copper oxide – Shanghai Metal Corporation

Copper pipe and tubing is one of the most corrosion-resistant materials we have in the plumbing industry. Coppersmiths, the ancient Egyptians were early developers of pipe and the techniques of making copper alloys. In the beginning, of course, their pipe and fittings were very crude. Like the Mesopotamians, they used clay pipe made from a combination of straw and clay. First it was dried in the sun, and then baked in ovens. As they improved upon their clay sewer pipe, the Egyptians were able to drain the low-lying portions of the Nile Valley, and gradually the entire region evolved into a fertile garden.

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The outstanding fact concerning metallurgical development is that from beginning to end of their first three thousand years, copper occupied a position similar to that of iron in modern technology. Their relics is of its early civilization is greater than any other country, despite the difficulties in deciphering the hieroglyphics and the later hieratic writing.

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Many people mistakenly think that the dark brown color of exposed copper pipe is due to corrosion and that the pipe will eventually “rust away.” However, the reverse is true, likewise the color changing process that of the Statue of Liberty – already blogged here. The dark brown color or even the blue-green patina that occurs on copper is copper oxide. Instead of corroding copper, this compound actually protects copper by creating a protective film outside and even inside of copper pipe and tube. This film then protects copper from further corrosion or erosion, leaving the copper pipes still in serviceable condition after more than five thousand years, as the ones recovered by archaeologists from a portion of the water pipe system from the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.

Copper has been the material of choice for natural gas throughout Europe, Canada and much of the southern United States for decades. In the United Kingdom, copper pipe and tube installations have been used in the vast majority of natural gas installations. However, copper was not always the main material. Once natural gas began to be piped regularly into buildings in the early 1900s, the material of choice, at least in most of the United States, was steel pipe. Other material such as aluminum and corrugated stainless steel pipe and tubing are also used for natural gas purposes. What causes corrosion of the copper pipes is the interior of copper pipe and tube in natural gas installations because of the properties of natural gas itself, and not due to the copper used as a material.

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In fact, many studies have been done to evaluate the cost of using copper in the plumbing system. Most have found that due to its ease of use and variable joining methods, copper has a distinct advantage over black iron pipe in labor savings. Hence, copper offered the least expensive installation over steel and CSST.

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Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of pancake copper tube/copper tube coils according to your specific requirements. SMC pancake tube coil are widely used in refrigerator and air conditioner, heat exchanger, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas. For our full list of products that we offer check out our website here. Be sure to join the conversation in our LinkedIn group, Facebook, and Twitter. Try also our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

You can also read more articles by our team at SMC:

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