Hydrochemical inspection of landslide drainage structures reveals high risk for scaling processes.

The limited accessibility during visual inspections remains a central problem for maintaining and repairing of landslide drainage structures. Unwanted mineralization processes cause clogging and damage to drainage pipes, leaving reconstruction as the only option for remediation. Studies of water wells and tunnel drainages have shown that hydrochemical inspections can efficiently detect chemically triggered clogging processes at an early stage.

Green inhibitors reduce unwanted calcium carbonate precipitation: Implications for technical settings.

Mineral scale deposits in water drainage and supply systems are a common and challenging issue, especially by clogging the water flow. The removal of such unwanted deposits is cost intensive arguing for case-specific and sustainable prevention strategies. In the present study, a novel on-site approach to prevent calcium carbonate (CaCO) scale formation was assessed in two road tunnel drainages: Application of the eco-friendly green inhibitor polyaspartate (PASP) caused (i) a significant inhibition of CaCO precipitation, (ii) a more porous or even unconsolidated consistence of the deposits, and (iii) a shift from calcite to the metastable aragonite and vaterite polymorphs.