Study of scaling problem in the region of tata (Morocco): Analysis of the elemental composition, crystalline phases, and morphologies of scale deposition in water installations.

In the region of Tata (southeast of Morocco), groundwater is the only resource for drinking and agriculture. However, the formation of mineral deposits, known as scaling, inside groundwater distribution networks and household facilities is significantly observed in this oasis area. This phenomenon leads to technical problems and substantial economic losses. The present study aims to perform a complete analysis of the natural scale extracted from the obstructed pipes in Tata city. Physicochemical analyses of water are first carried out. The elemental composition, crystalline phases, and morphologies of the extracted scale are then characterized by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with an EDXS (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy) analytical techniques. The results of physicochemical analyses reveal that Tata's groundwater is a very hard-brackish type of water and mainly dominated by Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, and HCO3- ion content. This strong hardness and slightly high mineralization are mainly affected by the nature of the geology of the region, which is composed essentially of CaO, MgO, and SiO2 elements. The XRF, EDXS, TGA, and TDA analyses show that calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is the major element in the studied scale sample with a percentage of 94.51%. The XRD, FTIR, and SEM techniques show that the crystalline structure of the studied scale is a mixture of 32% of Mg-calcite (Ca5·40Mg0·60C6·0O18.0) and 68% of aragonite (CaCO3) with rhombohedral and needle morphologies, respectively. The obtained results have provided data that can be used to highlight a new anti-scaling process in the Tata area.

Efficiency of one scale inhibitor on calcium carbonate precipitation from hot water sanitary: effect of temperature and concentration.

The scaling of hot water transport pipes has become one of the major problems encountered in Agadir's region, which exploits water of underground origin with very high hardness (40°F). Several methods can be used to prevent this phenomenon. Among these methods, the use of chemical inhibitors remains one of the processes to stop or retard the formation of scale deposits. In this study, we tested the inhibitor with the trade name "Aquatreat601" at different temperatures such as 30, 40 and 60 °C. This inhibitor was tested at different concentrations for each temperature in order to find the efficiency concentration to prevent the precipitation of scale, which consists mainly of calcium carbonate CaCO3 of the aragonite variety with a percentage of 88 %, and also the Mg-calcite Mg0.06Ca0.94(CO3) with a percentage of 12 %. These results obtained by method X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. We carried out this study on pure calco-carbonic water, of hardness equal to 40°F, using the "LCGE" method. The quantity of inhibitor is added before the research gas is introduced. In all cases, the presence of chemical inhibitors does not alter the initial pH of the solution or the concentration of calcium (TCa) value measured before the experiment begins. The results obtained show that the ''Aquatreat 601″ contents of 100, 180 and 300 ppm allowed total inhibition of calcium carbonate precipitation at temperatures of 30, 40 and 60 °C respectively.