General corrosion of copper in domestic drinking water installations: Scientific background and mechanistic understanding

Abstract

The scientific and applied corrosion literature has been reviewed in order to establish the state of the art knowledge on the general corrosion of copper. Based on the evaluation of electrochemical fundamentals of corrosion processes and the chemical composition of solid corrosion byproducts on internal pipe surfaces, major parameters that influence the general corrosion of copper are presented. The current mechanistic understanding and the existing approaches for mathematical modelling are also discussed. General corrosion of copper is a well studied topic, where major parameters have been identified. Future research should concentrate on secondary effects, such as the interaction of organic and inorganic water constituents, and how water treatment influences the physicochemical processes at the solid/liquid boundary. © 2006 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.