Effect of a mixture of poly (acrylic co maleic) acid and EDTA on CaCO3 scale formation on the surface of a RO membrane

Reverse osmosis is one of the main technologies providing human beings water demand. One of the most challenging problems in RO desalination industries is dealing with different kinds of scale formation. Scale formation in Ro plants results in lower plant efficiency and lower recovery, higher energy consumption and higher operational and maintenance cost. There are several methods to deal with the scale formation problems. One of these methods is using scale inhibition chemicals. Although the environmental effects of using phosphorous based chemicals have been completely proven, these antiscalants are currently the market-dominating chemicals used in this industry. Polycarboxylic based antiscalants are the suggested alternative regarding environmental problems. This research is mainly focused on evaluating a phosphorous free, polycarboxylic based antiscalant combined with a chelating agent and comparing its performance with a commercially available polycarboxylic based antiscalant, through experimental studies.