Double-hydrophilic block copolymer as an effective and green scale inhibitor in industrial recycling water systems

In an attempt to control CaCO 3 deposits in industrial recycling water systems, the performance of acrylic acid (AA)-allylpolyethoxy carboxylate (APEL) copolymer as an economical and environmentally friendly inhibitor have been investigated by the static experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The experimental results revealed that AA-APEL (acrylic acid-allylpolyethoxy carboxylate copolymer) achieved the maximum scaling inhibition efficiency of 99.1%. The results of SEM and XRD studies revealed that both the morphology and aggregation of calcium carbonate crystals had been changed, when the inhibitor was added. Moreover, the results of TGA further confirmed the scaling mechanism of the copolymer.