Traditionally, phosphonate based scale inhibitors have dominated the global squeeze treatment market
and for very good reasons: they combine high performance with ease of measurement. However,
increasingly stringent environmental legislation has resulted in the development of new, enhanced
polymeric scale inhibitors that contain low levels of phosphorus, such as phosphonate end-capped
polymers. These polymers are highly effective with particularly low MIC (minimum inhibition
concentration) values, but this creates analytical problems as they can’t currently be easily measured at
these low levels. Therefore, to realise the full performance and environmental benefits of such polymers
it is necessary to be able to readily and easily measure them at low concentrations in a variety of brine
chemistries.
A novel separation and pre-concentration procedure has been developed that can be combined with
industry standard analytical methods (e.g. Hyamine) to detect such scale inhibitors. It is simple to use,
flexible, requires no specialist knowledge or equipment and can measure sub-ppm levels of inhibitor
reliably and accurately in even the most concentrated brines.