Anionic polyelectrolytes are widely used as flocculants, rheology control agents, and adhesives, employed especially in oil field operations as viscosity control agents for enhanced oil recovery and to a lesser degree in engineering fluids used for lubrication, for effluent reclaiming, and for opening oil passage channels in oil‐bearing rock.
Paper manufacture, mining, and water treatment processes also benefit from the use of acrylamide‐based polymers to flocculate solids in aqueous dispersions. The anionic polymers may interact with particles in aqueous dispersions in several ways that result in the stability or instability of the dispersions. The particles in solid‐liquid phases can be destabilized through three main mechanisms which promote flocculation and cause destabilization. These mechanisms are polymer bridging, charge neutralization, and polymer adsorption. The particles in solid‐liquid phases can be stabilized by the anionic polymers through both electrostatic and steric repulsive forces.
Anionic polyelectrolytes are lower in viscosity, dissolves faster for use in mining industries, paper industries, municipal sewage plants and water treatment plants. Anionic Polyelectrolyte has got a wide range of applications from water purification, oil recovery, color removal, paper making, mineral processing, etc. It has anionic emulsions and dry polyacrylamides which can be used wherever liquid/solids separation is needed in industrial effluent treatment applications.
