Browsing by Author "Letelier, Maria V."

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    Chemical characterization of blue stains in domestic fixtures in contact with drinking water
    (2008) Letelier, Maria V.; Lagos, Gustavo E.; Reyes, Arturo
    Bluish green staining in domestic fixtures was observed in three to 9-year-old houses in the city of Talca, located 256 km. south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. The houses contained copper pipes which were exposed to soft well water, with low pH and low buffer capacity. The aim of this paper is to establish the chemical composition of the stains and to determine the conditions by which they were formed. X-ray diffraction analysis of the stains revealed the presence of malachite, a copper compound that caused green coloring in kettles and water boilers. Dioptase, which is deep green in coloring, was identified in a bathtub tile. In one house, where blue stains were found in a toilet bowl, the presence of chrysocolla was suggested by means of X-ray fluorescence. In the field conditions studied it was concluded that the bluish green stains in bathroom home appliances were generated by the precipitation of copper compounds in places were leakages occur.
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    Model for estimation of copper release to drinking water from copper pipes
    (PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2012) Taxen, Claes; Letelier, Maria V.; Lagos, Gustavo
    Modelling and prediction of the copper concentration released from copper plumbing tubes due to corrosion, dissolution, precipitation and other processes has not previously been successful. The model presented here is based on a set of dissolution and precipitation reactions, equilibrium between species in solution and solids, mass balance, kinetic expressions, adsorption isotherms, and surface area coverage by precipitates.