amount, dispensed according to water flow. Too much hardness is a problem in a boiler, as excessive scaling can result. So, proper control and monitoring of this application will avoid any headaches.
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Here's a partial list of things that can dissolve copper:
- Nitrates, Chlorides, Sulfates, and their associated acids.
- Organic acids, such as Acetic, Citric, Lactic, Tartaric, or Oxalic.
- Phosphoric Acid. Amines or Ammonia.
- Even some organic Solvents!
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| The BIRKO lab has a strong background in materials technology, and metallurgy in particular. BIRKO also features a terrific equipment division that can meet your dispensing and control needs, simply and economically. Call us. We'll be glad to meet YOUR technical needs. |
| Q. Will my laundry cleaning and bleaching go better and cheaper with softened water? |
A. Yes and no. Cleaning proceeds with less of a water control (builder) package required in soft water. But bleaching is usually more rapid and efficient in a hard water environment. Generally, using softened water in a laundry with challenging soil loads saves money, overall.
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Look for a tech desk feature (or two!) on laundry, in the future.
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| For more information E-Mail the Tech Desk |
