Why is polyacrylamide called an auxiliary agent for all industries?
May 12, 2025Polyacrylamide (PAM) is known as the "auxiliary agent for all industries" mainly because of its unique chemical properties and wide application in many fields. The following are its core reasons and specific industry application analysis:
I. Multifunctional characteristics support a wide range of uses
1. Flocculation and precipitation
Polyacrylamide aggregates suspended particles into flocs and accelerates sedimentation through mechanisms such as electrical neutralization and adsorption bridging. This feature makes it a key flocculant in water treatment (such as sewage treatment, drinking water purification), papermaking wastewater treatment, coal washing and mineral processing.
2. Thickening and rheological regulation
The high viscosity property makes it an oil displacement agent in oil extraction to increase the recovery rate, and improves water retention and strength in building materials (such as concrete, putty powder).
3. Adsorption and dispersion ability
It adsorbs impurities through polar groups and is used for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment, textile printing and dyeing wastewater purification, and even macromolecular drug controlled release in the field of biomedicine.
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II. Typical scenarios of cross-industry applications
1. Water treatment industry
- Raw water treatment: Use inorganic flocculants to reduce turbidity and improve water purification efficiency.
- Industrial wastewater: The effect is significant when treating oily wastewater and high-concentration organic wastewater (such as coking wastewater).
- Sludge dehydration: Cationic PAM can efficiently compress sludge particles and reduce water content.
2. Petroleum and mining
- Oilfield development: As a drilling fluid regulator and tertiary oil recovery agent, it reduces friction resistance and improves recovery rate.
- Mineral separation: Promote solid-liquid separation in coal washing and mineral processing to reduce resource loss.
3. Papermaking and textiles
- Papermaking additives: Improve filler retention, paper strength, and reduce fiber loss.
- Textile finishing: As a finishing agent to enhance the wrinkle resistance of fabrics, or used for printing and dyeing wastewater treatment.
4. Other fields
- Agriculture: As a soil water retention agent, it improves crop drought resistance.
- Medicine: Gels are used as drug carriers and chromatographic separation.
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III. Adaptability and modification potential
1. Diversified product types
By adjusting the ionicity (anionic, cationic, nonionic, zwitterionic) and molecular weight, it can adapt to different scenarios. For example, anionic type is suitable for high turbidity water treatment, and cationic type is more suitable for sludge dewatering.
2. Modification technology expands application
Through hydrophobic modification, cross-linking and other means, smart hydrogels, highly absorbent resins, etc. can be prepared, extending to the fields of biomedicine and environmentally friendly new materials.
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IV. Environmental protection and economic benefit drive
With the tightening of environmental protection policies, polyacrylamide plays an increasingly important role in reducing wastewater pollution and resource recycling. For example, its application can reduce the amount of inorganic flocculants by more than 50%, while improving treatment efficiency], which meets the needs of sustainable development.
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Summary
Polyacrylamide has become a "hundred-industry additive" across water treatment, energy, manufacturing, agriculture and other fields due to its versatility, industry adaptability and environmental value. For specific application cases and technical details, please refer to relevant industry literature or the above search results].