Water treaters often use multicomponent formulations, which include polymers and phosphonates to prevent calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate scale formation and provide dispersancy in their systems.  With phosphonates in short supply, polymers are being more heavily relied upon to provide scale control.  Water treaters can benefit from the ability to detect active polymer to ensure their systems are well protected when formulation changes are necessary.  Using fluorescent-tagged polymers, water treaters can determine the amount of available polymer and ensure that there is enough polymer to control scale, even when system upsets or disruptions result in stressed conditions.  Unlike conventional polymers, tagged polymers provide constant feedback, whether the polymer is working or not, thus taking the guesswork out of the equation.  This paper will provide information on phosphonate replacement including field trial data for tagged polymers in both alkaline pH systems and neutral pH/stabilized phosphate systems.

Klin has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D in Polymer Science from the University of Akron. Klin worked for Halliburton and Great Lakes Chemicals. Klin has been with Alco Chemical/Akzo Nobel/Nouryon for over 25 years. Klin is a Manager of the Polymer Product Chemistry group at Nouryon and an expert in the water soluble and dispersible polymers. He has applications expertise and commercial products in water treatment, detergent, textiles, construction, personal care, Agro, oilfield, electronics and a variety of other fields. He is the author of over 25 technical publications and has over 75 US patents.