Abstract
Hardness salts are one of the most familiar forms of fouling. They are salts of the alkaline earth metals magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium, the first two of which are found in almost all natural waters. The most common is probably calcium carbonate CaCO3, but calcium sulphate dihydrate (gypsum, CaSO4.2H2O) is deposited from some waters, and where the silica content is high MgSiO3 and CaSiO3 may be formed (e.g.ref.(1)). Magnesium hydroxide (brucite, Mg(OH)2 can be formed in desalination plants, as can anhydrous calcium sulphate (anhydrite) at high enough temperatures. Where waters have been polluted with phosphates from sewage or fertiliser run-off calcium phosphate may also form. Although uncommon in surface waters, strontium and barium are often present in considerable amounts in underground aquifers, and cause severe problems when they meet sulphate-rich waters such as seawater and precipitate their sulphates.
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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Pritchard, A.M. (1988). Deposition of Hardness Salts. In: Melo, L.F., Bott, T.R., Bernardo, C.A. (eds) Fouling Science and Technology. NATO ASI Series, vol 145. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2813-8_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2813-8_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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