Performance improvement of a modified copolymer as an antiscalant and microbial growth inhibitor

Abstract

Prevention and control of calcium sulfate scale formation and microbial growth accumulation in water handling systems is one of the challenging operations to avoid corrosion and flow restriction through equipment. This paper examines modified low-molecular-weight Maleic Anhydride (MAn) copolymerized by Acrylamide (AAm), which was successfully synthesized, developed, and analyzed as a multifunctional non-phosphorous antiscalant to overcome these problems. The structure, morphology, and thermal property of poly(MAn-co-AAm) were characterized. The intended structure and copolymerization were confirmed through GPC, FT-IR, SEM, and EDX analyses. The high thermal resistivity up to 400 °C was observed via TGA analysis. The standard NACE TM0374 methodologies were applied to evaluate the scale controlling capacity of poly(MAn-co-AAm) at various dosages (1–20 ppm), temperatures (50–90 °C), and regular intervals of 24–72 h. Interestingly, for low values of poly(MAn-co-AAm), efficiency was found 100% at the third level within the standard state. Further SEM and XRD analyses emphasized the validity of successful inhibition of calcium sulfate scale formation in comparison with other antiscalant agents, even at very low concentrations. In addition, antibacterial properties of poly(MAn-co-AAm) were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The results revealed that the developed copolymer possesses a wide antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. With this in mind, poly(MAn-co-AAm) is believed to be an effective and economical multifunctional antiscalant in cooling water treatment systems.