The interplay between cationic polyethyleneimine and anionic polyelectrolytes for the control of silica scale formation in process waters

Spinthaki, Argyro; Stathoulopoulou, Aggeliki; Demadis, Konstantinos D.

doi:10.17675/2305-6894-2015-4-1-125-138

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Demadis et al − reported that phosphonated chitosan ( PCH ) can be used as an inhibitor of silicic acid polycondensation, but there appear to be no reports on calcite or barite inhibition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Antiscaling Performance of Phosphonated Chitosan for Upstream Petroleum Industry Application

Mady

Abdel‐Azeim

Kelland

2021

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Scale deposition is one of the main water-based production problems in the upstream oil and gas industry. Few environmentally friendly scale inhibitors show good thermal stability as well as calcium compatibility. We report the synthesis of phosphonated chitosan (PCH) in a two-step route via a phosphonate ester. Chitosan is made from chitin, a natural polysaccharide. In dynamic tube blocking tests, PCH showed good performance as a calcium carbonate scale inhibitor, similar to some commercial nonpolymeric aminophosphonates. Performance was not lost even after thermal aging as a 5 wt % aqueous anaerobic solution for 1 week at 130 °C. The performance as a barite inhibitor was shown to be significantly worse. PCH showed excellent calcium compatibility from 100 to 10 000 ppm Ca2+ and 100 to 50 000 ppm PCH for 24 h at 80 °C. Density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to gain atomic insights into the interaction of PCH with the mineral surface as well as the polymer morphology. DFT predicts that PCH interacts as strongly as commercial scale inhibitors. MD simulations reveal a conformational contraction of PCH due to its internal hydrogen bonding network, which makes the inhibition mechanism complicated. Our simulation results bring new insights into the inhibition mechanism of polymeric inhibitors compared to small molecules. For example, a polymer with a well-defined structure such as carboxymethyl inulin (CMI) performs better than random folded polymers (PCH). The structural regularity maximizes the interaction sites of the mineral particles on the polymer surface. The compact morphology of PCH and the slow barite kinetics could be the main reason for the bad performance of PCH for barite scale inhibition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Antiscaling Performance of Phosphonated Chitosan for Upstream Petroleum Industry Application

Mady

Abdel‐Azeim

Kelland

2021

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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“…Previous studies demonstrated the influence of long-chain polyamines isolated from diatom cell walls on silica precipitation in vitro , , inspiring the exploration of synthetic organic macromolecules as inhibitors of silica polymerization. Examples of such polymeric inhibitors include neutral polymers, e.g., poly(ethylene oxide) and polyvinylpyrrolidone, and cationic polyelectrolytes such as protonated polyaminoamide dendrimers , and polyethylenimines . However, the limited number of comprehensive studies on these polymeric silica inhibitors has resulted in a lack of consensus regarding the governing mechanisms behind the stabilization of reactive silicic acid species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Design of Functional Polymers for Silica Scale Inhibition

Kaneda,

Dong,

Chen

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Silica polymerization, which involves the condensation reaction of silicic acid, is a fundamental process with wide-ranging implications in biological systems, material synthesis, and scale formation. The formation of a silica-based scale poses significant technological challenges to energy-efficient operations in various industrial processes, including heat exchangers and water treatment membranes. Despite the common strategy of applying functional polymers for inhibiting silica polymerization, the underlying mechanisms of inhibition remain elusive. In this study, we synthesized a series of nitrogen-containing polymers as silica inhibitors and elucidated the role of their molecular structures in stabilizing silicic acids. Polymers with both charged amine and uncharged amide groups in their backbones exhibit superior inhibition performance, retaining up to 430 ppm of reactive silica intact for 8 h under neutral pH conditions. In contrast, monomers of these amine/amide-containing polymers as well as polymers containing only amine or amide functionalities present insignificant inhibition. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal strong binding between the deprotonated silicic acid and a polymer when the amine groups in the polymer are protonated. Notably, an extended chain conformation of the polymer is crucial to prevent proximity between the interacting monomeric silica species, thereby facilitating effective silica inhibition. Furthermore, the hydrophobic nature of alkyl segments in polymer chains disrupts the hydration shell around the polymer, resulting in enhanced binding with ionized silicic acid precursors compared to monomers. Our findings provide novel mechanistic insights into the stabilization of silicic acids with functional polymers, highlighting the molecular design principles of effective inhibitors for silica polymerization.

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“…The silicic acid polycondensation process and the physicochemical factors that influence it have been part of on-going investigations in our laboratory. The goal is to prevent silica formation, by stabilizing silicic acid, through the discovery and application of chemical scale inhibitors and additives [18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus chemistry: from small molecules, to polymers, to pharmaceutical and industrial applications

Papathanasiou

Vassaki

Spinthaki

et al. 2018

Pure and Applied Chemistry

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(Poly)phosphonic acids constitute an exciting family of phosphorus compounds. One of the attractive attributes of these molecules is the rich chemistry of the phosphonate moiety, and, in particular, its high affinity for metal ions and mineral surfaces. Whether the phosphonate group belongs to a “small” molecule or to a polymeric matrix, phosphonate-containing compounds have found a phalanx of real-life applications. Herein, we address a special category of phosphorus compounds called bisphosphonates (BPs, a.k.a. “-dronates”) and also phosphonate containing polymers. The success of BPs in mitigating osteoporosis notwithstanding, these “-dronate” drugs present a number of challenges. Nevertheless, the main drawback of BPs is their limited oral bioavailability. It is, therefore, imperative to design and fabricate “smart” systems that allow controlled delivery of the active BP agent. Here, easy-to-prepare drug delivery systems are presented based on silica gels. These have been synthesized, characterized, and studied as hosts in the control release of several BP drugs. They exhibit variable release rates and final % release, depending on the nature of bisphosphonate (side-chain length, hydro-philicity/-phobicity, water-solubility), cations present, pH and temperature. These gels are robust, injectable, re-loadable and re-usable. Furthermore, alternative drug delivery systems are presented that are based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In these biologically acceptable inorganic metal ions have been incorporated, together with BPs as the organic portion. These materials have been synthesized, characterized, and studied for the self-sacrificial release (by pH-driven dissolution) of the BP active ingredient. Several such materials were prepared with a variety of bisphosphonate drugs. They exhibit variable release rates and final % release, depending on the actual structure of the metal-bisphosphonate material. Lastly, we will present the use of phosphonate-grafted polymers as scale inhibitors for water treatment applications.

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The interplay between cationic polyethyleneimine and anionic polyelectrolytes for the control of silica scale formation in process waters

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Investigation of the Antiscaling Performance of Phosphonated Chitosan for Upstream Petroleum Industry Application

Investigation of the Antiscaling Performance of Phosphonated Chitosan for Upstream Petroleum Industry Application

Molecular Design of Functional Polymers for Silica Scale Inhibition

Phosphorus chemistry: from small molecules, to polymers, to pharmaceutical and industrial applications

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