Water treatment agents encompass a wide range of products, including flocculants, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, biocides, dispersants, cleaning agents, pre-filming agents, defoamers, decolorizing agents, chelating agents, oxygen scavengers, and ion-exchange resins.
Several of these are described in detail below:
Flocculants are crucial chemical agents in wastewater treatment, primarily used to enhance solid-liquid separation. Their effectiveness can be further improved through the addition of coagulant aids. Additionally, flocculants offer a cost-effective and highly efficient method for phosphorus removal.
Coagulant aids serve to adjust or improve coagulation conditions while increasing the size, density, and structural integrity of the resulting flocs.
Corrosion and scale inhibitors are agents designed to mitigate scaling and corrosion in recirculating water systems. Composed of alkaline substances and organic compounds, the corrosion-inhibiting component protects heat-transfer surfaces from corrosion. The alkaline substances react chemically with calcium and magnesium salts in the water to form sludge; this sludge is subsequently discharged from the system, thereby reducing the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions and preventing scale buildup within the equipment.
Cleaning agents are volatile solvents capable of dissolving penetrants, used to remove excess penetrant from the surface of inspected workpieces. Certain cleaning agents are specifically formulated to remove deposits-such as metal hydroxides and calcium carbonate-that adhere to the surfaces of polyamide, polysulfone, and thin-film composite membranes. Before using these cleaning agents, it is necessary to inspect the cleaning tanks, piping, and security filters, and to install new filter cartridges.
Biocides (or bactericides) are agents primarily used to eliminate harmful bacteria and microorganisms. Internationally, the term serves as a general designation for agents used to control various pathogenic microorganisms.