Procedure for Calculating the Calcium Carbonate Precipitation Potential (CCPP) in Drinking Water Supply: Importance of Temperature, Ionic Species and Open/Closed System

The calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation potential (CCPP) can predict the potential for corrosion and lime scaling in drinking water systems. CCPP can be calculated by different standards, but none of these consider all of the conditions in drinking water systems where temperatures can reach 100 °C and the water exchanges CO2 with the atmosphere.

We provided and demonstrated a procedure for CCPP calculations using the open-source software PHREEQC with the phreeqc.dat database at temperatures relevant for drinking water systems (10–90 °C) and for open systems in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. CCPP increased by 0.17–1.51 mmol/kg when the temperature was increased from 10 °C to 90 °C and increased by 0.22–2.82 mmol/kg when going from closed to open systems at 10 °C.

Thus, CaCO3 precipitation may be underestimated if CCPP is only considered for the lower sample temperature and for closed systems. On the other hand, CCPP10 decreased by 0.006–0.173 mmol/kg when including the ionic species from the German DIN 38404-10 standard in addition to calcium, alkalinity and pH, indicating that all relevant ionic species should be included in CCPP calculations.

CCPP values should always be reported with the calculation procedure and temperature to avoid inconsistency in literature.