Towards a Better Environment: Improved Biodegradability From a Polymeric Scale Inhibitor

Global awareness of the impact of chemicals on the environment has been growing over a number of years. This has led to the demand for environmentally responsible water treatment programs with low impact on the environment.  The backbone of traditional water treatment programs rely on phosphorus and heavy metals to control scale and corrosion and typically do not biodegrade significantly. The discharge of such programs is coming under regulatory pressure and their use is being increasingly restricted.
This paper describes a new polymaleic acid based polymer with low toxicity and higher biodegradability than traditional polymers which can be used in environmentally sensitive areas. Laboratory data is presented which highlights excellent performance characteristics in jar and pilot cooling tower tests and shows improved performance over a commercial ‘green’ inhibitor.
Keywords: Calcium carbonate, scale inhibitor, jar test, pilot cooling tower, water chemistry, maleic acid, polymer, polyaspartate, formulations.