International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS)

ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-6, Issue-3, March 2019

Evolution of the aggressive or scaling character of the

water according to the dose of corrosion inhibitor
Jerry Mbayo Kyongo Longo, Eddy Mbuyu Ilunga, Banza Wa Banza Bonaventure,
Jean-Marie Kanda

Abstract— In the treatment of water to fight against the alkalinity, the temperature, the pH, and the chemical
corrosion, there are several techniques that can slow down this composition of the water which can be determined at from
phenomenon and thus extend the service life of the pipes. Among some indices including the Langelier index or saturation
these techniques, the use of corrosion inhibitors is one of them. It index and Ryznard index or stability index given by the study
is in this context that the evolution of the aggressive and
of the carbon balance of a calcareous water [5].
turbulent nature of the water of the Lubumbashi River has been
studied experimentally through the determination of indicators
To date, no water study has shown the variation of the
such as pH, chemical potential, total alkalimetric titre, calcium corrosion-indicating parameters as a function of the dose of
hardness THCa, free chlorine content, dissolved oxygen content, corrosion inhibitors. The few studies that exist have focused
SO42- sulfate ion content and Ryznard and Langelier index. more on the synergy of several inhibitory ions, the inhibitory
Numerous relationships between the dose of the inhibitor and efficacy, the effectiveness of the inhibitory behaviour, the
the physicochemical parameters of water have been established. effect of pH on corrosion as well as the impact of water
Similarly, it has also been shown that the dose variation of the quality on the water corrosion process [1], [5], [6], [7].
inhibitor is related to the Langelier index and the Ryznard index. Therefore, no recommendation on the influence of the
Thus it follows that with the dose of 0.30ml / L, an appreciable
inhibitor dose has been made, yet this information is crucial
decrease in dissolved oxygen, which is the main oxidant in basic
medium, is recorded. The use of the inhibitor has a positive
for the mastery and understanding of the mechanism and
effect on corrosion because it acts directly on all processes involved in the treatment of water. This study
physicochemical parameters and on all oxidants. Subject to therefore seeks to determine the action of corrosion inhibitors
economic analyzes, the dose of 0.30 ml / L is more advisable on the scaling and corrosiveness of water. This makes it
especially as it would prevent in the cooling circuit degradation possible to verify the hypothesis according to which the
of the thermal coefficient and the formation of precipitates in the variation of the inhibitor dose leads to the increase of the
exchangers occasioned. Langelier IL index and the reduction of the Ryznard index
while acting directly on the evolution or the decrease of the
Index Terms— Oxidant, indicator, Langelier index, Ryznard physicochemical parameters and oxidants present in water.
index
II. STUDY AREA, MATERIAL AND METHODS
I. INTRODUCTION
Corrosion is the physicochemical interaction between a metal A. Study area
and its environment, which results in changes in the properties Located at 1230m altitude, the city of Lubumbashi covers an
of the metal and may lead to a significant functional area of 747 square kilometers. It consists of a slightly hilly
deficiency of the metal, the environment or the technical plateau is limited by 11 ° 27'-11 ° 47'S and 27 ° 19'-27 ° 40 'E.
system of which it is a part [1]. In industry, the internal The city of Lubumbashi is in a dry climate with two seasons
corrosion of plant pipelines causes many aesthetic, sanitary or that are rainy season from late October to mid-April and the
hydraulic problems [2], which is not without generating high dry season from late April to mid-October.
network maintenance costs [3]. As a result, the fight against The city of Lubumbashi is crossed by two large rivers: Kafubu
corrosion becomes a constant concern, from the design of and Lubumbashi. Its watershed is composed of four streams
equipment to their daily maintenance. There are many that are: Katuba, Kimilolo, Kiawishi and Naviundu. The
techniques to slow down this phenomenon in order to extend Lubumbashi River has its source northwest of the city of
the life of the pipes and the use of corrosion inhibitors is one Lubumbashi and it is in this river that the society for the
[4]. The literature gives these products many properties, treatment of the slag Lubumbashi (STL) and the
including the ability to form a protective film on the surface of GECAMINES capture the water they use among others for
the pipe wall, which inhibits or slows the rate of corrosion. the cooling of the furnace and transformers.
Thus, several factors can also have an influence on the scaling The STL produces a copper-cobalt alloy and zinc oxide
power of the water, it is among others the calcium hardness, leaving the Lubumbashi slag slag. It uses water for cooling the
furnace and transformers, for metal and slag granulation as
Jerry Mbayo Kyongo Longo, Faculty of Sciences, University of
well as for related uses. This water is captured by means of a
Lubumbashi, PO. Box 1825 Lubumbashi, DR Congo submerging pump; it is conveyed through underground pipes
Eddy Mbuyu Ilunga, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lubumbashi, of unalloyed carbon steel into the enclosure of the STL.
PO. Box 1825 Lubumbashi, DR Congo Arrived in the enclosure, part of this water goes to the
Banza Wa Banza Bonaventure, Faculty of Sciences, University of
decanter for the decarbonation, and the other part goes to the
Lubumbashi, PO. Box 1825 Lubumbashi, DR Congo
Jean-Marie Kanda, Polytechnic Faculty, University of Lubumbashi, filter RO3. After filtration, this water is stored in tanks TKO3
PO. Box 1825 Lubumbashi, DR Congo

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 Evolution of the aggressive or scaling character of the water according to the dose of corrosion inhibitor

and TKO5 that are open, and it is used for granulation of the character (pH> 7.6). It also characterizes the
alloy, poor slag and in the fire-fighting circuit. strength of acids and bases, it ranges from 0 to 14 [9]
- Oxidoreduction potential, it characterizes the strength
III. METHODOLOGY of oxidants and reducing agents (in mV).
1.1.1. Collection of the sample - The content of strong acid salt (SAF in mg / l) is
The physicochemical parameters were determined from daily mainly SO42- ions.
samples taken at the STL. The water was taken from a tap
In order to determine the aggressive or tangible character of
after filtration; the sample was transported from the place of
the water, we have based on the calculation of the RYZNARD
collection to the laboratory in sealed 1000 ml flasks. We
and LANGELIER indices. The Ryznard stability index is an
would like to point out that this study was done during the dry
empirical index intended to determine the corrosive or scaling
season, from August 08 to August 29, 2015. Conservation and
character of water [11].
handling of samples were made according to the general guide
Another method of evaluation to solve this same problem and
for the conservation and handling of samples [8].
the Langelier index is the study of the carbon balance of
1.1.2. Analysis of the sample in the
calcareous water; it involves all the equilibria that exist at a
laboratory
given temperature between the ions H +, OH-, CO3-, H2CO3,
For carrying out the test, 1 liter of water was taken and
which amounts to establishing a relation between the pH, the
introduced into a beaker without adding the inhibitor. After
calcium hydrometric title, the alkalinity and the temperature.
homogenization, the analysis was carried out and repeated
The Langelier saturation index is equal to the difference
adding successively for each test 0.05; 0.1; 0.15; 0.20; 0.25;
between the current pH of the water and the saturation pH (pH
0.3; 0.35; 0.40; 0.45 and 0.50 ml of SUDKIOR 255.
at which it is neither scaling nor corrosive). This pH of
1.1.3. Experimental procedure
saturation pHs is obtained from the temperature, the hardness
The evolution of the parameters as well as the study of the
limestone, the alkalinity with the methylorange or the
indices as the volume of SUDKOR 255 was increased was as
complete alkalinity (TAC) and the content of dissolved total
follows: characterize the water before adding the inhibitor,
solids [12].
pour 1000ml of the water to be analyzed in a beaker of 2000
ml, add x ml of SUDKOR 255, shake for two minutes at a
Table 1: Langelier's parameters
speed of 500 rpm to homogenize, take three times 100 ml of
the water dosed for the determination of TH, Tca and TAC in Saturation pH Binder trend
following the same procedures.
1.1.4. Materials needed pH - pHs> 0 Water descaler
For water analysis, the following devices were used: an Inolab pH = pHs Neutral water
pH-7310 brand pH meter; dissolved oxygen, total duration pH – pHs < 0 Corrosive water
THT, calcium time, magnesian hardness: TH Mg, sulfate ions
SO42- with CIFEC brand photometer PC 7100, the IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
aggressive or water tendency were determined on the basis of According to the analysis of the curves of figures 1 and 2, it is
the indices of Ryznard and Langelier [9] an electric stirrer for noted that the pH changes rapidly from 8.11 to 8.91 for a dose
the homogenization of the samples A stopwatch for the ranging from 0 to 0.30 and from a dose of 0.30 at 0.50 the
respect of the conditioning time of the reagents, A beaker; two latter evolves only very slightly. Similarly, there is a change in
pipettes, two burettes; a bottle and an Erlenmeyer flask. the total alkalimetric title from 18.2 to 22.2.
1.1.5. Reagents used This is due to the fact that the variation of the inhibitor dose
The reagent for dosing water, SUDKOR 255 (NaOH-based causes the variation of the pH and the TAC which in principle
molecule) is a corrosion inhibitor with the following should decrease by the fact that there is dissolution of
characteristics: pH 13.50, electrical conductivity 66.91ms / atmospheric CO2, thus leading to the formation of carbonic
cm, E-339mv, TDS 34.5g /, density 1.12, vapor pressure 3 acid and that it dissociates in the water by releasing the
mmHg, boiling point 141.7 ° C, reactivity CO, CO2, Na2O, protons which increase the acidity of the water according to
proportion of NaOH 40 at 50%, proportion of H2O 50 to the following reaction:
60%.
1.2. Experimental conditions H2CO3 + H2O → H3O+ + HCO3- (1)
As part of our study, we used the following parameters:
- The hydrotimetric titer (TH) or the total hardness; it Their increase is justified by the fact that our inhibitor has a
expresses the concentration of alkaline earth ions in basic nature since it is based on NaOH; which means that by
water. It is the sum of the calcium hardness (Ca2 + adding the dose of SUDKOR255 in the water, the reaction
ion content) and the magnesian hardness (Mg2 + ion that takes place is practically the reaction observed when
content) [10]. neutralizing a weak acid with a strong base and consequently
- The alkalimetric titer (TA) is the content of hydroxide the pH increases according to the addition of the base [13].
ions and half of the carbonate ions [10] Increasing the pH and decreasing the potential bring the water
- The complete alkalimetric titer (TAC) or alkalinity: it into its stability zone; in addition the increase of pH promotes
expresses the content of carbonate ions, production of calcium carbonate [5] according to the
bicarbonates and hydroxides [10] following reaction [14]
- PH: it intervenes in the calculation of the indices of
RYZNARD and LANGELIER. It determines the HCO3- + OH- → CO32- + H2O (2)
corrosive character (low pH <7.4) or corrosive

21 www.ijeas.org
 International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS)
ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-6, Issue-3, March 2019

Figure 1- Evolution of the pH according to the volume of Figure 4- Evolution of THCa according to the volume of
SUDKOR255 SUDKOR255

The examination of figures 5 and 6 shows that, with regard to

the RYZNARD and LANGELIER indices, for the doses
ranging from 0.00 to 0.20 ml / L the water is in equilibrium
with CaCO3. For doses ranging from 0.25 to 0.35 ml / L, the
water is always in equilibrium with CaCO3. In contrast, for
doses ranging from 0.40 ml / L and thereafter, the water leaves
the equilibrium domain with CaCO3 and can lead to a
deposition of CaCO3. This justifies the fact that the increase
in alkalinity favors the formation of CaCO3. We thus note that
the variation of the dose of inhibitor leads to the increase of
the index of Langelier IL and the decrease of the index of
Ryznard [10].

Figure 2- Evolution of the TAC according to the volume of

SUDKOR255.
The examination of figures 3 and 4 shows that there is a link
between the chemical potential E as well as the calcium
hardness THCa because the more the dose of the inhibitor
increases, the less the chemical potential E as well as the
calcium hardness THCa decrease.
The decrease of the potential is explained on the basis of
Nernst's law or the more the pH increases, the more the
potential decreases, which is in agreement with the literature
[1].
The decrease in THCa is a direct consequence of the increase
in pH, because the higher the pH, the greater the possibility of Figure 5-Evolution of the Ryznard index according to the
formation of calcium carbonate [10]. volume of SUDKOR255

Figure 3- Evolution of the electrochemical potential Figure 6- Evolution of the Langelier index according to the
according to the volume of SUDKOR255 volume of SUDKOR255

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 Evolution of the aggressive or scaling character of the water according to the dose of corrosion inhibitor

Examination of Figure 7 shows that the concentration of the can neither dissolve nor deposit it. In addition, almost all Cl2
sulfate ion decreases gradually with the addition of the and SO42- ions are eliminated.
inhibitor. With regard to the sulfate ion, this can be attributed These results confirm that the use of the inhibitor has a
to bacterial corrosion [7].The sulfate ions are reduced by the positive effect on corrosion because it acts directly on all
bacteria in the presence of hydrogen from the organic physicochemical parameters and on all oxidants. The dose of
compounds present in the water according to the following 0.30 ml / L avoids in the cooling circuit the degradation of the
reaction: thermal coefficient caused by the formation of precipitates in
the exchangers occasioned. However, it is important to
But this can also be due to the fact that the inhibitor is based integrate the economic factor, especially since in the industry
on sodium hydroxide, once in solution; it releases Na + ions the water to be treated is very important and to study the
which in turn react with the sulfate ions in the water. relationship between the variation of the dose of the inhibitor
and the chlorine content and dissolved oxygen from the water
as these are indicators of corrosion that should be monitored
regularly.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Professor Useni Yannick for his comments.

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[2] Céline M, étude de l’efficacité des inhibiteurs de corrosion à base de
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[3] Jean-Marie Dorlot, jean Paul Bâillon, jacques Masounave. Des
matériaux. Montréal .1986.
[4] LABIOD K, 2010 Etude du caractère incrustant des eaux et son
inhibition par des essais chimiques et d’électrodéposition.2010
[5] Muralidharan, S., Sarasweth, V., Thangaval, K., Srinivasan, S. 2000.
Figure 7- Evolution of the sulfate ion concentration as a Competitive role of inhibitive and aggressive ions in the corrosion of
function of the volume of SUDKOR255 steel in concrete. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Ed. Springer, 30:
Before the addition of the inhibitor, the water is in 1255-1259.
calcocarbonic equilibrium, although with slight corrosivity [6] Khouikhi, F. Etude de l’efficacité de deux inhibiteurs de corrosion dans
les milieux multiphasiques (eau, huile et gaz). Thèse de Magister,
and scaliness because IR = 6.6178 and IL = 0.7461. It is Université M’Hamed Bougara, Boumerdes, Algérie. 2007
therefore probable that the addition of the inhibitor modifies [7] B. Ledinh Bao, étude du comportement des inhibiteurs de corrosion en
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all the physical and physicochemical parameters of this water. DEA Université pierre et marie curie. Paris 1988.
[8] NF EN ISO 5667-3 (Juin 2004). Qualité de l’eau – Échantillonnage
However, there is an increase in pH, TCa, TAC and IL which –Partie 3 : lignes directrices pour la conservation et la manipulation des
is justified by the fact that the inhibitor is based on an alkaline échantillons d’eau (Indice de classement : T90-513).
solution. Indeed, the latter once added to the water, results in [9] J. Rodier, l’analyse de l’eau, 9eme édition Dunod, Paris 2009.
the growth of the hydroxide and Na+ ion content, which has a [10] H. Yamina Caractérisation électrochimique de l’entartrage et inhibition
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In addition, this study also showed that the sulphate ion (1991).
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V. CONCLUSION
The aggressive and turbulent nature of the water of the
Lubumbashi River has been studied experimentally through
indicators such as pH, chemical potential, total alkalimetric
titre, calcium hardness THCa, free chlorine content, oxygen
content dissolved, SO42- sulfate ion content, Ryznard and
Langelier index. After several tests in the laboratory, it has
been shown that the variation of the dose of the inhibitor is
related to the Langelier index and to the Ryznard index. And it
follows that it is at the dose of 0.30ml / L that we have the best
results. Under these conditions, we note an appreciable
decrease of dissolved oxygen which is the main oxidant in
basic medium; we are located in the passivation zone on E-pH
diagrams of iron and water superimposed. In addition, the
water remains in equilibrium with the calcium carbonate and

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