The mineral composition of sediments and the reasons for their formation in the heating and hot water supply systems of the towns of Apatity and Kirovsk (the Murmansk Region)

Abstract

The development of the housing and communal complex is focused on ensuring guaranteed access of the Russian population to high-quality drinking water. Due to the deterioration of drinking water quality, the mineral composition of sediments in the heating and hot water supply systems of the towns of Apatity and Kirovsk (the Murmansk region) has been studied. It has been established that sediments in the heating system mainly consist of iron oxides and oxyhydroxides: magnetite, goethite and lepidocrocite. All these mineral phases are products of active oxidation (corrosion) of steel pipes and heating system equipment. No mineral phases of ferrous forms of iron have been found in the sediment, which indicates sharply oxidizing environment in the heating system. The presence of sulfur-containing mineral phases, namely, anhydrous calcium sulfate - anhydrite and elemental sulfur, has been recorded in the heating system of the Apatity combined heat and power plant. Indirectly, the presence of such sulfur-containing phases may indicate the possible presence of microflora (bacteria) in the heat-transfer agent, in the metabolic processes of which sulfur and sulfur-containing compounds are involved.