In which specific water treatment applications is ATMP the preferred or most cost-effective choice?

ATMP, despite being an older phosphonate, maintains its dominance in specific applications where its optimal balance of performance, reliability, and low cost makes it the preferred or most cost-effective choice.

Here are the key water treatment applications where ATMP is often the go-to phosphonate:

1. Industrial Cooling Water Systems (The Primary Domain)

Scenario: Large, open recirculating cooling towers with moderate to high hardness water, but where the calcium hardness is below ATMP's tolerance limit (typically < 1000 ppm as CaCO₃ to avoid Ca-ATMP precipitation).

Why ATMP is Preferred:

Cost-Performance King: For standard scale inhibition (CaCO₃, CaSO₄), ATMP provides excellent "threshold effect" performance at a lower raw material cost per active kilogram than more advanced phosphonates like HEDP or PBTC.

Proven Reliability: Its behavior is well-understood, and formulation chemistry with polymers (e.g., polyacrylic acid) and