Klin Rodrigues

Inert tracers, including PTSA, are used in water treatment applications to monitor the amount of the formulation dosed in to the system.  These tracers do not reflect the amount of active ingredients, such as polymer, in the system.  A new line of tagged polymers has been developed by incorporating a fluorescent monomer moiety into the polymer backbone.  This allows accurate inline detection of the “free polymer,” an indication of the amount of polymer in the system that has not been used up in mechanisms such as scale control and dispersancy.  The ability to detect free polymer allows water treaters to minimize polymer costs by ensuring that the polymer is not overdosed.  These novel polymers can be detected using fluorescent probes currently used to detect PTSA, and therefore no additional equipment investment is required.  Adopting the new technology involves only replacing PTSA and non-tagged polymer with tagged polymer.  Most importantly, the technology provides unprecedented monitoring control and peace of mind for water treaters and their customers.