Abstract
Polyaspartic acid is considered a green agent for the treatment of circulating cooling water. However, its chemosynthetic process is not green, as it requires significant amounts of energy and causes water pollution. In this work, we identified an analog of polyaspartic acid, namely polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA), which could be directly produced by Bacillus spp., and we explored its performance and scale inhibition mechanism as a scale inhibitor. We found that γ-PGA secreted by B. megaterium with a molecular weight of ~ 70kDa showed poor scale inhibition, while the γ-PGA secreted by B. licheniformis with a molecular weight of ~ 15kDa had a 26.87% higher efficiency compared to commercially available polyaspartic acid. The scale inhibition mechanism was explored using the γ-PGA material secreted by B. licheniformis. Fourier transform spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the scale inhibition performance of γ-PGA was due to the combination of its functional groups and Ca2+, which affected the growth process of CaCO3 and inhibited the formation of CaCO3. This study provided deeper insight into scale inhibition performance related to the scale inhibition mechanism.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Environmental science and pollution research international
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.