Water treatment, scale and coagulation

White scale from borewell water is usually calcium and magnesium carbonate, which forms from hard water, especially when it is heated or left to evaporate. Treating it depends on how hard the water is and what it is used for, so start with a water hardness test.

Common approaches include softening, scale inhibitors and, for heated systems, controlled treatment designed by a water treatment engineer. The right method depends on the analysis and on whether the water is for drinking, processing or boilers.

Boiler scaling from hardness is normally controlled by treating the feed water, through softening or other pretreatment, and by an internal treatment programme matched to the boiler’s pressure. This should be designed by a boiler water treatment specialist from a feed water analysis.

Boiler treatment chemistry depends on boiler type and pressure, and incorrect treatment can damage a boiler. Taskon supplies chemical inputs against a specification; the treatment programme itself should come from a specialist.

When a treatment programme that used to work stops controlling scale, the raw water may have changed, the softener or pretreatment may be underperforming, or blowdown and dosing may have drifted. A fresh analysis of the raw water, feed water and boiler water will show where.

Your boiler water treatment specialist should compare the new analysis with the one the programme was designed on. This page does not advise on dosing.

Raw water that stops clearing usually means its quality has changed, often with season or rain, so the coagulant dose, pH or mixing no longer suit it. A jar test on today’s raw water is the standard way to find the right coagulant and dose again.

Turbidity, pH, alkalinity and temperature all change how a coagulant performs. Coagulant choice and dose should be set by your treatment engineer from jar tests. Taskon makes Ferric Chloride and Ferric Sulphate, which are supplied into water treatment.

Coagulant choice is made by jar testing candidate coagulants on your own raw water, because performance depends on its turbidity, pH, alkalinity and temperature. A water treatment engineer should run and interpret the tests. Taskon can supply samples of its ferric coagulants for testing.

Taskon makes Ferric Chloride and Ferric Sulphate. Send your specification and quantity with the enquiry, and ask for a sample request if you are running jar tests.

Coagulant selection should be made by a water treatment engineer from jar tests on your raw water. Ferric chloride is one of the coagulants commonly tested. Taskon’s technical team can confirm the grade it supplies against your engineer’s specification.

See Ferric Chloride and the chlorides range.

Dosing for a treatment plant should be designed by a qualified water treatment engineer from a water analysis and jar tests, and reviewed when the raw water changes. Taskon supplies treatment chemicals but does not set dosages.

Your engineer’s specification is the right thing to send us. We will quote against it and confirm the grade.

Taskon Industries does not list aluminium sulphate among its 56 products. It makes other chemicals supplied into water treatment, including ferric chloride and ferric sulphate. If you are open to testing an alternative coagulant, send your requirement.

See Ferric Chloride and Ferric Sulphate and the water treatment industry page.

Taskon Industries does not list sodium hexametaphosphate among its 56 products. Its phosphates range includes sodium phosphate, phosphoric acid and other phosphates. Send your specification and we will tell you plainly whether anything we make meets it.

See the phosphates range.

Taskon Industries manufactures six EDTA chelates in Ahmedabad: zinc, iron, manganese, copper, calcium and magnesium, published as micronutrient grades. Whether one suits an industrial water treatment use depends on your specification, so send it with the enquiry.

See the EDTA chelated micronutrients page.

A pond that stays foul and low in oxygen despite aeration is usually overloaded, has too little aeration capacity for its load, or has built up sludge. It needs a wastewater treatment engineer to measure the load and assess the system, rather than an added chemical.

Effluent treatment is regulated, and changes should be designed by a qualified engineer. Taskon does not advise on sewage treatment.

An odour after chlorination can come from reactions between chlorine and compounds in the source water, from algae in the source, or from the distribution system. Because this is a public drinking water supply, a qualified water treatment engineer and the responsible authority should investigate with laboratory testing.

Taskon Industries does not advise on drinking water treatment, and no change should be made to a public supply without the responsible engineer.

Pool water that clouds again quickly usually points to a filtration or circulation problem, pH or alkalinity out of range, high calcium hardness, or a high bather load, rather than too little shock treatment. Test the full water balance and check the filter before adding more chemical.

Pool water safety is regulated, and adding more oxidiser without correcting the cause can be unsafe for bathers. A qualified pool service professional should test and advise. Taskon does not advise on pool treatment.

Water alone evaporates quickly, so dust returns within hours. Dust suppression on unpaved roads is commonly done with products that hold moisture in the road surface, or with surface stabilisation. The right choice depends on traffic, climate and the road material.

Calcium chloride is one material commonly used in dust control because it draws moisture from the air. Taskon makes Calcium Chloride. Consider runoff to nearby land and water, and follow its Material Safety Data Sheet.

De-icing salts melt ice more slowly as temperatures fall, and ordinary salt works poorly in very cold conditions. Some de-icing materials remain effective at lower temperatures than others, and pre-wetting the salt can help it start working faster.

Calcium chloride is commonly used in de-icing. Taskon makes Calcium Chloride, published at 74-77% CaCl2. Consider the effect of any de-icer on concrete, vegetation and drainage.