Water treatment chemicals: Characteristics
Why buyers pay for active metal, not tonnes
What this tab covers The physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and uses, with the commercial grades and the standards that define them.Buyers pay for active content and performance, not tonnes. Coagulants are specified by aluminium or iron content and basicity; polymers by charge density, molecular weight and residual monomer; inhibitors and biocides by tested performance in the customer's water.
Properties that matter commercially
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active content | liquid PAC typically 10-18% Al2O3; ferric chloride solution about 40% FeCl3 (indicative) | Price is compared per unit of active metal; freight per unit of active decides delivery radius | indicative; Tushar et al. 2026 (40% ferric chloride) |
| Basicity (PAC) | about 40-85% (indicative) | Higher basicity works at lower dose and consumes less alkalinity | indicative |
| Residual acrylamide (polymers for drinking water) | drinking water limit 0.10 µg/l (EU 2020/2184) | Sets the purity grade of polymer allowed in potable treatment | EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 |
| Charge density and molecular weight (polymers) | anionic or cationic, roughly 5-25 million g/mol (indicative) | Matched to sludge type; wrong grade wastes polymer | indicative |
Commercial grades
- Potable-grade (certified) coagulants and polymers
- Industrial and wastewater grades
- Polyacrylamide powder, emulsion and dispersion
- Cooling-water and boiler programmes
- Membrane antiscalants and cleaners