Water treatment chemicals: Feedstocks
How bauxite, scrap iron and acid become clean water
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Feedstocks are simple and mostly local: aluminium hydroxide or bauxite, iron, hydrochloric and sulphuric acid for coagulants; acrylonitrile (from propylene and ammonia) for polyacrylamide; chlorine and caustic soda for disinfection; phosphorus chemicals for inhibitors. Because liquid coagulants are mostly water, freight decides who wins locally. For polymers, access to cheap acrylonitrile decides cost.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Aluminium | about 0.15-0.3 t Al(OH)3 per t liquid PAC (indicative, stoichiometric) | aluminium source for alum and PAC | not published | indicative |
| Fe Iron ore | about 0.14 t Fe per t 40% ferric chloride solution (stoichiometric) | iron source for ferric coagulants | not published | stoichiometric |
| NaCl Salt | not applicable directly | chlor-alkali products for PAC, ferric chloride, hypochlorite and pH control | not published | chlorine tile |
| Acrylonitrile | about 0.75 t per t acrylamide (stoichiometric) | monomer for polyacrylamide | the main raw material for polymers (indicative) | acrylonitrile tile |
| S Sulfur | about 0.4-0.5 t per t solid alum (indicative) | acid for alum and ferric sulphate | not published | sulphuric acid tile (indicative) |
| P Phosphate rock | not published | phosphonate scale inhibitors | not published | indicative |
Who is low-cost, and why
Coagulant cost is local: producers with waste acid or by-product iron chloride (from TiO2 or steel pickling) and short delivery distances win. For polyacrylamide, Chinese and integrated producers with cheap acrylonitrile set the floor; acrylonitrile fell to about $1.04/kg CFR South Asia in Feb 2026 on Chinese overcapacity (acrylonitrile tile).