Plastic pipes have been and are being installed downstream of metal drinking water plumbing components. Prior research has suggested that such pipe configurations may induce plastic pipe degradation and even system failure. To explore the impact of upstream metal plumbing components on downstream plastic pipes, field- and bench-scale experiments were conducted. Six month old galvanized iron pipes (GIPs) and downstream crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipes were exhumed from a residential home. Calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorous, and zinc were the most abundant elements on both GIPs and PEX pipes. Black and yellow deposits were found on some of the exhumed PEX pipe inner walls, which were mainly copper, iron, and manganese oxides (CuO, Cu(OH), FeO, FeOOH and MnO). Follow-up bench-scale experiments revealed that metal levels in the drinking water did not always predict metal loadings on plastic pipe surfaces. The pH 4 water resulted in a greater amount of metals released into the bulk water, but the pH 7.5 water resulted in a greater amount of metals deposited on the PEX pipe surfaces. Hot water (55 °C) induced a greater amount of organics released and higher metal loadings on PEX pipe surfaces at pH 7.5. ATR-FTIR analysis showed that at 55 °C, PEX pipes connected to copper and brass components had the greatest oxidation functional group peak intensity (COOC, CO, and COC). This study highlights potential downstream plastic pipe degradation and metal deposition, which may cause plumbing problems and failures for building owners, inhabitants, and water utilities.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.07.060 | DOI Listing |
J Hazard Mater
December 2024
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Missouri Water Center, MO, USA. Electronic address:
This study investigated lead (Pb) transport through new, biofilm-laden, and calcium carbonate-scaled crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-A) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) potable water pipes. The research focused on Pb accumulation through short-term exposure incidents (6 h) and Pb release for a longer duration (5 d). A mechanistic investigation of the surface morphology variations of plastic pipes following biofilm and scale formation has been conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Eng (New York)
September 2023
Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) can be accidentally backflushed into drinking water systems during firefighting operations or at industrial facilities. If this contaminated water enters household plumbing systems, homeowners may need to decontaminate their plumbing. This study examines the persistence of PFAS from AFFF on home plumbing, along with the effects of flushing and stagnation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
May 2023
Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
Hyperspectral infrared (IR) images contain a large amount of highly spatially resolved information about the chemical composition of a sample. However, the analysis of hyperspectral IR imaging data for complex heterogeneous systems can be challenging because of the spectroscopic and spatial complexity of the data. We implement a deep generative modeling approach using a β-variational autoencoder to learn disentangled representations of the generative factors of variance in a data set of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX-a) pipe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
April 2023
Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
Residential buildings provide unique conditions for opportunistic premise plumbing pathogen (OPPP) exposure via aerosolized water droplets produced by showerheads, faucets, and tubs. The objective of this review was to critically evaluate the existing literature that assessed the impact of potentially enhancing conditions to OPPP occurrence associated with residential plumbing and to point out knowledge gaps. Comprehensive studies on the topic were found to be lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroorganisms
January 2023
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
In drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs), pipe material and water temperature are some of the critical factors affecting the microbial flora of water. Six model DWDSs consisting of three pipe materials (galvanized steel, copper, and PEX) were constructed. The temperature in three systems was maintained at 22 °C and the other 3 at 32 °C to study microbial and elemental contaminants in a 6-week survey using 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing (NGS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).
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