AQUChem

Flocculants & Coagulants for Water Treatment, Mining, Paper & Oilfield

28 grades across 5 chemistry families — PAM (anionic/cationic/nonionic), inorganic coagulants (PAC/PFS/PAFC), polyDADMAC, polyamine, and natural flocculants.

Quick-Pick by System

ApplicationPrimary CoagulantPolymer FlocculantTypical DoseRecommended Grade
Municipal SewagePAC (10–30% Al₂O₃)CPAM medium-ionic Mw 8MPAC 50–150 ppm + PAM 1–3 ppmCationic PAM 30% / PAC 30% Al₂O₃
Municipal Sludge DewateringCPAM high-ionic Mw 6–10MPAM 3–8 kg/ton DSCationic PAM 50–60% (belt press)
Drinking WaterPAC food-grade (GB 15892)NPAM low MwPAC 20–80 ppm + PAM 0.1–0.3 ppmPAC food-grade + NPAM <0.5 ppm
Paper Mill White Water RetentionAlum or PAC paper-gradeAPAM Mw 10–15M (retention aid)Retention aid 0.05–0.3% on pulpPaper-grade APAM + PAC retention system
Mining TailingsLime + PFS / FeCl₃APAM Mw 15–22MPAM 30–100 g/ton oreMining-grade APAM 20% hydrolysis
Coal WashingAPAM Mw 18–22MPAM 20–60 g/tonAnionic PAM ultra-high Mw
Oilfield EOR (Polymer Flooding)HPAM Mw 15–25MHPAM 1000–2500 ppmHPAM EOR-grade hydrolyzed PAM
Printing & Dyeing WastewaterPFS or FeCl₃ + polyDADMACAPAM or AmPAM Mw 8–12MPolyDADMAC 50–200 ppm + PAM 2–5 ppmPolyDADMAC + APAM combination
Petrochemical Refinery WastewaterPAC + PolyDADMACCPAM Mw 8–12MPAC 80–200 ppm + PAM 3–6 ppmPolyDADMAC primary + CPAM secondary
Sugar Mill Juice ClarificationLime + Phosphoric acidSugar-grade PAM (food contact)PAM 1–5 ppmSugar PAM (GB 2760 compliant)
Sand Washing / Construction SludgeAPAM high Mw 18–22MPAM 1–3 kg/m³ sludgeAnionic PAM 25% hydrolysis

All Grades (by chemistry class)

Polyacrylamide (PAM) Family — Anionic / Cationic / Nonionic(0)

The workhorse polymer flocculant chemistry. Anionic (APAM) for mineral/acidic systems; cationic (CPAM) for organic sludges and biological systems; nonionic (NPAM) for clean colloidal sludges and drinking water. Molecular weight 5–25 million Daltons across grades.

Inorganic Coagulants — PAC, PAFC, Alum, FeCl₃(0)

First-stage coagulant chemistry — destabilize colloids by charge neutralization before polymer flocculation. Aluminum-based (PAC, alum, sodium aluminate) for general-purpose municipal & drinking water. Iron-based (FeCl₃, PAFC) for high-color or phosphate-removal applications.

Specialty Polymers — polyDADMAC, Polyamine, HPAM, PAA(0)

High-charge-density / specialty polymer flocculants for challenging applications. polyDADMAC and polyamine give low-dose performance in printing/dyeing and high-COD wastewater. HPAM is the standard polymer-flooding chemistry for oilfield enhanced oil recovery. PAA is a low-MW analog for builder and scale-inhibitor service.

Industry-Specific Grades — Paper, Mining, Oilfield, Sugar(0)

Application-tuned formulations where standard PAM/PAC doesn't fit. Paper-grade APAM/CPAM act as retention/drainage aid (not flocculation); mining-grade APAM has ultra-high MW for tailings settling; sugar-grade PAM is food-contact compliant; PAC-R is the cellulose ether variant for drilling-fluid viscosity control.

Natural & Specialty Flocculants(0)

Bio-sourced and niche alternatives — chitosan for food-grade or drinking-water polishing where synthetic PAM is restricted; guar gum for mining; humic acid and ceramic deflocculants for ceramic-slurry applications.

Imported Brand → China Equivalent

Equivalents are indicative; verify against TDS for project-critical applications.

International Brand GradeChina EquivalentMajor Chinese Producers
BASF Zetag 8868 FS40 (CPAM 40%)Cationic PAM 40% Mw 8M山东诺尔生物 (Norit), 巩义恒泰, 安徽巨成
BASF Zetag 4145 / Magnafloc LT22SCationic PAM 50% Mw 6M (sludge dewatering)山东诺尔生物, 河北邯郸顺天, 安徽巨成
SNF Flopam AN923 (APAM Mw 12M)Anionic PAM 25% Mw 12M (mining)山东诺尔生物, 巩义恒泰, 东营信亨
SNF Flopam AN934 (HPAM EOR)HPAM Mw 18M (oilfield)东营信亨, 山东诺尔生物, 北京恒聚
Kemira Superfloc N-100 (NPAM)Nonionic PAM Mw 8M巩义恒泰, 河北邯郸顺天
BASF Polyfloc 30N (PAC 30% Al₂O₃)PAC 30% Al₂O₃ basicity 70–90%巩义市净水材料 (cluster), 河南瑞洁, 河南豫润
Kemira PIX-313 (FeCl₃ 40%)FeCl₃ 40% solution山东天力净水, 江苏聚仕
Solenis Praestol K144L (polyDADMAC)PolyDADMAC 40% Mw 200K山东诺尔生物, 河北邯郸顺天, 滨州龙马
Solenis Praestol 2510 (Polyamine)Polyamine epi-DMA Mw 200K山东诺尔生物, 河北邯郸顺天
Kurita 8-105 (Paper retention APAM)Paper-grade APAM 15M (retention aid)杭州海福德, 山东诺尔生物
BASF Polymin SK (PEI cationic)PEI / Polyethyleneimine巴斯夫 (大化股份), 沃克化学 (Vinch)

Frequently Asked Questions

APAM, CPAM, NPAM — which polyacrylamide should I use?

Choose APAM (anionic) for mineral / acidic / negatively-charged solids; CPAM (cationic) for organic sludges and biological wastewater; NPAM (nonionic) for neutral colloidal suspensions and drinking water polishing.

PAM works by bridging — long polymer chains physically link destabilized particles into rapidly-settling flocs. The right ionic character is the polymer chain's charge matching the surface charge of the solids you want to remove. Mineral tailings, paper fibres, oil-droplets, and most inorganic colloids carry net negative surface charge (zeta potential −30 to −60 mV) — APAM gives nothing useful here unless the system has already been coagulated to neutral; the workhorse is CPAM for direct flocculation. Conversely, alkaline mine tailings and clay suspensions are highly negative and respond directly to APAM. Always run a jar test with the actual feed before locking specifications — the ionic optimum is system-specific and can swing 20+ points on hydrolysis degree.

Why does PAM molecular weight matter? When do I need 25M Mw vs 5M Mw?

Higher molecular weight gives stronger bridging and faster settling, but at the cost of higher dissolution time, more shear-sensitivity, and steeper viscosity at solution concentration. Use ultra-high Mw (18–25M) for mining tailings and oilfield EOR; medium Mw (8–12M) for municipal sewage and sludge; low Mw (5–8M) for drinking water polish.

Polymer bridging efficiency scales with chain length — a 25M Mw PAM chain extends roughly 200 nm in solution and can link particles separated by similar distances, whereas a 5M chain only reaches ~50 nm. For coarse mineral tailings (50–500 μm particle size) you need the long-reach polymer to capture the inter-particle distances. For fine colloidal suspensions (drinking water turbidity, <10 NTU residual), a low-MW polymer disperses faster and gives sufficient bridging without over-shear damage at high mixing energy. For sludge dewatering specifically, very high MW + high charge density (5M MW × 50% cationic) is preferred over higher MW alone — the charge neutralization component matters more than bridge length once particles are micron-scale. Specify both MW and charge density when ordering.

PAC vs Alum vs PFS — which inorganic coagulant should I choose?

PAC for general-purpose municipal & drinking water (best cost-performance, mild pH effect); Alum for established alum-equipped plants and low-color water; PFS for high-color, high-phosphate, and printing/dyeing applications where iron-flocs are desired.

PAC (polyaluminum chloride) is partially-pre-hydrolyzed and forms larger pre-formed colloid clusters than alum. Result: lower required dose (10–60 mg/L vs alum 20–100 mg/L), wider operating pH range (6.5–8.5 vs alum 5.5–7.5), and less alkalinity consumption — these are the reasons PAC has displaced alum in 80%+ of new Chinese municipal plants. Iron-based PFS (polyferric sulfate) makes large, dense flocs that settle 30–50% faster than aluminum flocs and is much more effective at removing dissolved phosphate (Fe(OH)₃ has 100× higher P-binding affinity than Al(OH)₃). Iron coagulants give brown-stained sludge (unsightly but harmless) and are best for industrial wastewater where colour is acceptable; for drinking water, the FeCl₃ residual must stay below 0.3 mg/L. PAFC (poly-aluminum-ferric chloride) is a hybrid optimized for high-turbidity raw water in northern China where seasonal mud loads exceed 5000 NTU.

What is the standard process: should I use coagulant first or flocculant first?

Always coagulant first (PAC / Alum / FeCl₃) to destabilize colloids by charge neutralization, then polymer flocculant (PAM) second to bridge destabilized particles into large settleable flocs. The two-stage sequence is non-negotiable.

Skipping the coagulant and going straight to polymer flocculant is the most common operator mistake. Without charge neutralization, the colloidal solids still repel each other electrostatically and the PAM polymer just gets adsorbed onto individual particles without bridging them — you end up consuming 5–10× more polymer for poor results. Standard process design: (1) raw water + coagulant in rapid-mix tank at G = 600–1000 s⁻¹ for 1–3 min, (2) coagulant-treated water + diluted PAM solution in slow-mix tank at G = 30–60 s⁻¹ for 10–30 min to grow flocs, (3) sedimentation/dissolved air flotation/filtration. Polymer must be diluted to 0.05–0.5% working solution before dosing — direct addition of 5–10% stock damages MW by shear and over-dilutes downstream.

How do I optimize PAM dosing for sludge dewatering?

Run CST (Capillary Suction Time) or specific resistance to filtration (SRF) jar tests across a dose ladder (1, 3, 5, 8, 12 kg PAM per ton dry solids). The optimum is the lowest dose where cake solids reach 18–25% (belt press) or 25–35% (centrifuge/screw press).

Sludge dewatering economics is dominated by polymer cost (PAM at ¥25-40/kg × 3-8 kg/T DS = ¥100-300/T sludge treated) and post-dewatering cake disposal cost. Over-dosing PAM beyond optimum (1) wastes polymer money, (2) creates sticky cake that blinds press belts, (3) gives soluble polymer residual that interferes with downstream biological treatment. Under-dosing gives poor cake solids and high filtrate suspended solids. The CST test is the standard rapid screen — 30-second CST < 100 s indicates good dewaterability. For raw secondary sludge from municipal STP, expect 3-5 kg CPAM (50-60% charge, Mw 6-8M) per ton DS; for waste-activated sludge (WAS), 5-8 kg/T DS; for chemically-thickened primary sludge, 2-4 kg/T DS.

PolyDADMAC and polyamine — when do these beat PAM?

Use polyDADMAC or polyamine when you need high charge density at low dose — high-COD industrial wastewater (printing/dyeing, oil refinery, food-processing), where their concentrated cationic groups neutralize organic-laden colloids more efficiently than even high-cationic PAM.

PolyDADMAC (poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and polyamine (epi-DMA, condensate of epichlorohydrin and dimethylamine) are sub-million MW (~100-300K) but carry one quaternary ammonium per repeat unit — meaning charge density is 5-10× higher than the highest-ionic PAM. They are NOT bridging flocculants; they are coagulants that work through massive charge neutralization. In printing/dyeing wastewater carrying anionic dye particles, 30-80 ppm polyDADMAC neutralizes the dye charge directly and gives a clear effluent at lower cost than PAC+PAM combined. The downside is their flocs are smaller and slower-settling than PAM bridges — for high-throughput plants, combine polyDADMAC as primary coagulant with low-dose APAM as secondary flocculant (the Solenis 'Praestol' approach). PolyDADMAC is also the standard primary coagulant for oily produced water in offshore platforms — its high charge density breaks oil-in-water emulsions faster than alum.

What is HPAM, and how is it different from regular APAM?

HPAM (partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide) is APAM with elevated hydrolysis degree (25–35%) and ultra-high molecular weight (15–25M Daltons), engineered specifically for oilfield polymer flooding (enhanced oil recovery) — not water treatment.

Polymer flooding for enhanced oil recovery uses ~1000-2500 ppm HPAM in injection water to raise viscosity from 1 cP (water) to 20-50 cP — this displaces residual oil from low-permeability rock pores that water alone cannot reach, raising oil recovery from 20% (waterflood) to 35-50%. The specs are radically different from water-treatment APAM: HPAM needs salt-tolerance (resists viscosity loss in formation brine at 30,000-50,000 mg/L TDS), thermal stability (survives 70-90°C reservoir temperature for years), and shear resistance (no MW degradation through topside pumps and downhole gravel packs). Daqing oilfield (China) is the largest HPAM polymer-flooding operation globally, consuming 200-300 kt/yr HPAM. New variants include hydrophobically-modified HPAM and AMPS-copolymer (better salt tolerance) for high-salinity formations. Don't substitute water-treatment APAM into oilfield service — it won't pass salt/temperature tests.

Can I use chitosan or guar gum for drinking water instead of synthetic PAM?

Yes — chitosan is FDA / EU / FSSAI approved as a coagulant aid for drinking water and food-processing applications. Guar gum works in mining but is not drinking-water grade. Both have lower flocculation efficiency than synthetic PAM at 3–5× higher dose.

Chitosan (deacetylated chitin from crab/shrimp shell) is a natural cationic polymer with quaternary ammonium charge in slightly acidic solution. Drinking water grade chitosan is supplied at 85-95% deacetylation degree, MW 100-500K, dosed at 1-5 ppm. The advantage over PAM is full GRAS food-contact status (no acrylamide monomer residual concern), the disadvantage is 3-5× higher cost per unit clarification efficiency. Chitosan is the standard polymer for premium-brand bottled water and some EU municipal plants where 'natural' is a marketing requirement. Guar gum (from cluster bean) is a galactomannan polysaccharide — works well as APAM substitute in mineral processing (gold ore CIP/CIL circuits commonly use guar gum or starch flocculants), but is not approved for drinking water and degrades quickly in warm wastewater (bacterial consumption). For sludge or industrial wastewater, synthetic PAM remains 5-10× more cost-effective.

What documents are available — COA, MSDS, TDS?

Yes — Certificate of Analysis (COA), Safety Data Sheet (SDS/MSDS), and Technical Data Sheet (TDS) are provided standard. For food-contact, drinking-water, and pharmaceutical applications, additional regulatory compliance letters (FDA, EU 10/2011, NSF/ANSI 60, GB 17514) are available.

COA for PAM includes: appearance, solid content (typically ≥88% for powder, 30-50% for emulsion), ionic charge density (% mole), intrinsic viscosity (proxy for Mw), free acrylamide monomer (must be <500 ppm for water treatment, <50 ppm for drinking water, <0.05% for food-contact per FDA 21 CFR 173.10), particle size distribution (for powder), pH (1% solution). For drinking water grade specifically, NSF/ANSI 60 certification (USA), EN 1407 (EU), or GB/T 17514 (China) is required and tested per batch. PAC COA includes Al₂O₃ content (typically 28-32% for solid, 8-12% for liquid), basicity (60-90%), insoluble matter (<0.5%), heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb per WHO drinking water guidelines). For high-purity drinking water PAC, additional sulfate and chloride balance specs are required.

What is the minimum order quantity and what are the standard packaging options?

Starter samples 1–5 kg; standard commercial MOQ 1 metric ton (PAM powder) or 25 metric tons (PAC liquid / inorganic coagulants). Packaging: 25 kg woven bags (PAM powder), 1 t IBC totes (liquid PAC/PFS), 25 t ISO tank (bulk liquid).

PAM powder shelf life is 2 years from manufacture in original sealed PE-lined woven bag, stored below 30°C away from moisture. PAM emulsion (water-in-oil, 30-50% active) has 12 months shelf life but is ready-to-use (no dissolution time) and preferred for automated dosing systems — supplied in 1 t IBC tote. PAC and PFS liquids are corrosive (pH 1-4) and must ship in HDPE IBC totes (not metal); 28-32% Al₂O₃ solid PAC ships in 25 kg woven bags or 1 t jumbo bags. For full-container-load (FCL) economic shipping: 20-foot container holds 24 t PAM powder or 25 t PAC liquid; 40-foot container 48 t / 50 t respectively. Sea freight transit Asia-EU 4-5 weeks, Asia-NA 3-4 weeks, Asia-India 10-15 days, Asia-SEA 5-7 days.

How do Chinese prices compare to BASF Zetag, SNF Flopam, Kemira Superfloc, Solenis Praestol?

Chinese-origin PAM and PAC are typically 35–60% lower CIF than equivalent international brand grades, with the gap widest on commodity APAM/CPAM/PAC and narrowing for specialty grades (HPAM EOR, polyDADMAC, sugar-grade PAM).

Commodity APAM/CPAM Mw 12M from a Tier-1 Chinese producer (山东诺尔 / 巩义恒泰) prices roughly $1.50-2.50/kg CIF major ports vs SNF Flopam or BASF Zetag at $3.50-5.00/kg. Quality parity has improved significantly since 2018 — Chinese producers now invest in continuous polymerization reactors and gel-degradation control matching European specs. For oil & gas EOR HPAM, the gap narrows because only 3-4 Chinese producers (东营信亨, 北京恒聚, 山东诺尔, 蓝星石化) are qualified for offshore service; pricing is $2.50-4.00/kg vs SNF $5-7/kg. For NSF/ANSI 60 drinking water grades, BASF and Kemira retain a premium ($4-6/kg vs Chinese $1.50-2.50/kg) due to audit-trail reputation. Quality matters most for sludge dewatering where mis-dose costs more than polymer — for commodity water treatment, Chinese product wins on cost-performance and is now used by Tier-1 European municipal contractors via private-label.

What is the sample policy?

Free 100–500 g samples of PAM powder available on company letterhead inquiry; PAC liquid samples up to 5 L are also free. Courier charges (DHL Express) at buyer's account for non-DHL-account buyers.

To request a sample, send a company letterhead inquiry specifying: (1) grade family (APAM/CPAM/NPAM/HPAM/PAC/PFS/polyDADMAC/specialty), (2) target ionic charge density % or Mw, (3) intended application (sludge dewatering / mining / paper / etc.), (4) annual volume estimate. Samples ship within 3-5 business days by DHL Express (3-5 days to EU/US, 1-2 days to India/SEA). Each sample includes full COA, MSDS, and TDS. For drinking-water and food-contact applications, add NSF/ANSI 60 or FDA 21 CFR 173.10 compliance documentation. Polymer samples beyond 500g and liquid PAC samples beyond 5 L may incur handling fees. For jar test optimization, AQUChem can also provide an application engineer consultation by email/WhatsApp.

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