Sodium Polyacrylate PAAS homopolymer, sodium salt CAS 9003-04-7

Tree Chem manufactures Sodium Polyacrylate (PAAS) CAS 9003-04-7 for industrial users who need to purchase a versatile polymer dispersant and scale inhibitor with reliable quality and strong performance in circulating cooling water, RO pretreatment, and boiler-water systems. The polymer structure offers strong binding to Ca²⁺ and other hardness ions, reducing scale formation and stabilizing suspended solids.

Supplied as colorless to pale-yellow liquid grades and white powder grade, PAAS shows good compatibility with phosphonates, polycarboxylates, corrosion inhibitors, and surfactants. It is suitable for use in detergents, ceramic slips, pigment dispersions, and other water-based formulations. For bulk supply, customized specifications, or formulation advice, please contact info@cntreechem.com.

Specification

Basic Information

Technical Specification

Note: Additional grades of Sodium Polyacrylate (PAAS) are available upon request, including customized molecular weights and alternative solid contents (e.g., 50%).

Applications

Water Treatment Industry

• Sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) is first and foremost a key scale inhibitor and dispersant for industrial water systems, especially circulating cooling water in power, chemical, metallurgical and fertilizer plants. The carboxylate groups on the PAAS chain chelate Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, forming soluble complexes and preventing their combination with carbonate and sulfate to form hard deposits. At the same time, PAAS adsorbs on CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ microcrystals and suspended solids, providing strong dispersion so that particles remain finely divided and are carried away with the flow instead of adhering to heat-exchange surfaces. This allows cooling systems to operate at higher cycles of concentration with clean equipment and stable heat-transfer performance.
• In practical cooling-water operation, solid PAAS is usually prepared as a 5–10 % aqueous solution and dosed at 5–20 mg/L based on hardness and alkalinity; when used alone, 2–15 mg/L is typical. Low-molecular-weight PAAS around 3000–5000 is favored as a dispersant because the shorter chains avoid bridging flocculation, while higher-molecular-weight grades above 10,000 provide stronger steric hindrance and are well suited to high-temperature or high-hardness conditions. In real plants, replacing traditional phosphate programs with PAAS-based treatments has reduced scale-growth rates from about 0.3 mm/year to 0.05 mm/year and cut phosphorus discharge to below 0.1 mg/L, significantly improving both operating efficiency and environmental performance.
• PAAS is also an important boiler-water treatment agent. In low-pressure boilers, 10–30 mg/L PAAS can be used alone or with organophosphonate to prevent carbonate and sulfate scale on tube surfaces and extend cleaning intervals. Case data from retrofitted boilers show that using PAAS together with phosphonate keeps fouling heat resistance well below 0.0003 m²·K/W at about 70 °C and raises heat-exchange efficiency by roughly 15 %. In medium- and high-pressure boilers, PAAS is usually combined with phosphate treatment at 15–30 mg/L to maintain clean internal surfaces under higher temperature and pressure. Thanks to its good thermal stability and oxidation resistance, PAAS maintains its dispersion and scale-inhibition performance for long periods in the hot, alkaline boiler environment.
• In oilfield operations, PAAS is applied across injection-water systems, fracturing fluids, drilling fluids and produced-water treatment. The carboxylate groups ionize in water and chelate Ca²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and other metal ions in formation and injection waters, increasing their solubility and suppressing CaCO₃ and BaSO₄ deposition in pipelines, wellbores and near-wellbore reservoir zones. In typical injection-water applications, 10–50 mg/L PAAS is added according to water hardness and injection conditions, preventing plugging and helping maintain oilfield productivity. In water-based drilling fluids, 30 % PAAS solution is used as a viscosity-reducer and filtrate-loss additive; it lowers filtrate volume, improves mud-cake quality and shows practical resistance to temperature and salinity, making it suitable for direct use or further dilution.
• In reverse-osmosis (RO) plants for seawater, brackish water and industrial wastewater, PAAS functions as a high-efficiency antiscalant. It operates over pH 2–10 and temperatures up to about 80 °C. At 3–10 mg/L it prevents general membrane fouling and at 10–30 mg/L it strongly suppresses Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and silica-related scale. The mechanism combines chelation of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Fe ions, dispersion of colloids and particulates and adsorption on crystal growth sites to distort lattice growth and produce loose, non-adherent crystals. PAAS is also widely used in composite RO formulations together with phosphonates, PASP, IA/AMPS copolymers and other dispersants to enhance antiscalant performance in complex waters such as mine-water and high-fluoride wastewater.

Pulp and Paper Industry

• In the pulp and paper industry, PAAS serves as a chelating agent, dispersant, retention aid and coating dispersant across pulping, bleaching, sheet formation and coating stages. During pulping, trace metals such as Fe, Cu and Mn catalyze peroxide decomposition and form colored complexes with lignin fragments, harming brightness and stability. Adding 0.01–0.1 % PAAS (on oven-dry pulp) complexes these ions, reduces non-productive peroxide decomposition and improves pulp whiteness and brightness stability. At the same time, PAAS disperses nano- and micro-calcium carbonate fillers by reducing particle surface energy and improving slurry flow, which leads to better opacity and whiteness in the finished paper.
• In peroxide bleaching, PAAS is used as part of composite bleaching aids. Formulations that combine sodium polyepoxysuccinate, acrylic acid, allyloxy hydroxypropyl sulfonate, PAAS and chelants have been shown to effectively suppress hydrogen-peroxide decomposition, lower oxidant consumption and raise brightness by several percentage points while also reducing yellowing. In the paper machine wet end, PAAS at 0.01–0.1 % on oven-dry pulp acts as a retention and dispersion aid, improving filler and fine-fiber retention, stabilizing white-water conditions and reducing fiber flocculation. This produces sheets with better formation, smoother surfaces and higher printing quality, while reducing breaks and raw-material losses.
• PAAS also plays an important role in paper coating. As an anionic polyelectrolyte, it ionizes strongly in water and provides powerful electrostatic stabilization of pigment particles. When used as a dispersant at 0.1–0.6 % on pigment solids and with molecular weight around 2000–4000, PAAS enables high-solids (65–70 %) coating colors with good rheology and aging stability. It lowers viscosity, increases pigment dispersion and improves gloss, smoothness and printability of coated paper. Evaluation via dispersant-dosage versus viscosity curves confirms that appropriate PAAS dosage reduces slurry viscosity and enhances storage stability, while improper dosage leads to higher viscosity and poorer performance.

Textile Printing and Dyeing Industry

• In textile printing and dyeing, PAAS is widely used in pretreatment, dyeing, printing and finishing as a chelating dispersant, leveling agent and bath stabilizer. During desizing and scouring, PAAS at 0.5–2 g/L (pH 7–11, 30–95 °C) chelates Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe³⁺ and other ions, preventing them from catalyzing oxidative degradation of auxiliaries and helping to remove size and impurities more effectively. In bleaching baths, it complexes metal ions that would otherwise accelerate peroxide decomposition, thereby protecting fiber strength, enhancing whiteness and reducing pinholes and fabric damage.
• In dyeing with reactive or disperse dyes, PAAS serves both as a chelating dispersant and as a leveling aid. At 1–3 g/L in dye baths with pH 4–10 and temperatures of 40–130 °C, it binds hardness ions, suppresses dye–metal precipitation and improves dispersion stability of hydrophobic dye particles. This results in more uniform color build-up, fewer unlevel patches and lower re-dyeing rates. In print pastes, PAAS is used at 0.2–1.0 % of total paste to chelate metal impurities, maintain paste viscosity and prevent dye or pigment aggregation, so patterns remain sharp and color remains bright.
• In finishing and after-treatment, PAAS at 0.1–0.5 g/L acts as a metal-ion blocker and softener synergist, removing residual ions that may cause spots or reduce fastness and helping softeners distribute more evenly on fibers. For equipment cleaning, PAAS doses of 3–5 g/L in alkaline cleaning baths at 50–80 °C (pH 5–9) are used to remove scale and dye deposits from dyeing machines, printing ranges and pipelines. Its chelation and dispersion keep detached deposits suspended and improve the cleaning efficiency of the overall system.

Building Materials and Construction Industry

• In building materials, PAAS and related acrylate systems are core raw materials for polycarboxylate superplasticizers, cement grinding aids, gypsum retarders and tile adhesives. As the backbone of polycarboxylate high-range water reducers, PAAS provides carboxylate groups that adsorb strongly on cement particles, disperse agglomerates and build electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance. With molecular weight typically 10,000–20,000 and acid content above about 85 %, PAAS-based components support high water-reduction rates and good slump retention, enabling concrete with lower water–cement ratios and higher strength.
• In cement grinding aids, PAAS is used as a dispersant component within composite formulations containing triethanolamine, glycerol, unsaturated polyethers, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethyl cellulose and sugars. These components adsorb on new cement surfaces, reduce particle agglomeration, lower grinding energy and improve fineness and early strength. Industrial data show that such PAAS-containing liquid grinding aids can improve mill efficiency by 10–15 % at very low dosage, around 0.01–0.1 % of cement mass.
• PAAS is also applied as a gypsum retarder. At only 0.01–0.1 % of gypsum mass, it adsorbs on gypsum crystal surfaces, slows nucleation and growth and extends setting time, while maintaining final strength and compatibility with different calcium-sulfate binders and additives. In applications such as plaster, jointing compounds, gypsum putty, gypsum boards and precast components, PAAS-based retarders provide adjustable setting times, improved workability and better surface quality.
• In tile adhesives and similar cement-based mortars, PAAS is used as a water-retention and thickening component. Typical adhesive formulations include 40–60 % cement, 30–50 % quartz sand, 2–5 % redispersible polymer powder, 0.2–0.5 % cellulose ether and 0.1–0.3 % PAAS. Within this system PAAS improves water retention, increases viscosity and optimizes rheology so that tiles are easier to install, open time is extended and bond strength and durability under moist conditions are improved.

Daily Chemical and Personal-Care Industry

• In household detergents, PAAS functions as a phosphorus-free builder, chelating agent and formulation stabilizer. In laundry powders and liquids, 0.1–0.5 % PAAS softens hard water by binding Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, prevents formation of insoluble inorganic deposits on fabrics and boosts surfactant detergency. PAAS also protects enzymes, fragrances and optical brighteners by suppressing metal-catalyzed degradation, which enhances product clarity and shelf stability and reduces color or odor changes during storage.
• In dishwashing liquids and other kitchen and bathroom cleaners, PAAS use levels of 0.5–1.5 % help remove limescale and metal stains from glass, ceramics and stainless steel, while reducing spotting and hazing. As an eco-friendly, phosphorus-free additive, it supports low-phosphate or zero-phosphate formulations that comply with stricter environmental regulations. In personal-care products such as shampoos, body washes, skin-care products and hair dyes, PAAS acts as a chelant and stabilizer, binding trace metals in water and raw materials, preventing discoloration and premature oxidant decomposition and improving performance in hard water.

Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Uses

• In pharmaceuticals, sodium polyacrylate is used as a functional high-molecular excipient and as part of advanced drug-delivery systems. Partially neutralized PAAS grades exhibit pH-responsive swelling behavior and can form hydrogels that respond to different pH environments. By adjusting neutralization degree and crosslinking, hydrogels can be designed to swell and release drug more in intestinal pH while protecting active ingredients in gastric conditions, thereby improving oral bioavailability.
• PAAS also provides bioadhesive properties that are useful in mucosal dosage forms, where stronger adhesion to mucous membranes prolongs residence time and enhances absorption of peptides and proteins. Ion complexes of PAAS with chitosan and other polycations are used as controlled-release matrices for macromolecular drugs, while block copolymers such as PS-b-PAA based on the same chemistry are employed as nanocarriers for poorly soluble drugs. These applications rely on the biocompatibility, ionizable carboxyl groups and pH-tunable swelling behavior of PAAS-based materials.

Agriculture and Soil Improvement

• In agriculture, PAAS-based polyacrylate super-absorbent resins are used as soil water-retention agents, fertilizer synergists and soil conditioners. Cross-linked PAAS can absorb hundreds of times its own weight in water, and tests show that such resins retain more than 90 % of their absorption capacity across soil pH 2–10. When mixed into soil at 0.1–0.5 % of soil mass, they significantly increase water content, extend crop drought-tolerance time and help maintain a more stable moisture environment around the root zone.
• As fertilizer efficiency enhancers, PAAS and related materials reduce nitrogen leaching and help retain ammonium, nitrate, phosphate and potassium in the root zone. By binding nutrients and reducing runoff losses during rainfall or irrigation, they increase water–fertilizer utilization and ultimately improve biomass yield. PAAS-based conditioners also improve soil structure by stabilizing aggregates, increasing porosity and enhancing infiltration and aeration, which benefits crop growth in arid and semi-arid areas with limited water resources.

Oilfield Chemicals and Enhanced Recovery

• Beyond injection-water scale control, PAAS-type materials are used as drilling-fluid additives and polymer components in tertiary oil recovery. In drilling muds, 30 % PAAS solutions act as viscosity reducers and fluid-loss additives that improve filter-cake quality and reduce filtrate invasion into formations. In enhanced-recovery projects, related polyacrylate polymers are blended with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide and other agents to adjust mobility of injected water, improve sweep efficiency and increase ultimate oil recovery in mature fields.

Storage & Handling

• Store in tightly closed plastic drums, protected from direct sunlight.
• Keep in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area.
• Avoid contact with strong oxidizing agents and strong acids.
• Use clean, dry, corrosion-resistant equipment for transfer.
• Ensure proper grounding of equipment to prevent static discharge.

Usage Notice

• Wear appropriate protective gloves and goggles when handling.
• Check compatibility before mixing with cationic polymers or highly acidic/alkaline components.
• Dilute with clean water to the required concentration before dosing.
• Follow local regulations for storage, transport, and disposal of polymer solutions.
• Circulating cooling-water base program: PAAS used alone at 2–15 mg/L in general recirculating cooling-water systems functions as a scale inhibitor and dispersant with calcium-scale inhibition typically above 95 %.
• Phosphorus-free cooling-water formulation: a blend containing 15 mg/L PAAS, 14 mg/L sodium gluconate, 13 mg/L benzotriazole, 18 mg/L sodium molybdate and 14 mg/L hexamethylenetetramine (total 74 mg/L) provides a phosphorus-free treatment with scale-inhibition efficiency of about 92.63 % and corrosion-inhibition efficiency of about 92.78 %.
• Cooling-water formulation with phosphonate: a composite inhibitor for large chemical and power-plant cooling systems using 7–9 ppm sodium hexametaphosphate, 4–5 ppm PAAS, 5–6 ppm HEDP, 0.8–1 ppm mercaptobenzothiazole and 0.5–1 ppm chlorine (total 22–25 ppm) offers strong scale and corrosion control in high-load circuits.
• Low-pressure boiler treatment: PAAS dosed at 10–30 mg/L in low-pressure boiler water, alone or with organophosphonate, prevents hard scale formation, extends cleaning intervals and improves heat-transfer efficiency.
• Oilfield injection-water inhibitor: PAAS applied at 10–50 mg/L in injection-water systems controls CaCO₃ and BaSO₄ precipitation in pipelines and near-wellbore zones and helps maintain injection capacity.
• Reverse-osmosis antiscalant: PAAS dosed at 3–10 mg/L in RO feed protects membranes from general fouling, while 10–30 mg/L is used to suppress Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and silica scale over pH 2–10 and temperatures up to 80 °C.
• RO composite formula for brackish water: a standard antiscalant blend containing 12.5 % acrylic-type polymer, 8 % PASP, 6 % AA/AMPS, 1 % PAPEMP and 2 % PBTCA in water is dosed at several milligrams per liter to protect brackish-water RO membranes; PAAS chemistry is used as the dispersant component in this system.
• Cooling-water environmental composite: a high-performance formulation combining PAAS, PASP, tannin, sodium gluconate, IA/AMPS copolymer, zinc sulfate and sodium silicate at optimized ratios provides over 90 % scale- and corrosion-inhibition with reduced phosphorus discharge.
• Pulping chelating agent: PAAS used at 0.01–0.1 % on oven-dry pulp in chemical pulping complexes Fe, Cu and Mn ions, stabilizes brightness and lowers peroxide consumption.
• Bleaching auxiliary formulation: a bleaching-aid system composed of 20–40 parts sodium polyepoxysuccinate, 0.5–5 parts initiator, 15–30 parts acrylic acid, 1–3 parts allyloxy hydroxypropyl sulfonate sodium, 2–8 parts PAAS and 1–4 parts stabilizer suppresses peroxide decomposition, improves bleaching efficiency and enhances brightness stability.
• Papermaking wet-end aid: PAAS dosed at 0.01–0.1 % on oven-dry pulp in the wet end improves filler retention, sheet formation, opacity and runnability in papermaking systems.
• Coating-color dispersant: PAAS at 0.1–0.6 % on pigment solids and molecular weight 2000–4000 is used in 65–70 % solids coating colors to lower viscosity, improve pigment dispersion and enhance gloss and smoothness of coated paper.
• Textile pretreatment liquor: PAAS at 0.5–2 g/L in desizing and bleaching baths at pH 7–11 and 30–95 °C chelates hardness ions, stabilizes peroxide and improves fabric cleanliness and whiteness ahead of dyeing.
• Reactive and disperse-dye dyeing bath: PAAS at 1–3 g/L in dye baths with pH 4–10 and temperatures of 40–130 °C functions as a chelating dispersant and leveling agent to prevent dye flocculation and improve shade uniformity.
• Printing-paste stabilizer: PAAS at 0.2–1.0 % of total print-paste mass at pH 5–8 acts as a chelating dispersant that stabilizes viscosity and prevents pigment and dye aggregation, giving clear, bright patterns.
• Textile finishing bath: PAAS at 0.1–0.5 g/L in finishing treatments at pH 6–8 and 40–60 °C blocks residual metal ions, improves softener distribution and enhances handle and appearance.
• Concrete superplasticizer backbone: PAAS with molecular weight 10,000–20,000 and acid content above about 85 % is used at 0.3–0.6 % of total cementitious material as the backbone of polycarboxylate high-range water reducers achieving water-reduction rates of 15–25 % and higher concrete strength.
• Cement grinding-aid formulation: a composite liquid grinding aid containing 10–20 % triethanolamine, 5–10 % glycerol, 5–10 % acrylic acid, 5–10 % unsaturated polyether, 5–10 % polyvinyl alcohol, 5–10 % carboxymethyl cellulose, 5–10 % syrup and a few percent PAAS as dispersant is dosed at 0.01–0.1 % of cement mass to increase grinding efficiency by 10–15 %.
• Gypsum retarder: PAAS added at 0.01–0.1 % of gypsum mass in plaster, jointing compounds and gypsum boards extends setting time by several hours while maintaining final strength and improving workability and water retention.
• Tile-adhesive modifier: in a typical tile adhesive with 40–60 % cement, 30–50 % quartz sand, 2–5 % redispersible latex powder and 0.2–0.5 % cellulose ether, 0.1–0.3 % PAAS provides high water retention (≥ 80 %) and open time of at least two hours and improves rheology and workability.
• Phosphorus-free laundry liquid: a detergent formulation using 0.1–0.5 % PAAS as a builder together with surfactants and auxiliary agents softens hard water, enhances detergency and replaces STPP to reduce eutrophication risk.
• Eco dishwashing liquid: a dishwashing product incorporating 0.5–1.5 % PAAS along with alkyl polyglucoside and other additives chelates metal ions, strengthens removal of inorganic and metallic soils and maintains clarity during storage.
• Personal-care dye system: oxidative hair-dye formulations containing 0.1–0.5 % PAAS stabilize peroxide oxidants against metal-catalyzed decomposition, ensuring consistent color development during application.
• Soil water-retention agent: cross-linked PAAS-based super-absorbent resin applied at 0.1–0.5 % of soil mass provides water-absorption ratios of 100–500 times and maintains more than 90 % of its absorption capacity across soil pH 2–10, significantly extending crop drought-tolerance.
• Fertilizer efficiency enhancer: PAAS-type materials added at about 0.05–0.2 % of fertilizer mass reduce nitrogen leaching by more than 30 %, retain nutrients in the root zone and improve water–fertilizer utilization efficiency.
• Oilfield drilling-fluid additive: 30 % PAAS solution used at application-specific dosages in water-based drilling fluids acts as a viscosity reducer and fluid-loss additive that lowers filtrate volume, improves mud-cake quality and provides resistance to temperature and salinity.

Packaging

• 25 kg plastic drum
• 200 kg plastic drum
• Other packaging sizes can be arranged according to customer requirements.