dc.contributor.author	Sprague, Nicolle Marie	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Edwards, Marc A.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Dietrich, Andrea M.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Love, Nancy G.	en
dc.contributor.department	Environmental Engineering	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T21:36:22Z	en
dc.date.adate	1999-05-20	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T21:36:22Z	en
dc.date.issued	1999-04-07	en
dc.date.rdate	2000-05-20	en
dc.date.sdate	1999-05-18	en
dc.description.abstract	In recent years, stringent world-wide regulation of copper in drinking water, wastewater discharge and sludge has prompted utilities to carefully evaluate copper sources and sinks, benefits and detriments, and mitigation. This work compiled the individual efforts of researchers and utilities to provide a basis for holistic decision-making. Mass balances suggest that between 14-61% of copper in wastewater originates from home plumbing. Dosing of pure copper sulfate "root killer" by consumers, which is of unlikely value, accounted for up to 27% of copper inputs. Removal of copper in wastewater treatment ranged from 24-90%, suggesting a potential for optimization of these processes if desired. Finally, though utilities are pressured to reduce copper inputs at all stages of the urban water cycle, substantial benefits including human and wastewater bacteria micro-nutrition, water disinfection and algae control should not be overshadowed. To better understand copper inputs from corrosion in soft waters, a 12 month study was executed. Free chlorine (0.7 mg/L) was determined to have minimally adverse effects on copper release at pH 9.5 but no significant effect at pH 7.0, and higher temperatures usually increased copper release. Organic matter including soluble and particulate NOM, sodium alginate, and gum xanthan, tended to worsen copper release. Their direct effects included complexation and mobilization of pre-existing copper scale as particulates. Indirect effects were also discovered, including a propensity of gum xanthan and alginate to decrease pH, increasing copper release, and also to produce a microbiologically unstable water, decreasing the dissolved oxygen necessary for fueling corrosion reactions. The range of organic matter effects could be placed within a unified conceptual framework.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Science	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-051899-145401	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-051899-145401/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42724	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	FRONTMATTER1_PS.PDF	en
dc.relation.haspart	TitlePageAbstract.ps.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	ChapterIII.ps.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	ChapterI.ps.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	ChapterII.ps.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	VITA.ps.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	NOM	en
dc.subject	Corrosion	en
dc.subject	By-Product Release	en
dc.subject	Copper	en
dc.subject	EPS	en
dc.title	Copper in the Urban Water Cycle: Sources and Sinks, Benefits and Detriments, and Corrosion in Soft Waters	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Environmental Planning	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science	en

Copper in the Urban Water Cycle: Sources and Sinks, Benefits and Detriments, and Corrosion in Soft Waters

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