RESUMO
The fate of copper (Cu) in rivers impacted by acid drainage remains poorly studied in waters with comparatively low Al and Fe concentrations. This work addresses the role of confluences in controlling the physical and chemical fate of Cu in a system with total molar ratio Cu/Al > 0.2 and Cu/Fe > 0.15. Two consecutive confluences were studied in the upper Mapocho watershed, a densely populated basin with intensive mining located in the Chilean Andes. The inflow had acidic conditions with seasonal variations and Cu up to 9 mg L-1. Lability measurements with diffusive gradient in thin films showed that Cu entered as a dissolved labile form. However, downstream from the confluences a higher pH shifted Cu toward nonlabile compounds and solid phases enriched with Cu. Measurements of x-ray absorption spectroscopy of freshly formed particles showed that composition was dominated by sorbed Cu and Cu(OH)2(s) precipitates, with a higher proportion of sorbed Cu downstream from confluences when pH < 5. Particle size distributions (PSD) measured in field showed that downstream from the confluences the total volume and average diameter of the suspended particles grew progressively, with estimated mean settling velocities increasing from 0.3 to 4.2 cm s-1. As a result, 7-30% of the influent Cu was removed from the river flow. These results highlight that shifts in chemical partition and PSDs in river confluences and the hydrodynamic environments at the river reach level control the mobility of Cu in systems with high Cu/Al and Cu/Fe.
Assuntos
Cobre/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Chile , Mineração , Rios/químicaRESUMO
Corrosion of copper pipes may release high amounts of copper into the water, exceeding the maximum concentration of copper for drinking water standards. Typically, the events with the highest release of copper into drinking water are related to the presence of biofilms. This article reviews this phenomenon, focusing on copper ingestion and its health impacts, the physicochemical mechanisms and the microbial involvement on copper release, the techniques used to describe and understand this phenomenon, and the hydrodynamic effects. A conceptual model is proposed and the mathematical models are reviewed.
RESUMO
Traditional studies of copper release in plumbing systems assume that the water extracted from a pipe follows a plug-type flow and that the pipe surface does not interact with the bulk water under flow conditions. We characterized actual stagnation-flushing cycles in a household pipe undergoing corrosion in the presence of a microbial biofilm. The mass of copper released in 10 experiments was on average 8 times the value estimated by using the plug-flow assumption. The experimental copper release pattern was explained by an advection-diffusion model only if a high copper concentration occurs near the pipe surface after stagnation. Microscopic examination of the pipe surface showed a complex assemblage of biotic and abiotic features. X-ray diffraction analyses identified only malachite, while X-ray absorption spectroscopy also revealed cupric hydroxide and cuprite. These results indicate that the surface serves as a storage compartment of labile copper that may be released under flow conditions. Thus, the diffusive transport from the pipe surface to the bulk during stagnation is not the only control of the flux of copper to the tap water when porous reactive microstructures cover the pipe. Our results highlight the need for models that consider the interaction between the hydrodynamics, chemistry, and structure at the solid-water interface to predict the release of corrosion byproducts into drinking water.