Water Qual Expo Health
DOI 10.1007/s12403-015-0156-8
ORIGINAL PAPER
Sensitivity of Corrosion and Scaling Indices Based on Ions; Case
Study Iran
Milad Kurdi · Mohammad Shahi Ferdows ·
Abbas Maghsoudi
Received: 12 September 2014 / Revised: 3 January 2015 / Accepted: 6 January 2015
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract This study is aimed to investigate the chemistry
quality, corrosion, scaling potentials, and sensitivity of cor-
rosion indices in Qareh Sou basin that is purposed for indus-
trial utilization and drinking water purification. Based on this
research, six hydrometric station data and 10 water samples
were used during 2010–2011. The indices of Langelier (LI),
Ryznar (RI), Puckorius (PI), Aggressive (AI), and Larson
(LR) corrosion were used to measure corrosion. Furthermore,
in order to determine the sensitivity of indices, the factors
affecting each index and then changes of the index based on
changes of each parameter have been analyzed. Therefore,
the most sensitive parameter (factor) is determined. Accord-
ing to LI, RI, and PI values Qareh Sou basin could be consid-
ered as corrosive. The results demonstrated that there is an
inconsistency in indices values. The pH value range of 7.2–
7.6 could be indicative in a way that the water is corrosive
and cannot be properly interpreted as other pH ranges.
Keywords Corrosion · Scaling potential · Corrosion
indices · Sensitivity · Qareh Sou
Introduction
Corrosion and Scaling are important indices for measuring
water quality (Horfar 1996). Corrosion occurs due to physical
and chemical reactions between the material and the environ-
ment surrounding it, which leads to changes in the material
characteristics. In this reaction, chemical, physical, and bio-
logical factors are involved. This process is generally harmful
M. Kurdi (B) · M. S. Ferdows · A. Maghsoudi
Department of Mining & Metallurgical Engineering, Amirkabir
University, Tehran, Iran
e-mail: milad_kurdi@aut.ac.ir
and can have adverse effects on citizens’ health and also on
economic, social, technical, and engineering factors (Mahdi
2009). In a study conducted by Battelle-NBS in the USA
in 1975, costs of corrosion were estimated at around $70
billion which was equal to 4.2 % of GNP in America (Barga-
heiser and Butalia 2007, p. 1). According to previous studies,
chemical corrosion is the cause to the existence of more than
around 60 % water pipes and water supply network corro-
sion relatively and the rest is mostly effected by biological
factors (Roberge 2006). According to ISO 8044, corrosion is
a physical and chemical reaction between metal and its envi-
ronment, which leads to metal characteristic changes, and
therefore the metal, environment, and technical systems are
damaged (Mahvi et al. 2011). Corrosion occurs due to fac-
tors such as pH, carbon dioxide, hardness, temperature, water
velocity, soluble solids, sediment, O2 solution, chlorine, cavi-
tations, erosion, and sand abrasion (Salvato et al. 2003). Scale
also contains divalent metal ions which are available in water
with hard elements. Most scales contain calcium carbonate,
magnesium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and magnesium chlo-
ride (Geldriech 1996). Due to water resource diversity, dif-
ferent qualities are expected particularly in terms of water
soluble salts. Generally, water contains calcium cation and
various anions such as bicarbonate, carbonate, chloride, and
sulfate (Pakshir et al. 2005). Corrosion increases the growth
of bacteria and result in water turbidity which reduces the
esthetic quality of water (Kerri 2008). The most important
issue about corrosion is the presence of cadmium and lead
which can expose public health to serious risks (American
Water Works Association 1984).
Since water quality is an important factor in management
and planning, a lot of studies have been conducted on water
quality, e.g. Hashemi et al. (2004) investigated corrosion fac-
tors in Tabriz water network and suggested that chemical fac-
tors are effective in corrosion type since there is a low level
123

of hardness of water in the network indicating that calcium
carbonate crust is not well formed (Xiao et al. 2007).
Effects of blending on surface characteristics of cop-
per corrosion products in drinking water distribution systems
were studied. In this study, copper scales were formed over 6
months during exposure to ground, surface, and saline waters
which were characterized by EDS, XRD, and XPS. Cl was
present in surface or saline copper scales. Cu2 O oxidation to
CuO increased with alkalinity, and was dependent on time
and pH. Teng et al. (2008) investigated the effect of biofilm
on cast iron pipe corrosion in the drinking water distribu-
tion system. In this work, corrosion scales were identified by
XRD and XPS. They found that biofilm can accelerate corro-
sion in 7 days, but inhibits corrosion after 7 days, which was
due to iron bacteria and iron reducing bacteria (IRB), respec-
tively. DGGE fingerprinting provided a good explanation to
this transition, which contributed to the change of biofilm
microbial diversity. Lytle and Nadagouda (2010) investi-
gated copper pitting corrosion in the drinking water dis-
tribution system. The investigation produced detailed struc-
tural, morphological, and elemental details of copper pitting
that strongly corroborated previous observations and theoret-
ical models, and revealed new findings. Mahvi et al. (2011)
analyzed corrosion and scale in Bandar Abbas water net-
work pipes using Langelier and Ryznar indices and Marble
tests for water quality analysis. Findings showed that col-
lected samples were extremely corrosive. Tan (2011) stud-
ied experimental methods designed for measuring corrosion
in highly resistive and inhomogeneous media. He provided
an overview of innovative experimental methods designed
for corrosion testing and monitoring in highly resistive and
Fig. 1 Form and location of Qareh sou basin and station (Kurdi et al. 2014)
123
M. Kurdi et al.
inhomogeneous media, with a particular focus on localized
corrosion measurement using electrode array and electro-
chemical noise techniques. Shams et al. (2012) studied cor-
rosion in Tabas water distribution using several corrosion
indices and suggested that Tabas drinking water supply is
corrosive. Karpov et al. (2012) studied the effect of micro
fouling on corrosion of marine metals and destruction of
the protective coating. The results illustrated that corrosion
almost does not develop in the absence of microorganisms
and micro fouling, the aforementioned agent is involved in
the destruction of the organic basis of antifouling protec-
tive coating and this process is significantly considered pos-
itive.
The aim of this study is recognition of water quality, its
chemical factors, and determining corrosion and scale poten-
tials to be used in industry and also in contaminating drinking
water.
Materials and Methods
Study Area
Qareh Sou River is located in the northern slopes of the
Alborz Mountains. It has an area of 1,637.65 km2 and is
89 km long. Qareh Sou River is the major water supply of
Gorgan gulf (Fig. 1). This basin is limited to Gorgan from
the east and Gorgan gulf from the west. It is connected to
the Gorgan gulf in Qareh sou village (Zare nejad 2000). The
geomorphologic structure of this basin is divided into two
different parts: mountain and plain (Hanafi 1997).
Sensitivity of Corrosion and Scaling Indices Based on Ions

Table 1 Characteristics of
hydrometric stations of Qareh Symbol Station River Altitude (m) Longitude Latitude
Sou Basin
N Naharkhoran Ziarat 500 54◦ 28 32 36◦ 45 53
SH Shastkola Shastkola 150 54◦ 21 00 36◦ 44 12
S Siah-Ab Ghare Soo −26 54◦ 3 16 36◦ 49 35
P Pol Ordogah Garmabdasht 465 54◦ 34 56 36◦ 47 5
GH Ghaz Mahale Kurdkoy 5.5 54◦ 6 24 36◦ 47 17
Y Yesaghi Yesaghi 6 54◦ 16 27 36◦ 48 31

Methodology Puckorious Index (PI)

In this study, we used six hydrometric stations and 10 sam-
ples (Table 1). Ions used in this study were measured at
25 ◦ C. For examination of Qareh Sou’s water quality dur-
ing 2010, sampling regimes were done in 10 stages in dif-
ferent seasons. Overall, 58 samples were analyzed from
six stations. Electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved
solid (TDS), and pH were measured by a water checker
portable meter (hatch model HQ40D53000000). The bicar-
bonate (HCO− 3 ) was measured by the Alkalinity measure-
ments method. Sodium (Na+ ), potassium (K+ ), magnesium
(Mg2+ ), calcium (Ca2+ ), chlorine (Cl− ), and sulfate (SO2−
4 )
were measured by Graphite atomic absorption (furnace 4100)
using standard methods APHA (1998).
Samples were analyzed, quantitative parameters were cal-
culated and corrosion equations were evaluated. Calculation
is based on the following equations:
Langelier Index (LI)
This index is more accurate for water in which the level
of pH is more than 8, compared to Langelier and Ryznar
indices. Since pH becomes a buffer system and does not have
a good relationship with alkalinity, pH equilibrium (pHeq)
can be obtained based on alkalinity which is applied in the
formula of calculating the Puckorius index (Colin 2008). In
many cases, the Langelier index displays water sedimenta-
tion, while the Puckorius index indicates water being corro-
sive. At this point, most of the factories and refineries dealing
with the cooling system prefer to use this index (Gol’ozar
2008).
Aggressiveness Index (AI)
In this index, water prefers to devastate water transferring
pipes called asbestos-cement which is used to predict whether
the water will scale a protective scale or seek calcium carbon-
ate saturation by dissolving the pipe’s cement (World Health
Organization 2007).

The Langelier index was developed in 1936 in order to sys-

tematically investigate the chemical relationships involved in
the corrosion of iron or galvanized pipes (Langelier 1939).
This is one of the oldest and most widely used indices to esti-
mate water corrosion and is as follows (Matssson 1989). It is
based on solubility characteristics of a number of compounds
besides calcium carbonate. It is based on the solubility of cal-
cium carbonate and the potential of water to measure a scale
that can protect the pipe. This index was applied to both metal
and asbestos-cement pipes.
Ryznar Index (RI)
Larson Index (LR)
It was presented in order to investigate the corrosiveness of
water when it confronts steel pipes and low-carbon steel and
cement pipes which can be calculated through the following
formulas (Sasidhar and Kumar 2008). Larson expressed the
opinion based on experience, that water should have a slightly
positive Langelier index, and that the pH should ideally not
exceed 8.6 (Larson 1951). The pHs is the pH at saturation in
calcite or calcium carbonate. To calculate pHs in the above
formulas, it is better to use the Schuler chart. Table 2 shows
corrosion indices and their definitions.

Using this index we could somehow obtain quantitative

results. This index was mentioned by Ryznar in 1994 (Matss-
son 1989). In this index, we tried to make an empirical rela-
tionship between the diameter of sediment formed and chem-
ical water in the urban irrigation system under a situation in
which velocity of water is more than 2 feet per second.
Results and Discussion
To determine corrosion and scale potentials of Qareh Sou
River, we measured quality parameters such as temperature,
pH, alkalinity, hardness, calcium, sulfate and chloride con-

123
 M. Kurdi et al.

Table 2 Corrosion indices and their definitions

Indicator Equation Descriptive Value

LI LI = pH−pHs pH: actual pH of water 0 > LI Tend to corrosion

pHs = (9.3 + A + B)−(C + D) pHS : saturation water of calcium carbonate LI = 0 Equilibrium
A: total dissolved solid (mg) 0 < LI Tend to precipitate
B: Temperature
C: Calcium hardness (mg/ l)
D: alkalinity (mg/l)
RI RI = 2pHs − pH pH: actual pH of water RI < 6 Tend to precipitate
pHS : saturation water of 6 < RI < 7 Equilibrium tend to corrosion
calcium carbonate RI > 7
PI PI = 2 pHs−pHeq T.ALK: alkalify (ppm) 6 > PI Tend to precipitate
pHeq = 1.456 Log(T.Alk) + 4.54 6 < PI Tend to corrosion
AI AI = pH + Log[A.H] A: alkalify AI10 Corrosion
H: hardness 10 < AI<12 Soft corrosion
AI12 Precipitate
LRI LR = ([Cl− ] +2.[SO2−
4 ])/ [HCO−
3] C1: ionic chloride concentration (mg/l) LR0.8 Corrosion
SO4 : ionic sulfate concentration (mg/l) 0.8 < LR<1.2 Soft corrosion
HCO3 : ionic chloride concentration 1.2LR Precipitate
(mg/l)

Table 3 Physical and chemical characteristics of water quality of Qareh Sou River
Parameters Unit Max Min Mean Iran EPA Standard (2004)
Optimum standards Allowable standard

Temp ◦C – – 25
pH – 8.47 6.72 7.90 7–8.5 6.5–9.2 6.5–8.5
Ca Mg/l 116.2 28.05 61.70 75 <200 –
SO4 Mg/l 456.3 20.17 87.73 200 <600 <250
Cl Mg/l 319.1 7.091 60.31 200 <400 <250
TDS Mg/l 1195 205 451.03 500 <1,500 <500
HCO3 Mg/l 439.3 122 240.83 – – –
Hardness Mg/l 580.48 160.13 297.82 150 <500 –
Alkaline Mg/l 439.3 122 240.83

centration, and soluble solids (Table 3), and then we investi-
gated the indices mentioned.
According to the mean amount and extreme values, these
parameters have a great deal of variation in value but are
mostly smaller than optimum and allowed values.
Figure 2 displays the indicators on different timescales.
According to the Li index, most sites show values more than
zero indicating that water is corrosive in these sites. RI expe-
rienced greater oscillations but this index still approves Qareh
Sou River being corrosive. PI confirms that Qareh sou basin is
corrosive, except for Naharkhoran and Siah-ab stations that
experience significant changes in their values. The Larson
index was different from the Puckorious index and accord-
ing to the values gained from this method all the sites are scale
except Siah-ab and Naharkhoran. The Aggressive index was
very different from other indices and this indicates Qareh Sou
basin being scaling. It is worth mentioning that the A/C pipe
operates based on the aggressive index, meaning that this
index can be used as a guide for measuring appropriateness
of the pipe in certain water conditions (National Research
Council (US) 1984).
LRI divided the river into two sections: the southern area
which has corrosive water and the northern area which has
scale water. Finally, it shows the Aggressiveness index of
Qareh sou basin which can create problems in the drinking
water network or industries.

123
Sensitivity of Corrosion and Scaling Indices Based on Ions
Fig. 2 Time series of indices in the stations
The Kriging interpolation method was used to produce
corrosion severity maps in Qareh Sou River (Fig. 3).
According to LI, PI, and RI, Qareh sou basin is chemically
corrosive, and it can be stated that this river can cause damage
to drinking water or industrial utilities in a long time.
The level of corrosiveness indicates damage in the industry
of drinking water and can endanger health. Generally, cor-
rosiveness is threatening which has many side effects on the
health of citizens. Corrosive water can create secondary con-
taminants such as iron, zinc, copper, and manganese in den-
sities higher than the standard level in drinking water which
can cause some problems in taste, odor, color, and spot. Also,
it causes the entrance of some risky contaminants, such as
lead, that could cause health concern. In addition, corrosion
can cause the growth of bacteria in water and increase water
turbidity and may reduce the quality of water esthetically.
Economically, corrosive water can cause corrosion of lines
of transferring and distribution and can also create some thick
layers on surfaces and walls of heat exchange units. Corro-
siveness can have many annual fees such as fixing, replac-
ing, and maintaining distribution systems. Other economic
problems are as follows: the need to replace corroded pipes,
increase of waste water, and entery of secondary contami-
nants into distribution systems.
The Larson index of the river can be divided into two
areas, the southern area which has corrosive water and the
northern area which experiences water sedimentation. The
Aggressive index shows that the river can be precipitated.
Sedimentation occurs when cations with two capacities
such as magnesium and calcium react with other solvent
material in water and are settled in internal lining in the form
of a layer. The most important problems in water are precip-
itation, the red color of water, prominence in internal surface
of pipes, reduction in the discharge level of pipes, and reduc-
tion of efficiency of valves and pipe fittings.
Sensitivity of Indices
In this study, to determine the sensitivity of indices, Minitab
software v.16 has been applied on dataset. For this purpose,
123

Fig. 3 Map of Qareh sou basin quality based on corrosion and scaling
the factors which are affecting each index have been deter-
mined and— variation of the index based on changes for each
parameter used by the Pareto chart (One of the Seven Basic
Tools of Quality)—have been carried out. In this method,
the effects of each parameter are examined separately, and
then effects of each pair of parameters are combined and
finally possible combinations of all parameters are exam-
ined. Therefore, the most sensitive parameter (factor) is deter-
mined.
Sensitivity of Langelier Index
Important parameters for calculation of the Langelier index
include pH, water temperature, calcium, bicarbonate, TDS,
123
M. Kurdi et al.
and total hardness. The Pareto chart of the index is shown
in Fig. 4. The index changes to pH are more sensitive than
the other parameters and calcium is important. The other
effective parameters on this index at their minimum level are
assumed, and the diagram of its variation based on pH and
calcium has been drawn (Fig. 5). This figure demonstrates
that when the pH is less than 7.2, water is scaling and more
than 7.2 the water is corrosive.
Sensitivity of Puckorious Index
Important parameters for calculation of the Puckorius index
include pH, water temperature, calcium, bicarbonate, TDS,
and total hardness similar to the Langelier index. The Pareto
Sensitivity of Corrosion and Scaling Indices Based on Ions
Fig. 4 Pareto chart of
Langelier index
Fig. 5 Diagram of Langelier
index variation based on pH and
calcium
chart of the index is shown in Fig. 6. The index changes to
calcium are more sensitive than the other parameters and TDS
is important. The other effective parameters on this index at
their minimum level are assumed, and the diagram of its
variation based on Ca and TDS has been drawn (Fig. 7).
This index in the region shows a consistently high value and
emphasizes that the water is always corrosive.
Sensitivity of Ryznar Index
Important parameters for calculation of the Ryznar index
include pH, water temperature, calcium, bicarbonate, TDS,
and total hardness similar to the Langelier and Puckorius
indices. The Pareto chart of the index is shown in Fig. 8. The
index changes to pH is more sensitive than the other parame-
ters and calcium is important. The other effective parameters
on this index at their minimum level are assumed, and the
diagram of its variation based on pH and calcium has been
drawn (Fig. 9). This figure demonstrates that when the pH
value is less than 7.6, water is corrosive and with reduced pH
the corrosive rate dramatically increases.
Conclusion
Corrosion and scale are issues that should be considered in
water operation and distribution management, since inatten-
123

Fig. 6 Pareto chart of
Puckorious index
Fig. 7 Diagram of Puckorious
index variation based on
calcium and TDS
tion to water’s chemical properties can cause economic and
health damages.
The important point with regard to the present study is that
the water of the river has a corrosive potential and in spite
of its use for industrial and drinking purposes, it can cause
some economic damages and health problems in treatment
systems, so more accurate control of qualitative parameters
which are effective in corrosiveness and more accurate analy-
sis of the condition of corrosion are suggested.
On the other hand, in spite of recognizing qualitative fea-
tures of water, preventive activities could be conducted in
order to reduce economic damages and improve health con-
123
M. Kurdi et al.
ditions such as coloring, covering, suitable maintenance by
Cathodic protection (for metal structures), and continuous
injection of corrosion deterrents into the distribution sys-
tem.
For closer examination of corrosion and scaling indices in
the Qareh Sou River, their important parameters have been
determined. Then, changes of the index based on changes of
each parameter have been characterized. The results indicate
that there is an inconsistency in indices. The Langelier index
indicates that when pH value is more than 7.2, the water
is corrosive but the Ryznar index indicates that when pH
value is less than 7.6 the water is corrosive. Therefore, the
Sensitivity of Corrosion and Scaling Indices Based on Ions
Fig. 8 Pareto chart of Ryznar
index
Fig. 9 Diagram of Ryznar
index variation based on
calcium and TDS
pH value that ranges from 7.2 to 7.6 can be considered as
corrosive water but it cannot be properly interpreted for other
pH ranges.
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