To protect the environment and ensure the efficient use of resources, wastewater must be treated to meet discharge standards before it can be discharged or recycled. In this process, chemical agents play a crucial role. Depending on their intended use, these agents are categorized as follows:

Flocculants: These agents enhance solid-liquid separation and are primarily used in sedimentation tanks, secondary sedimentation tanks, tertiary treatment, or advanced treatment processes.

Coagulant aids: As the name suggests, coagulant aids assist flocculants in enhancing their effectiveness.

Conditioning agents: Also known as dewatering agents in the market, these are primarily used in the conditioning stage prior to sludge dewatering, including the aforementioned flocculants and coagulant aids.

Emulsifier breakers: Used for pretreatment in flotation processes when wastewater contains emulsified oil.

Foam inhibitors: Eliminate excessive foam generated during aeration or mixing.

pH adjusters: Used to adjust alkaline or acidic wastewater. Acidic adjusters are added for alkaline wastewater, and alkaline adjusters for acidic wastewater.

Oxidizing/reducing agents: Primarily used for industrial wastewater containing oxidizing or reducing substances.

Disinfectants: Used for disinfection treatment before wastewater discharge or secondary use.

Although there are numerous types of chemicals, a single chemical can often be used in different situations, performing different functions and thus having different names.