Increasing solubility of metal silicates by mixed polymeric antiscalants

The increase of silicate solubility is a big challenge for both hot and cold water because it reduces the deposition of metal silicates frequently observed in such systems and causes operational obstacles. The deposition of silicate coats the inner surface of the pipelines in an uncontrolled manner and reduces the harvesting of energy from brines. In this work, the solubility performance of two commercial water-soluble polymeric agents (poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)) of various molecular weights employing dosage from 25 to 100 mg/L was examined. Along with dispersant-type antiscalant, poly(acrylamide) (PAM), poly(vinylsulfonic acid, sodium salt) (PVSA), and poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA) having chelating acidic groups were employed. Metal silicate deposits were obtained artificially in the lab-scale pressurized reactor. The experimental conditions employed were quite similar to a model power plant located in Çanakkale, Turkey. The concentration of dissolved silica was increased from 130 to 420 mg/L when 100 mg/L PEG 1500 and 25 mg/L PVSA were employed as a mixture. For the atomic-level understanding of the interaction of chelating groups with metal cations, DFT calculations were performed too.