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Evaluation of side effects of mechanical cleaning with an anionic detergent on granite cladding tiles

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Abstract

One of the aims of Goal 11 of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to make human settlements sustainable. Some effort should therefore focus on developing maintenance strategies for buildings. Polished granite cladding tiles are very popular for use as flooring material in private and public buildings. These tiles are often treated by mechanical cleaning with detergents and scrubbers, and anionic detergents without chelating agents are usually used to prevent damaging the material. In this study, the anionic detergent Teepol® was applied to granite tiles in order to determine the effect of the treatment on the surface properties of this stone, i.e. appearance, colour, gloss, roughness and hydrophobicity. The results obtained were explained by scanning electron microscopy observations, which enabled characterisation of the microtexture of the surfaces, chemical contamination and any damage to the different granite-forming minerals. The results were compared with those obtained for tiles cleaned by the same mechanical procedure but with tap water in place of detergent and for tiles treated by immersion in water without any mechanical action. In summary, the properties evaluated were affected by the extraction of the typical oxyhydroxylated iron forms that fill cracks in the granite and by the formation of new cracks due to the mechanical action. Moreover, colour changes and the chemical contamination (C-rich deposits with Na, S, Cl, Ca and Mg) hindered the effectiveness of the cleaning procedure.

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Acknowledgments

The other authors CERENA and CERIS research units and FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia). This research was performed within the framework of the teaching innovation group ODS Cities and Citizenship from University of Vigo (Spain).

Funding

The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) provided J. Santiago Pozo-Antonio award of a post-doctoral contract: Juan de la Cierva-incorporación (IJCI-2017-3277).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Enxeñaría de Recursos Naturais e Medio Ambiente, Escola de Enxeñaría de Minas e Enerxía, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, Spain

    Jose Santiago Pozo-Antonio

  2. CINTECX, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, Spain

    Jose Santiago Pozo-Antonio

  3. CERENA, DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carla Sofia Almeida Rocha, Manuel Francisco Costa Pereira & António Manuel Alves Serrão Maurício

  4. CERIS, DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal

    Inês Flores-Colen

Authors
  1. Jose Santiago Pozo-Antonio
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  2. Carla Sofia Almeida Rocha
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  3. Manuel Francisco Costa Pereira
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  4. António Manuel Alves Serrão Maurício
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  5. Inês Flores-Colen
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Contributions

C.S.A.R., M.F.C.P., A.M.A.S.M., and I.F.-C. designed and conducted the cleaning. All the authors performed the analytical techniques. J.S.P.-A. and C.S.A.R. interpreted the results. J.S.P.-A wrote the original manuscript. Finally, all the authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jose Santiago Pozo-Antonio.

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Pozo-Antonio, J.S., Rocha, C.S.A., Pereira, M.F.C. et al. Evaluation of side effects of mechanical cleaning with an anionic detergent on granite cladding tiles. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 15173–15184 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11733-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11733-9

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