Water treatment is a balancing act of chemistry and temperature. Maintaining the pH and keeping all of the dissolved minerals in solution at temperatures where they would ordinarily precipitate out is no easy feat. Scale buildup can be costly, and not just because it makes heat exchange less efficient. It can interfere with the laminar flow of water and the movement of turbines, and if extreme enough can cause shutdowns and costly repairs and/or replacements.

The balancing act used to be a simple one: so much phosphate at a given temperature keeps so much calcium, iron, silicates, etc in solution. But phosphates are problematic in themselves: even though they are highly efficient in keeping calcium and iron in solution, phosphates have the negative consequence of being terrible for the environment.  Algae love phosphates – in the presence of phosphates, their growth rates skyrocket, to the point where they choke out the sunlight that other aquatic plants need. These aquatic plants provide the oxygen for fish and other creatures, which perish when the plants do. This so-called Eutrophication of surface waters is a serious issue, especially for those whose livelihoods depend on fishing and the industries surrounding it.

Fortunately, there are now non-phosphate based water treatments available. Sirius International carries Briteframe PESA and Briteframe PASP for industrial water treatments, and Briteframe MGDA and Britefream GLDA for consumer products. Dispersant Briteframe PESA contains neither phosphate nor nitrogen, while PASP does contain some nitrogen. Briteframe MGDA and GLDA are chelating agents.

And, it turns out, that one plus one makes more than two: when used together with Citribrite CAM (citric acid monohydrate), the anti-scaling effects are synergistic. When tested by Sirius International, Briteframe PESA and Citribrite CAM stabilize 30% more calcium (limestone), even at low concentrations (< 2 ppm). This represents a relative increase of 40% anti-scaling. For Briteframe PASP and Citribrite CAM the effects are somewhat less remarkable: calcium stabilization is about 10%, representing a relative increase of 15- 20%.  This means that, when used together, Briteframe PESA or PASP with Citribrite CAM are 10% (PASP + Citribrite) and 30% (PESA + Citribrite) more efficient than used separately.

The Sirius Effect:

Being environmentally friendly used to be associated with compromises in quality and efficiency. Sirius proves that this doesn’t always have to be the case. Sometimes it really is possible to get the best of both worlds. Curious to find out more about Briteframe PESA and PASP, or to see the results of our testing?  Call us today.

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+31(0)355485898 | info@siriusint.com | http://www.siriusint.com

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