DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060

product series
 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction TABLE I: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL Properties of the DEQUEST® 2040 PRODUCT SERIES

1 Introduction
2 Physical and Chemical
Properties of the DEQUEST®
The DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 series are PRODUCT DEQUEST® 2046 (1) DEQUEST® 2047(1) DEQUEST® 2047 G (1)
members of the family of organophosphonates
marketed under the Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A.
Chemical name Ethylenediamine tetra (methylene phophonic acid)
registered trademark DEQUEST®. All three series are

2040, 2050 and 2060 series aminophosphonates showing excellent chelation

properties with both alkaline earth and transition

2.1 DEQUEST® 2046/2047 phosphonates metals. Please consult the DEQUEST® "Introductory Abbreviation Na5EDTMPA Na3Ca2.5EDTMPA Na3Ca2.5EDTMPA
Brochure" for all details on the general properties of
phosphonates and on the other products available Sodium/ Sodium/
2.2 DEQUEST® 2054 phosphonate Product form Pentasodium salt solution
Calcium salt powder Calcium salt granule
in the DEQUEST® product range.
Clear to pale
Appearance Off-white free flowing powder Off-white free flowing granule
yellow aqueous solution
2.3 DEQUEST 2060S/2066/2066A/
®

This bulletin provides general data, physical, Physical & chemical

Properties
chemical and functional properties of
2066C2/4066 phosphonates 25 as acid
Active content [%] 32 – 36 as acid 32 – 36 as acid
• DEQUEST® 2046, 2047 and 2047G 31 as salt
• DEQUEST® 2054 Molecular weight 546 597 654
2.4 Hydrolytic stability
• DEQUEST ®
2060S, 2066, 2066A, 2066C2, and Mean particle size [µ] N.A. 100 min 800

4066 Specific gravity @ 20/20°C 1.32 0.47 – 0.90 g/cm³ (bulk density) 0.85 g/cm³ (bulk density)
2.5 Solubility pH (1% at 25°C) 6-8 11.6 – 12.8 11.6 – 12.8
Freezing point [°C] - 14 N.A. N.A.
2.6 Acidity
2 Physical and Chemical Chloride [%Cl] <5 10 – 20 10 – 20

3 Functional Properties of Properties of the DEQUEST® Iron [ppm Fe] < 20 < 20 < 20
DEQUEST® 2040,2050 and 2040, 2050 and 2060 series
Moisture [%] 14 – 17.5 14 – 17.5
2060 series
2.1 - DEQUEST® 2046/2047 phosphonates (1) not for sales in North America

3.1 Sequestration
Products belonging to the DEQUEST® 2040 series are
3.2 Scale inhibition good all purpose scale inhibitors. Of all DEQUEST® 2.2 - DEQUEST® 2054 phosphonate
3.2.1 Calcium carbonate phosphonates, they are the best sequestrants for alkaline

3.2.2 Calcium sulphate earth metals. They are excellent stabilizers of activated DEQUEST® 2054 is an excellent all purpose scale inhibitor, Chemical name: Hexamethylenediamine tetra

3.2.3 Barium sulphate bleach based laundry detergents. but relatively weak sequestrant. It can be particularly (methylene phosphonic acid) - HDTMPA
useful for applications where the presence of free metal Structure:
3.3 Peroxygen stabilization Chemical Name: Ethylenediaminetetra ions is desirable,or is used for catalytic purposes.
O O
(methylenephosphonic acid) - EDTMPA DEQUEST® 2054 is among the most effective of all anti- HO OH
P CH2 CH2 P
Chemical Structure: scalants tested by Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. for inhibiting
4 Quality of DEQUEST products® OH
O N (CH2)6 N O
OH

CaSO4 scale in surface and proces waters, particularly

O O OH P CH2 CH2 P OH
when a high degree of inhibition is required over long
HO OH
P CH2 CH2 P OH OH
OH OH periods of time.
O N (CH2)2 N
OH
OH P CH2 CH2 P
OH
OH O

2 3
 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

2.3 - DEQUEST® 2060S/2066/2066A/2066C2/4066 phosphonates Correctie niet duidelijk

TABLE II: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL Properties of DEQUEST® 2054

PRODUCT DEQUEST® 2054 Products belonging to the DEQUEST® 206X series are Chemical name: Diethylenetriamine penta (methylene
Chemical name Hexamethylene excellent all purpose scale inhibitors and sequestrants. phosphonic acid). - DTPMPA
diamine tetra (methylene phosphonic acid) They have been found to be outstanding Barium sulphate Chemical Structure:
Abbreviation K6HDTMPA scale inhibitors. They are also among the best known
O O
organic stabilizers for aqueous peroxides.
HO OH
Product form Hexapotas- P CH2 CH2 P
OH OH
sium solution O N (CH2)2 N (CH2)2 N O
DEQUEST ®
2060S/2066 are excellent stabilizers of
OH P CH2 CH2 P OH
Appearance Clear to pale activated bleach systems in laundry detergents. Moreover CH2
yellow aqueous solution OH OH
they are very efficient stain removal agents in liquid OH P O
Physical & chemical Properties
laundry detergents with outstanding enzyme compatibility. OH

DTPMPA (diethylenetriamine penta (methylene phospho-

Active content [%] 23 as acid
33 as salt nic acid)) dissolves in water only after partial ­neutralisation
or in strongly acid solutions DEQUEST® 2060S offers a liq-
Molecular weight 721
uid, stable and concentrated form of the DTPMPA. For
­handling convenience, DEQUEST® 2066, the neutral
Mean particle size [µ]
­sodium salt solution of DTPMPA and DEQUEST® 2066A, a

Specific gravity @ 20/20°C 1.29 ­partially neutralized acid grade, have also been developed
and are commercially available. DEQUEST® 2066A finds its
pH (1% at 25°C) 6-8 main use as an oilfield downhole scale inhibitor.
Other DTPMPA based grades include:
Freezing point [°C] - 18 • DEQUEST® 2066C2 is a more concentrated version of
DEQUEST® 2066, with an active acid content of 32%
Chloride [%Cl] <5 • DEQUEST® 4066 is a proprietary solid grade where the
phosphonate is physically DTPMPA bound in an alumino-
Iron [ppm Fe] < 35 silicate matrix

Moisture [%]

4 5
 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

FIG I: SOLUBILITY OF PHOSPHonATES CALCIUM SALT

TABLE III: Properties of the DEQUEST® 2060 PRODUCT SERIES 2.4 - Hydrolytic stability
DEQUEST® Increased calcium
PRODUCT DEQUEST® 2066 A DEQUEST® 2066 DEQUEST® 2066C2 DEQUEST® 4066
2060 S(1) phosphonate
DEQUEST ®
phosphonates exhibit exceptionally good
Chemical name Diethylenetriamine penta (methylene phosphonic acid) precipitation
hydrolytic stability, particularly as compared to inorganic
Turbidity Region
polyphosphates. This is due to the very stable nature of
phosphonates C – P linkages. They can be boiled for
Abbreviation DTPMPA DTPMPA.PN Na7DTPMPA Na7DTPMPA Na7DTPMPA several hours in aqueous solutions at either alkaline or
Threshold Sequestration
acid pH without showing signs of significant degradation. Region B Region
A C

Product form Acid solution Partly neutralized Heptasodium salt Heptasodium salt Heptasodium salt 2.5 - Solubility
sodium salt solution solution solution proprietary granule Increasing mole ratio of phosphonate to calcium
Appearance Clear, brown Clear, dark amber Clear amber Clear amber Off-white granule
aqueous solution aqueous solution aqueous solution aqueous solution DEQUEST ®
phosphonic acids and salts are in general
Physical & chemical highly soluble in aqueous solutions and insoluble in The relative importance of the regions A, B and C on the solubility
Properties curve of the phosphonate is specific for the type of molecule involved.
organic solvents. In water, they can be more easily It depends also on the use conditions, such as temperature, pH, water
Active content [%] 50 as acid 47 as acid 25 as acid 32 as acid 22 as acid hardness etc. As a general rule, higher pH and increasing calcium
32 as salt formulated than most other polyelectrolytes in presence levels shift the onset of precipitation toward lower concentrations of
Molecular weight 573 617 (approx) 727 727 727 of other organic and inorganic materials. They also form phosphonates.

Mean particle size N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. 150 min easily supersaturated solutions. In some cases it takes
[µ]
several months or years of storage at room temperature Under strongly alkaline conditions such as 1 to 2% NaOH
Specific gravity @ 1.42 1.41 1.29 1.40 0.60 – 0.80 g/cm³
20/20°C (bulk density) before equilibrium can be reached. Therefore, solutions, DEQUEST® 2046 forms the most soluble calcium
pH (1% at 25°C) <2 2–3 6–8 6-8 6-8 salts, as well as di or tri calcium complexes which remain
determinations of solubility can be difficult. To define
Freezing point [°C] - 25 - 20 - 14 < -15 them accurately within practical time, it is necessary to soluble at concentrations up to several thousands mg/l.
Chloride [%Cl] <5 <5 <5 <5 operate at temperatures above approx. 50°C.

Iron [ppm Fe] < 20 < 20 < 20 < 20 3/ Sodium Salts

1/ Acid Form In general, the solubility of DEQUEST® 2046 and 2066
Moisture [%] 4–6
At room temperature, the active acid of DEQUEST   2060S
® sodium salts drops with increasing pH and degree of
solubilises only in strongly acid solutions such as 15% neutralisation. At -10°C, the commercial solutions
: DTPMPA is a highly insoluble material in water. It can also easily form supersaturated solutions which display metastable characteristics,
(1)

including unpredictable precipitation. Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A.’s high purity material is available as a solution containing free hydrochloric HCl solutions. Above 50°C, DEQUEST 2060S is miscible
® containing 25% active acid at pH 7 are fairly close to the
acid in order to solubilise the organic acid under normal conditions. This product is the most concentrated stable form of this chemical that is
commercially available and Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. is marketing it under the DEQUEST® 2060S name. and soluble in water at any proportion. limit of solubility.

2/ Calcium Salts The solubility of DEQUEST® 2046 presents a sharp

Some phosphonates can form insoluble calcium salts in minimum at around pH 5 which corresponds to a tri-

aqueous systems of high calcium concentration, a sodium salt.

phenomenon termed the “turbidity region”. This

phenomenon is shown schematically in figure 1.
DEQUEST® 2046 sodium salt shows the property of
solidifying the entire volume of its solution when it is
supersaturated. This phenomenon may be related to the
formation or highly hydrated crystals using up the total
volume of water present.

The solubility of DEQUEST® 2046 and 2066 sodium salts

can also be strongly reduced by the presence of other
anions, such as sulfates, phosphates, chlorides etc.

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 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

2.6 - Acidity 3 Functional Properties of

DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060
Acidity constants have been determined for the active component of DEQUEST® 2046, 2054 and 2066 phosphonates. series
They are listed in Table IV.

3.1 - Sequestration

TABLE IV: ACIDITY CONSTANTS FOR THE ACTIVE ACID IN DEQUEST® 2046, 2054 AND 2066 PHOSPHONATES IN 0.1 M A common way of comparing the strength of sequestring
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE agents is to determine the thermodynamic stability of the

DEQUEST® 2046 DEQUEST® 2066 DEQUEST® 2054 complex formed. It is a measure of the extent to which a
specific chelate will form when the system has reached
p K1 - - -
equilibrium.
p K2 1.33 - <2

p K3 3.02 2.8 4.60

The mechanism of chelation (or sequestration) can be
p K4 5.17 4.45 5.28 represented by the following equation:
p K5 6.42 5.50 6.14

p K6 7.94 6.38 6.84

P-r
p K7 9.78 7.17 (13.06) M+n + L-m ML(n-m) MP(n-r)
p K8 12.99 8.15 (13.32) (soluble) (insoluble)
p K9 - 10.10 -

p K10 - 12.04 -
Where M+n is the metal ion, L-m the sequestering agent,
and P-r the precipitating agent.

For the formation of a given complex ML(n-m), the

equilibrium constant would be:

[ML(n-m)]
Ke =
[ML+n] [L-n]

A comparison of the stability constants gives an indication

of the amount of unsequestered metal ion in solution at
equilibrium. The larger the value, the smaller the
concentration of free ion. It also shows that with excess
sequestrant only, the stability constant determines its
efficiency, not its sequestration capacity.

The determination of stability constants is dependent

upon experimental conditions. Variables such as ionic
strength, pH, precipitating agent, method of measurement
and calculation assumptions can alter the apparent
stability constants. Accordingly, caution must be used in
the comparison of data on sequestering agents.

8 9
 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

Table V provides a comparison of the logarithm of the Table VII provides similar comparisons with Iron ions. TABLE V: COMPARISON OF THE LOGARITHM OF THE STABILITY CONSTANTS, LOGKML, OF ANALOGOUS AMINOPHOSPHONIC
­stability constants of polycarboxylates and polyphospho- AND CARBOXYLIC ACIDS1) AT 25°C in µ = 0.1 M
nates of identical chemical configuration for a number of
DEQUEST® DEQUEST® DEQUEST®
PRODUCT HDTA(3) EDTA(4) DTPA(5)
common cations. 2054 2046 2066
MgL 4.2 7.3 8.8 9.3 9.3 10.8
At acid or neutral pH, DEQUEST phosphonates present, in
®
CaL 4.2 6.6 10.7 10.2 10.8 10.7
general, lower stability constants with heavy metal ions BaL 2.8 5.8 7.9 8.0 8.8 8.2
than aminopolycarboxylic sequestrants such as EDTA.
MnL 9.0 12.0 13.9 14.6 15.5 17.3
However, under alkaline conditions, they are usually
CuL 15.4 19.9 18.8 21.7 21.4 25.3
superior sequestrants for metal ions.
ZnL 12.6 15.7 16.5 19.2 18.3 20.1

DEQUEST® 2054 produces a weaker phosphonate (1)

Abstracts from a PhD degree paper = “Stability Constants of Aminophosphonic Acids” by Albert S. Bruecken
complex, especially with alkaline earth metal ions. (Columbia University of Missouri, USA)
(2)
20°C, n=0,1M
DEQUEST® 2060 series fall in between DEQUEST®   2040 (3)
HDTA: Hexamethylene diamine tetra acetic acid
(4)
EDTA: Ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid
series and DEQUEST® 2054 in terms of sequestering (5)
DTPA: Diethylene triamine penta acetic acid

performance with alkaline earth metal ions. However,

DEQUEST® 2060 series has been found to be one of the
most efficient sequestrants for heavy metal ions.

In applications involving alkaline earth cations the

absolute level of residual unsequestered metal ions left in
solution has a lower importance as long as it is kept below
a critical value above which the metal ions would either
start reacting or precipitating with other ions. For example,
there is no need to use a strong complexing agent like
EDTA having a logarithm of the Stability Constant towards
Ca of 9.7 at pH 11, if the system can accommodate less
powerful sequestering systems with the logarithms of the
Stability Constants falling in the range of 5 to 6 under the
same conditions.

When a system offers such a flexibility, DEQUEST®

phosphonates can provide in several instances significant
cost advantages over many other sequestrants by showing
the ability to produce weaker polymetallic complexes,
which sequester several moles of a given metal ion for
each mole of phosphonate.

Table VI provides a few examples with Calcium to illustrate

this concept. For example, at pH 11, DEQUEST®
phosphonates can stabilize much more efficiently a
supersaturated solution of CaCO3 by sequestering from
two to three times more Calcium on a comparative active
product weight basis, as compared to commercial solutions
of standard sequestrants such as EDTA.

10 11
 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

TABLE VI: CALCIUM SEQUESTRATION BY DEQUEST® PHOSPHONATES in comparison with other chelants

Chelation Value1) Moles CaCO3 / Moles Chelant2)

Product Form
Oxalate3) Carbonate4) Oxalate Carbonate

DEQUEST® 2060S 50% Acid solution 301 526 2.97 5.20

NTA·3NaH2O (6)
93.45% Sodium salt, solid - 375 - 1.04

EDTA·4Na (5)
40% Sodium salt solution 107 140 1.02 1.33

DEQUEST® 2066 33% Sodium salt solution 84 124 1.05 1.55

HDTA·3Na(7) 40% Sodium solution 123 153 1.02 1.27

Citric Acid 100% Acid solids 118 489 0.23 0.94

Gluconic Acid 50% Acid solution 7 55 0.03 0.21

Glucoheptonate 100% Solids 3 57 0.01 0.14

(1)
Milligrams of CaCO3 chelated per 0.1 gram of product “as is” using respective method.
(2)
Moles of CaCO3 chelated by one mole of product 100% active acid.
(3)
Turbidimetric method in which oxalate is used as the precipitating anion at pH 11.
(4)
Turbidimetric method in which carbonate is used as the precipitating anion at pH 11.
(5)
EDTA - 4NA: Tetra Sodium Salt of Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid
(6)
NTA - 3NaH2O: Sodium Salt of nitrilo tetra acetic acid
(7)
HDTA: 3Na: Sodium Salt of hexamethylene diamine tetra acetic acid

TABLE VII: IRON SEQUESTRATION BY DEQUEST® PHOSPHONATES in comparison with other CHELANTS

Chelation Value

pH 8 pH 10 pH 12
Product
mg Fe/g 1)
Mole mg Fe/g 1)
Mole mg Fe/g 1)
Mole

Fe/mole2) Fe/mole2) Fe/mole2)

DEQUEST® 2046 80 2.5 130 4 70 2.2
DEQUEST® 2054 140 5.1 130 4.8 140 5.1
DEQUEST 2060S
®
210 4.3 250 5.1 200 4.1
40% EDTA·4Na 78 1.3 90 1.5 90 1.5

Data were obtained at room temperature as per Austrian Patent N° 267474

(1)
Milligrams of Iron chelated per 1.0 gram of product “as is”.
(2)
Moles of Iron chelated by one mole of product 100% active acid.
(3)
EDTA - 4Na: Tetra Sodium Salt of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid.

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 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 product series

3.2 - Scale inhibition 3.2.3 - Barium sulphate 3.3 - Peroxygen stabilization

DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and 2060 series are effective scale
inhibitors and their “threshold effect” (see “DEQUEST
Introductory Brochure” for more details) operates on many
different inorganic scales.
3.2.1 - Calcium carbonate
Although all the DEQUEST phosphonates are effective
® is DEQUEST® 2086. (Proprietary polyamine phosphonate
inhibitors of CaCO3 precipitation, DEQUEST 2000, 2010 ®
Barium sulphate is another scalant that is effectively
® controlled by DEQUEST® phosphonates. Inhibition of this
scalant is particularly important since it has very low water
solubility and resists removal by standard acid or alkaline
chemical treatment. Table IX shows that DEQUEST® 2046
and DEQUEST 2066 are very effective products for the
®
inhibition of this type of scale.
The best scale inhibitor for BaSO4 under low pH conditions
- please, refer to DEQUEST® Introductory Brochure).
Due to its exceptional high sequestration constants for
transition metals that can catalyse the decomposition of
peroxygen compounds such as hydrogen peroxide, sodium
percarbonate, sodium perborate and peracetic acid,
DEQUEST® 2040 and DEQUEST®  2060 series are the best
known stabilizers of formulations and processes based on
these bleaching agents. DEQUEST®  2046 and DEQUEST®
2066 are therefore very effective whiteness boosters in
laundry detergents, pulp & paper and the textile industries.

and 7000 are generally superior on a cost/performance

basis to the other DEQUEST® product families for calcium 4 Quality of DEQUEST® products
carbonate scales, particularly in industrial water & process TABLE IX: BARIUM SULPHATE SCALE INHIBITION

treatment applications. (see “DEQUEST® 2000, 2010 and ppm Inhibitor % Scale(1)
DEQUEST® products are covered by certification to quality
7000 product series"brochure for more details) Scale Inhibitor (Active Acid) Inhibition standard ISO 9002.
DEQUEST 2046 ®
3 39

5 67 In addition, the Newport (UK) Dequest® manufacturing site

3.2.2 - Calcium sulphate
10 94 is certified to the Environment Management System
Standard ISO 14001. It also participates in the European
DEQUEST® 2054 phosphonate appears to be among the DEQUEST® 2054 3 3
Community EMAS regulation (Eco Management Audit
most effective of all anti-scalant compounds tested by 5 4
Scheme) which requires independent verification of
Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. for inhibiting CaSO4 scale in 10 9
environmental performance.
river waters, particularly when a high degree of inhibition DEQUEST® 2066 3 39
is required over long periods of time. Table VIII provides a
5 48
comparison between various DEQUEST® series of
10 86
phosphonates for this type of scale.
Test conditions: 300 ppm Barium Sulfate
(1)

25°C
pH 7
24 hours
TABLE VIII: CALCIUM SULPHATE SCALE INHIBITION

% Scale Inhibition(1)

Scale Inhibitor 5 hours 1 day 3 days

DEQUEST® 2006(2) 19 76 100

DEQUEST® 2046 79 95 100

DEQUEST 2054
®
100 100 100

DEQUEST 2066
®
8 51 51
Test Conditions: 15000 ppm CaSO4
(1)

5 ppm active acid

25°C
pH 7

(2)
Dequest® 2006: Sodium Salt of ammotrumethylene phosphonic acid
(we refer to brochure " Dequest® 2000, 2010 and 7000 product series
for industrial water treatment applications"

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 DEQUEST® 2040, 2050 and
2060 product series

More information
If you would like to obtain more detailed information about DEQUEST® products or are interested in obtaining a
sample for evaluation in your system, please contact your nearest Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. representative or visit
our website: http://www.dequest.com

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The information in this bulletin is to the best of our knowledge true and accurate but all instructions, recommendations or suggestions are made without guarantee. Since the
conditions of use are beyond their control, Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. and its subsidiaries disclaim any liability for loss or damage suffered from use of these data and suggestions.
Furthermore, no liability is accepted if use of any product in accordance with these data or suggestions infringes any patent.