Enhanced scale inhibition against Ca3(PO4)2 and Fe2O3 in water using multi-functional fluorescently-tagged antibacterial scale inhibitors

Shaopeng Zhang; Xin Jiang; Shikun Cheng; Chang'e Fu; Ziqi Tian; Zhen Yang; Weiben Yang

doi:10.1039/C9EW01036J

Enhanced scale inhibition against Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and Fe₂O₃ in water using multi-functional fluorescently-tagged antibacterial scale inhibitors†

Shaopeng Zhang,‡^a Xin Jiang,‡^a Shikun Cheng,^b Chang'e Fu,^c Ziqi Tian,

^d Zhen Yang

*^a and Weiben Yang*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials Cycling and Pollution Control, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
E-mail: yangzhen@njnu.edu.cn, yangwb007@njnu.edu.cn

^b School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Resource-Oriented Treatment of Industrial Pollutants, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

^c College of the Environment and Ecology, Jiangsu Open University, Nanjing 210036, P. R. China

^d Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315000, P. R. China

Abstract

Formation and deposition of scales, especially the refractory Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and Fe₂O₃, is an obstacle for water treatment and reuse. In situ concentration detection of P-free scale inhibitors also remains challenging. In this work, well-designed P-free copolymers, FM–AA–APEO with ternary units (acrylic acid (AA), allyl-polyethylene oxide (APEO), and fluorescent monomer (FM)), were employed as scale inhibitors against Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and Fe₂O₃. The effects of ratios among different units were studied, and the optimized molar percentages of FM, AA, and APEO were 1.56%, 87.50%, and 10.94%, respectively. The optimized FM–AA–APEO exhibited much better scale inhibition (higher efficiency and lower dosage required) and antibacterial performance than commercial products. Fluorescence intensity and inhibitor concentration had good correlation (R² > 0.99) regardless of the absence or presence of metal ions, providing a basis for in situ concentration detection. Scale inhibition mechanism investigations from micro- to macro-viewpoints demonstrated that the enhanced performance of FM–AA–APEO resulted from the synergistic effects of ternary compositions: AA units tightly bound metal atoms on small crystal particles via coordination and provided negative surface charges for electrostatic repulsion; APEO units with stretched hydrophilic sidechains contributed to steric repulsion among the particles; FM units not only exhibited designed in situ concentration determination ability (fluorescent groups in FM) and antibacterial effects (quaternary ammonium groups in FM), but also had unexpected strong coordination with Fe(III) atoms for strengthening Fe₂O₃ scale inhibition. Understanding of the above mechanism provided more specific design strategies for the development and application of scale inhibitors in water.

This article is part of the themed collection: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology Cover Art

Supplementary files

Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EW01036J
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 20 Nov 2019
Accepted: 29 Jan 2020
First published: 03 Feb 2020

Download Citation

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020,6, 951-962

Permissions

Request permissions

Enhanced scale inhibition against Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and Fe₂O₃ in water using multi-functional fluorescently-tagged antibacterial scale inhibitors

S. Zhang, X. Jiang, S. Cheng, C. Fu, Z. Tian, Z. Yang and W. Yang, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2020, 6, 951 DOI: 10.1039/C9EW01036J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology