Polymer Applications Understanding Polymer Activation

Why Polymer? Helping particles settle faster Improving liquid/solid separation

Some Applications Clarifiers Primary Coagulation Plate & Frame Press Rotary Drum Thickener Belt Press Drying Beds Gravity Belt Thickener Centrifuges Paper Machines Mining & Metal Processing Paint Booths Enhanced Oil Recovery

Diameter of Particle, mm Time Required to Settle Settling Rates Diameter of Particle, mm Order of Size Total Surface Area Time Required to Settle 10.0 1.0 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.0001 0.00001 0.000001 Gravel Coarse Sand Fine Sand Silt Bacteria Colloidal particles Color particles 0.487 sq in 4.87 sq in 48.7 sq in 3.38 sq ft 33.8 sq ft 3.8 sq yd 0.7 acre 7.0 acre 0.3 sec 3.0 sec 38 sec 33 min 55 hr 230 days 6.3 yrs 63 yrs

Inorganic Salts Common Name Formula Equivalent weight pH at 1% Availability Alum Al2(SO4) 3 * 14H2O 100 3 - 4 Lump: 17.5% Al2O3 Liquid: 8.5% Al2O3 Lime Ca(OH) 2 40 12 Lump: as CaO Powder : 93-95% Slurry: 15-20% Ferric chloride FeCl3 * 6H2O 91 Lump: 20% Fe Liquid: 20% Fe Ferric sulfate Fe2SO4 * 3H2O 51.5 Granular: 18.5% Fe Copperas FeSO4 * 7H2O 139 Granular: 20% Fe Sodium aluminate Na2Al2O4 11 - 12 Flake: 46% Al2O3 Liquid: 25% Al2O3

Inorganic Salts Advantages Low Cost Disadvantages pH dependent Typically higher dosage and increased sludge volumes No reduction of organic residuals Weak flocs

Synthetic Organic Polymers Advantages Strong Stable Floc Improved dewatering No additional sludge volume Effective over wide pH range Can reduce organic molecules Disadvantages Slippery – safety hazard Needs proper mixing & activation Handling and proper application effects performance

Polymerization Monomers + Catalyst (Initiator) Polymer

Polymer Characteristics Coagulant Flocculant Molecular Weight Activity Charge Density Functional Group Charge

Molecular Weight Low - Coagulant High - Flocculant

Polymer Characteristics Coagulant Flocculant Molecular Weight Functional Group Activity Charge Density Charge

CH2=CH CO NH2 CH2=CH CO NH2 CH2=CH CO NH2 Polyacrylamide CH2=CH CO NH2 | CH2=CH CO NH2 | CH2=CH CO NH2 |

Charge Density + + + + + + + + + + +

Polymer Charges Non-ionic = no charge Anionic = negative (-) charge Cationic = positive (+) charge

Form Coagulant Mannich Emulsion/Dispersion Dry

Forms Of Polymers Solution Polymers Primary coagulants 10% - 50% active Low molecular weight 5K - 200K Appearance - clear homogeneous liquid Package - Pails, Drums, Bins, Bulk Easy to dilute “Neat” product easy to pump Susceptible to Freeze Charge - cationic, anionic

Forms Of Polymers MANNICH - Solution Flocculant 4- 6% active Low molecular weight segments 5K - 200K Appearance - clear to amber liquid Package - Bulk Can Freeze “Viscous” can be hard to pump Viscosity temperature dependent Fumes are “unpleasant” Charge - cationic only

Forms Of Polymers Emulsions/Dispersions 25 - 55% active Appearance - white liquid Medium to High molecular weight: 5M - 10M Appearance - clear homogeneous liquid Package - Pails, Drums, Bins, Bulk “Neat” product easy to pump but!! Needs “Activation” Susceptible to Freeze Will settle in “neat” form Charge - cationic, anionic, non-ionic

Emulsion Polymers Oil Water Anionic, Cationic, Nonionic Flocculant 25% to 55% active Polymer gel size 0.1 to 5 µm Polymer

How Complex Is A Polymer Structure? If MW is 10 million 350,000 molecules in a gel One molecule has 150,000 monomers 2.5 microns = 0.0001”

Emulsions/Dispersions They separate in storage! Separated Oil Layer Emulsion Polymer Settled Out Polymer

Forms Of Polymers Dry Polymers 90% - 95% active All molecular weights to 20M+ Appearance - powder, pellets, granules, beads Package - bags, bulk bags Must be wetted Dusting is safety concern Shelf life in years Charge - cationic, anionic, non-ionic

Polymers (Polyelectroylytes) How they work How we characterize them How to make them work

Coagulation

Coagulation Charge Neutralization Double Layer Compression Enmeshment

Coagulation - + Charge Neutralization - +

Charge Neutralization Stable Colloidal Particle Destabilized Coagulant Added with Mixing

Coagulation & Flocculation

Flocculation Bridging

Overfeed & Restabilization

Methods Of Preparation / Activation In-Line Activation Batch Tank

Preparation / Activation Moment Of Initial Wetting Agglomeration / Fragility Rate Of Hydration Charge Site Exposure

Rate Of Hydration (The Science) With good dispersion at Moment of Initial Wetting a 1 micron radii polymer particle can fully hydrate in 1 minute To understand the impact of the rate of hydration, let’s look at an example. If we do a great job initially mixing polymer and water, we’ll exclusively generate tiny particles, say 1 micron is size. These particles will fully hydrate (or uncoil) in one minute. It turns out that hydration is a function of the square of the particle diameter. Pictured here the polymer uncoils and exposes all it’s charge sites quickly and efficiently. swells ~ 6-7 times

Rate Of Hydration (Reality) Without good dispersion agglomerations are formed 10 micron agglomeration will fully hydrate in ___ min(s) Let’s suppose however that we don’t have perfect mixing . . . And we generate some 10 micron particles. I’m not referring to fisheyes, an agglomeration that you can see is 1,000 times larger than 10 microns. How long do you think it will take to fully hydrate a 10 micron particle? Would you say 10 minutes? (pause), Well it’s actually 100 minutes, remember it’s a function of the square of the particle diameter. That’s almost two hours! So it’s imperative to avoid forming agglomerations. Your polymer will still work . . . You’ll just be leaving a lot of polymer undissolved and ineffective.

Rate Of Hydration (Attempt to Correct) Without good dispersion agglomerations are formed 10 micron agglomeration will fully hydrate in 100 min(s) Let’s suppose however that we don’t have perfect mixing . . . And we generate some 10 micron particles. I’m not referring to fisheyes, an agglomeration that you can see is 1,000 times larger than 10 microns. How long do you think it will take to fully hydrate a 10 micron particle? Would you say 10 minutes? (pause), Well it’s actually 100 minutes, remember it’s a function of the square of the particle diameter. That’s almost two hours! So it’s imperative to avoid forming agglomerations. Your polymer will still work . . . You’ll just be leaving a lot of polymer undissolved and ineffective. Time increases by the square of the increase in the radius (10 squared)

The “Art” of Aging Aging is a Solution to a Problem – It is not a method or the goal of polymer activation Aging is always required of all improperly mixed polymer solutions Aging is an attempt to gain total polymer activation Too much aging is detrimental to a properly mixed polymer

Effective Polymer Preparation The most important factor determining the proper activation of polymer is proper application of energy. The energy needs to be adjustable to suit the polymer selection and process application.

Characteristics of Polymer Dissolution Fragility Agglomeration In the graph pictured here, the x-axis is time, and the y-axis is relative degree of two phenomena - agglomeration and fragility. At time zero, when polymer first comes into contact with water, there’s a greater tendency to form agglomerations (balls of undissolved polymer). As polymer and water continue to be vigorously mixed the agglomerations decrease, and you form a homogeneous solution. Unfortunately, there’s a negative effect to continuing to vigorously mix the solution. As the polymer chains begin to uncoil, they become increasingly susceptible to shear. And if you shear the polymer molecules, you decrease viscosity, and loose effectiveness in the bridging / flocculation process. Dry and emulsion polymers have a great affinity for water. When polymer particles first come in contact with water they absorb 300 times their mass in water, swelling 6 to 7 times their original size. If you don’t properly disperse polymer at the moment of initial wetting, polymer particles will form an exterior gelatinous layer that acts as a barrier to keep water from penetrating the unactivated polymer that's trapped inside. Other terms for agglomerations you've probably heard are "fisheyes", "goobers", and "snotballs“ . . . whatever they’re called, they represent wasted polymer . . . and a $2.50 to $4.00 a pound for emulsion or dry polymers, that inefficiency can be costly. time

Polymer Backbone – Carbon-Carbon Bonds

Proper application of energy is critical How Fragile is It? One gram of free falling water will rupture 1 million carbon-carbon bonds. Proper application of energy is critical

Uniformity Of Mixing Energy 60 10 3 1 5

Uniform Energy

Uniform Energy As the tank is made smaller the energy becomes uniform

Characteristics of Polymer Dissolution Fragility Agglomeration time

Mixing Zones Conventional Mixing 1 3000

Staged Energy A uniform but decreasing energy dissipation can be created with various mixing zones. Zone 3 Zone 2 Zone 1

ProMinent Mixing Chamber Energy Profile Zone 1 Fragility Zone 2 Zone 3 Agglomeration time

Right Energy / Right Time NOT ENOUGH Agglomerations Waste Polymer Decreased Performance TOO MUCH Damage The Chain Decreased Performance

Mixing, Mixing, Mixing Good Mixing = Better Control = Optimization = Chemical Savings 22

Charge Site Exposure -

Polymer Activation Factors High TDS makeup water Low temperature makeup water High molecular weight polymer Low charge density High or low surfactant With anionics, low pH and/or high hardness (ideal 7-9) With cationics, high pH makeup water (ideal 6-8) Chlorine levels

Other Factors Influencing Optimization Discharge Piping Minimize Fluid Velocity Eliminate High Shear Pumping Systems Multiple Points Of Injection Evaluate System Piping Downstream Of Polymer Injection Determine Optimal Feed Concentrations 3

Conclusions Survey your system needs for improvement Evaluate costs for improvement vs. savings as result of the improvement Be aware of new technologies & strategies that will help you be more efficient 8

Sizing ProMix S-Series Fill in the values Value A ______ Desired polymer feed rate in PPM Value B ______ Gallons per hour of water to be treated Value C ______ Desired % solution of polymer feed solution Value D ______ Weight per gallon of “neat” chemical Value A Value B lbs per hour of “neat” product X = 120 1000 lbs per hour of “neat” product gallons per hour of “neat” product = Value D

Sizing ProMix S-Series Take the value of gallons per hour of “neat” polymer product and match within the ranges in table TWO Pump # Ranges 0.15 0.3 0.7 1.0 3.0 0-0.15 0-0.3 0-0.79 0-1.5 0-3.5 Model # -----ProMix S _________ Table one # Table two # -

Sizing ProMix S-Series Determine the volume of dilution water required Gallons per hour of neat product ________________________ Value C GPH of dilution water required X 100 =

Sizing ProMix S-Series Select the next highest number in table ONE for dilution water in GPH Water in GPH Table One 30 60 120 240 300 600 30 60x2 60x2 or 120x2 120x2 300x2 Model # -----ProMix S _________ Table one # _________ Table two # -

Sizing ProMix S-Series Yes folks it’s that easy to pick generic sized unit 120x2 1 Model # -----ProMix S _________ Table one # Table two # -