What is Polyphosphate ?

Polyphosphates are a food additive that are used to treat municipal drinking water. They are certified to ANSI/NSF Standard #60 Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals and are approved for use in potable drinking water.

• Polyphosphates are the esters of polymeric Oxyanions formed from tetrahedral Phosphate  structural units linked together by sharing oxygen atoms.
• Polyphosphates are applicable as water softening agents because they form soluble complexes with cationic species of hard water, which is the cause of the hardness of the water.
• The hardness of the water is mainly caused by the presence of naturally occurring dissolved calcium and magnesium ions.
• Water softening is the process of removing the dissolved calcium and magnesium salts that causes the hardness of the water.
• The reaction of the water softening process in the presence of polyphosphate- A water softening agent is: