New Polymer to Control Scale, Corrosion, and Water Hardness

A new and powerful sustainable water treatment polymer has entered the market—and this is a limited time opportunity to try it out at no cost. Soltellus™ polymer was developed by the bioengineering specialists and application scientists at Lygos as a high-performing and biodegradable alternative to conventional corrosion inhibitors, antiscalants, and water softeners. 

Now that it’s available for formulation, water treatment plants and chemical manufacturers can collaborate with Lygos to test Soltellus in a personalized pilot program.

Demand For Sustainable Water Treatment Solutions Is Rising

Managers of any water process must figure out how to prevent scale in pipes, or else face flow restrictions and lagging throughput. If you’re working with steel equipment, it’s also critical to identify how to prevent corrosion in water pipes. The stakes are high. Roughly 40% of equipment failures in cooling towers are corrosion related—and 10% of workplace fatalities in the oil and gas industry can also be traced back to corrosion.

The most common existing solutions have generally been non-toxic. However, they can still have negative side effects once they exit your water process due to persistence in the environment (e.g. polyacrylates, EDTA) or eutrophication of water sources (as with phosphorus-based chemicals). Current research on the water treatment chemicals market shows that demand is rising for environment friendly and sustainable options.

What’s needed is an alternative that matches—or even exceeds—the antiscalant, corrosion inhibition, and water softening performance of older solutions while also degrading into nothing but CO2 and water at end-of-life. 

Soltellus has demonstrated the power of the multifunctional and biodegradable polyaspartate polymer to deliver superior results in all three areas. Polyaspartate is made from long chains of aspartic acid, an amino acid that’s common to all living cells. As the polymer gradually breaks down, these amino acids are consumed by microorganisms in the environment and leave no persistent residues behind.

Soltellus Compares Favorably to Leading Scale and Corrosion Inhibitors

Research has shown that polyaspartate not only matches the performance of common non-biodegradable alternatives, but exceeds them at similar concentrations—no harm, no side effects, and more efficient production.

Corrosion Protection

Soltellus is a high-performing and biodegradable solution to corrosion in water pipes, from cooling towers to desalination plants, mining operations, and more. It shows 95% corrosion inhibition efficiency for carbon steel and magnesium alloy, reliably safeguarding against corrosive components such as oxygen, chlorine, and other chemicals. Scanning Electron Microscopy even indicates that there are protective films formed on the surface in different concentrations of the polyaspartate solution.

Dissolves and Prevents Scale

Soltellus also addresses the persistent issue of scale in pipes and pumps, ensuring more efficient operations and increasing production. First, it dissolves existing scale, from calcium carbonate to barium sulfate, strontium sulfate, and struvite. It also offers 96.5% scale inhibition against calcium carbonate and barium sulfate scales in dosages as low as 5 ppm—with help from impressive anionic and chelating properties. 

You can also use Soltellus to remove parameters causing chemical blockages such as iron, magnesium, and silica. By comparison, phosphonates and polyacrylates only exhibit 80.5% and 78.2% scale inhibition, respectively.

This new, biodegradable solution is not only stronger, but stable, phosphorus-free, and non-toxic. Finally, with its remarkable chelating properties, Soltellus™ works to soften hard water and stabilize process conditions for more predictable operations.

Let’s Work Together. Set Up Your Pilot Trial Today.

Connect with the Lygos team to collaborate on a unique pilot program suited to your industry and application. The way it works is simple: We provide the necessary Soltellus for benchtop and limited deployment testing. Then, you can work with us to optimize your scale and corrosion inhibitor dosing regimen to maximize the efficiency of your product or individual water process. Try it out for the full test period and see for yourself how well it works at no cost to your business.

Chemical manufacturers are invited to work with Lygos to develop a new line of environmentally friendly products featuring Soltellus. This biodegradable alternative does not need to replace or alter any existing product lines. Use our expertise and our polymer to expand your list of sustainable offerings and the choices available to your customers.

Contact Lygos today to discuss Soltellus and inquire about piloting our sustainable water treatment solutions. We’re eager to help you eliminate flow restrictions and increase production with no environmental impact.