Determination of Lead in Copper Water Pipes

As a kind of water pipe material, copper has been used to deliver safe drinking water for thousands of years regarding to its corrosion resistance, safety ,formability, join-ability, dependability and recyclability.

Why the Copper Water Pipes Need to Test

It is important for copper water tube and fittings to be lead-free because lead is toxic for human health. Solders and fluxes have been lead-free since 1978. And Lead in brass components for plumbing system has been steadily reduced—today's new components mandated to contain less than 0.25% concentration of lead exposed to water. Copper alloy plumbing components have had to pass some standard or criteria set up by different countries, for example the NSF 61 criteria for drinking water safety.

But still there is risk of with high concentration lead brass valves, fittings and components, copper piping systems because of the cost consideration by some irresponsible manufacturers.

If pure copper is used as the main water pipe material, it will bring higher production costs. Considering the cost and processing performance, manufacturers mostly use lead brass as the main pipe material, which increases the risk of lead pollution in water. In addition, in order to further reduce costs, some manufacturers will use raw materials with high lead content to improve processing performance, and even recycle waste copper products for recasting, which further increases the risk of pollution. With the country's increasing emphasis on health and the implementation of mandatory standards for related industries (GB18145-2014), the quantitative analysis of different elements, especially those that endanger human health, is required, and raw materials for relevant manufacturers and departments Selection, product production and processing, quality and safety monitoring become very necessary and important.

Using AXR Terra series of handheld XRF analyzers, it is possible to conduct accurate quantitative analysis of the content of various metal and non-metal elements, improving the accuracy of product compliance testing. The instrument has good portability and ease of use, and the analysis results are highly readable, enabling on-site analysis under different conditions.

How to Evaluate Lead Concentration in Copper Pipe

There are many types of copper alloys, and it is difficult to quickly determine whether the finished product meets the relevant standards during on-site analysis. Terra900 series handheld copper alloy analyzer realizes the automatic matching of copper alloy model according to element composition and content through the built-in alloy grade database, and improves the efficiency of compliance detection. In addition, Terra 900 copper analyzer also has the following advantages:

-The instrument is portable and easy to use on site
-No sample preparation required for non-destructive testing
-Short detection time, reliable quantitative analysis results

The Terra900 series of handheld copper alloy analyzers provide a relatively complete solution for the quality monitoring and safety compliance testing of copper products used in water supply systems. The instrument is equipped with high-performance X-ray tube and Si-Pin detector to provide users with fast and accurate element content analysis. In addition, an optional large-area silicon drift detector is provided to further improve instrument resolution and reduce analysis time.

Analyze the Pb in Copper Alloy with Handheld XRF Analyzer

During the analysis, standard samples were used to establish a working curve to achieve quantitative analysis. Quantitative analysis is realized by the basic FP (Fundamental Parameter) method, so there is no need for additional standard sample calibration in the actual quantitative analysis of elements.

In the analysis, first use different types of copper alloy samples for analysis, set the test time as 30s, and analyze the contents of three elements: lead Pb, zinc Zn, and tin Sn. In the analysis, the actual content and measured value of the elements are used as the horizontal axis and the vertical axis respectively, and linear fitting is carried out. The fitting and analysis results show that the instrument can accurately reflect the actual content of elements in different samples, and has good on-site analysis capabilities.


The experiment also tested the repeatability of instrument measurements. Carry out 10 repeated tests on a sample with known content under the same conditions, each test time is 30s. The test shows that the repeatability of the analysis results of the instrument is good, and it is stable, accurate and has good reliability.

Conclusion

AXR Terra900 series handheld XRF analyzers can accurately analyze the concentration of Pb and other heavy metal elements in the alloy samples to be tested, which improves the reliability and credibility of on-site analysis and product inspection. The Terra900 series of analyzers can be used for rapid screening of products by the quality inspection department, or used in the selection of raw materials in alloy processing. The introduction of a series of analyzers can improve the efficiency of quality testing, environmental risk assessment and alloy product processing, and reduce time and cost.

AXR Scientific is a high-tech manufacturer focusing on the development and application of X-ray technology products. It is committed to becoming a world-class supplier of X-ray industrial inspection solutions.AXR Scientific currently offer handheld XRF analyzer, handheld alloy analyzer, handheld soil analyzer, handheld lithium battery analyzer, precious metal analyzer, coating analyzer, gold analyzer and online XRF analyzer etc. to global customers. We keep serving global customers in the fields of machinery manufacturing, metal processing, aerospace, petrochemical, mining and geology, food safety, environmental protection, scientific research and etc. AXR Scientific keeps improving product performance and user experience with R&D advantages and innovative designs, and continues to provide global users with reliable X-ray measure solutions to solve various challenges from routine testing tasks to complex customized measure requirements. To contact us, please send email to market@axr-scientific.com