The interaction of surfactants with plastic and copper plumbing materials during decontamination

Karen S Casteloes; Gamini P Mendis; Holly K Avins; John A Howarter; Andrew J Whelton

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.11.067

The interaction of surfactants with plastic and copper plumbing materials during decontamination

J Hazard Mater. 2017 Mar 5:325:8-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.11.067. Epub 2016 Nov 25.

Authors

Karen S Casteloes¹, Gamini P Mendis², Holly K Avins³, John A Howarter⁴, Andrew J Whelton⁵

Affiliations

¹ Lyles School of Civil Engineering, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA. Electronic address: kcasteloes@purdue.edu.
² School of Materials Engineering, 70 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: gmendis@purdue.edu.
³ School of Materials Engineering, 70 W. Stadium Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: havins@purdue.edu.
⁴ Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering and School of Materials Engineering 701 W. Stadium Avenue, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: howarter@purdue.edu.
⁵ Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering and Lyles School of Civil Engineering, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: awhelton@purdue.edu.

PMID: 27914290
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.11.067

Abstract

The study goal was to examine the effectiveness of surfactants to decontaminate plastic and copper potable water plumbing components. Several common potable water pipe and gasket plastics were examined as well as Alconox^® detergent, Dawn^® soap, and MAGIT-DG 100 surfactants. Results showed that the MAGIT-DG 100 solutions permeated all plastics within 3days, effectively compromising tensile strength (-82%), physical dimension (+43% volume, +45% weight), and oxidative resistance (-15%). A variety of MAGIT-DG 100 solution compounds permeated plastic samples, not just the declared major ingredient. PVC and cPVC pipes sorbed the least amount of this solution's components of all the plastic pipes tested. Alconox^® and Dawn^® solutions caused minimal changes to the physical and mechanical properties of all plastics examined. Crosslinked polyethylene type A (PEX-a) pipe was more susceptible to crude oil contamination than copper pipe. Flushing with a pure water Alconox^® solution mixture removed all benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes (BTEX) from copper pipe. No decontamination method affected BTEX removal from PEX pipe. Under certain conditions surfactant solutions have the potential to alter material integrity and may not be a viable option in removing hydrophobic organic compounds from plastic pipe.

Keywords: Chemicals; Decontamination; Drinking water; Infrastructure; Plastic; Surfactant.