Effectiveness of copper and zinc ions in preventing scaling of drinking water.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of copper and zinc ions an economical and environmentally friendly method for inhibiting the scaling of drinking water, using the method of rapid controlled precipitation (RCP). The results indicated that zinc ions and copper ions, at low concentrations, were highly efficient inhibitors in a 300 mL solution (calcium ion concentration of 126.5 mg/L). To produce an inhibition efficiency of 100% (in 70 min), the concentration of the copper ion was 0.9 mg/L and that of the zinc ion was 0.4 mg/L. The analysis by SEM and infrared absorption spectrometry showed that copper and zinc ions could affect the calcium carbonate germination and change the crystal morphology, which indicated that copper and zinc ions had participated in the composition of the crystal; however, the quantity of copper or zinc ion in the precipitate was so small that it was difficult to observe them.