In mineral processing operations, insoluble salts—typically calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, magnesium and silicate—drop out of process water and solutions. This causes scale to form on processing equipment, which can restrict pipe volume. This in turn reduces flow and ultimately requires downtime for cleaning.
Zalta antiscalants use multiple scale control mechanisms to reduce the potential for scale formation. These polymer chemistries control scale in many mineral processing applications, from process water to Merrill Crowe circuits.
Zalta antiscalants are proven to deliver a number of benefits:
- Improve throughput and productivity
- Minimize cleaning costs
- Reduce downtime
- Reduce fresh water usage
- Improve capital asset life
Mode of Action
Zalta antiscalants bring together multiple scale control mechanisms to significantly reduce the potential for scale.
To prevent initial scale formation, the antiscalants nucleate small, scale-forming crystals in the solution so that the crystals do not attach to and form scale on equipment surfaces (dispersion and sequestration).
To slow and minimize scale formation, the antiscalants modify the surfaces of existing crystals so that new layers of scale do not form (threshold inhibition).
For any scale that does form, the antiscalants disrupt the structure of the scale (crystal modification), making it softer and easier to remove.
Recorded Results
Customers using Zalta antiscalants realize significant benefits. One mining operation required significant downtime for removing scale. The downtime resulted in production losses of $70,000 per hour. After starting a Zalta antiscalant program, the customer saw major improvements including:
- Significantly reduced scale deposition in water lines and reclaim water
- Reduced downtime by more than three hours per month
- Increased annual profitability by $2 million
More Information
To learn more about Zalta antiscalants or for free technical advice on how to best control scale, ask a Solenis expert today.
