The influence of rainwater composition on the conservation state of cementitious building materials

Rainwater is one of the main pollution tracers around the world. There are many reasons that can explain the presence of high concentrations of certain hazardous elements (HEs) in the rainwater (traffic, marine port activities, industry, etc.). In this work, rainwater samples were collected at six d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2016-01, Vol.542 (Pt A), p.716-727
Main Authors: Morillas, Héctor, Marcaida, Iker, Maguregui, Maite, Carrero, Jose Antonio, Madariaga, Juan Manuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Construction Materials - analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollution - statistics & numerical data
ICP-MS
Ion chromatography
Rain - chemistry
Rainwater
Raman spectroscopy
Spain
Wet depositions
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Summary:Rainwater is one of the main pollution tracers around the world. There are many reasons that can explain the presence of high concentrations of certain hazardous elements (HEs) in the rainwater (traffic, marine port activities, industry, etc.). In this work, rainwater samples were collected at six different locations in the Metropolitan Bilbao (Basque Country, north of Spain) during November 2014. HE concentrations were determined by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and anions by ion chromatography. The pH and redox potential values on these samples were also assessed. According to the obtained results, different trends along the estuary of Bilbao have been observed. To corroborate some hypothesis, thermodynamic simulations and correlation analyses were also carried out using quantitative data. These trends are closely related to the surrounding pollution and marine influence. Finally, in order to ascertain the influence of the Metropolitan Bilbao rainwater on buildings materials, a recent construction was characterized. Using techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) and Raman Spectroscopy, different types of sulfates and nitrates were observed. [Display omitted] •Rainwater from six sampling points along Nervion River (Bilbao, Spain) were analyzed.•Ion chromatography, ICP-MS and chemometrics were used for the rainwater analyses.•The interaction between wet depositions and building materials was studied.•Cementitious materials were analyzed using µ-Raman spectroscopy and SEM–EDS.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.041