FLOPAM FO 4698 Equivalent — High-Charge Standard-MW Cationic PAM

The key purchase data for bare FO 4698 is High charge and Standard molecular weight on SNF's own scale, with a 5 g/L Brookfield reference of approximately 250 cps. FO 4698 SH, on the same page of the catalogue, sits at Medium charge and High molecular weight with a 5 g/L reference of approximately 550 cps. These are not a base grade and a variant — they are two different positions in the charge-versus-chain-length grid. When a buyer quotes the number without the suffix, the first step is to measure the 5 g/L solution viscosity of the incumbent material and match it to the correct row before any grade is screened.

ChinaPAM screens for bare FO 4698 duty from C8002 and C8025, which sit in the High charge band on our own scale. Manufacturer scales are not converted between each other. Our Medium and High bands describe positions within our own product family, not a translated copy of SNF's descriptors. The comparison table shows each side labelled with whose scale it is, which keeps the stated precision within what each manufacturer actually published.

The longer-chain lane — C8003, C8035 and adjacent grades — is held available and opened only when trial data shows that floc survival under belt press or centrifuge shear requires a higher own-MW input. Opening the longer-chain lane without a process reason can increase make-up load, shift dose-response behaviour, and move the optimum dose further from the existing FO 4698 reference point. Start from the charge-aligned lane, establish the dose-response curve, then make a data-based decision about whether the molecular weight step is needed.

The first failure mode is copying FO 4698 SH data to the bare number. A buyer who consults the SH row and starts a trial from a Medium-charge, High-MW route when the incumbent is the bare High-charge, Standard-MW grade is starting from the wrong charge and molecular weight lane on both axes. The material put on trial is not the one the published bare FO 4698 position points to, and the comparison against your incumbent is invalidated before any dosing begins. Require the full printed grade string and compare the incumbent 5 g/L viscosity against the bare row's approximately 250 cps reference before confirming the screening lane.

The second failure mode is opening the longer-chain lane without a process reason. The charge-aligned C8002/C8025 route starts from the documented High charge position. Opening a higher-MW lane without trial evidence — because "more chain length can't hurt" — can shift the make-up load upward, change the dose-response profile, and move the operating point away from the buyer's established FO 4698 reference. Start in the charge-aligned lane, establish the dose-response curve against your current polymer on the same sludge, and open the longer-chain lane only if shear survival data supports it.

Send the complete grade string as it appears on the bag or purchase order — bare FO 4698 without a suffix, or with whatever suffix is printed. Include your sludge type (municipal digested, waste activated, industrial, mixed), dewatering equipment type (belt press, centrifuge, screw press), and your current dose rate and concentration. We confirm the starting grade at enquiry and provide current pricing, TDS, MSDS and batch COA.

For the trial: make up at 1–3 g/L with full dissolution within 60 minutes. Run CST or jar test at matched active polymer dose on the same sludge as your current FO 4698, on the same day. Record cake solids or settled solids, filtrate or centrate clarity, and polymer consumption at each dose point. Compare against your current FO 4698 results under the same conditions.

If cake solids or floc formation are acceptable but shear survival under the centrifuge bowl is marginal, we can provide C8003 or C8035 for a second trial leg. The decision to open the longer-chain lane should be based on process data, not on the catalogue description.