A water that does not form scale or corrosive is stable; this condition is called what?

A water that does not form scale or corrosive is stable; this condition is called what?

• A. Zero potential
• B. Stabilization
• C. Langelier zero index
• D. Saturation

Answer: (D)

A water that is stable and does not form scale or become corrosive is in saturation with respect to calcium carbonate. This means the water is at equilibrium with CaCO3 minerals: dissolved content and conditions allow neither deposition nor dissolution. In practice this is described by the Langelier Saturation Index: when the index is zero, the water is CaCO3 saturation, so it won’t tend to form scale or be corrosive. If the index were positive, scale would tend to form; if negative, the water would be corrosive. So the described condition is saturation. Other terms like zero potential or generic stabilization don’t specifically describe this equilibrium, and while there are related concepts, saturation is the precise description here.

A water that is stable and does not form scale or become corrosive is in saturation with respect to calcium carbonate. This means the water is at equilibrium with CaCO3 minerals: dissolved content and conditions allow neither deposition nor dissolution. In practice this is described by the Langelier Saturation Index: when the index is zero, the water is CaCO3 saturation, so it won’t tend to form scale or be corrosive. If the index were positive, scale would tend to form; if negative, the water would be corrosive. So the described condition is saturation. Other terms like zero potential or generic stabilization don’t specifically describe this equilibrium, and while there are related concepts, saturation is the precise description here.