Dichlor and Trichlor both are commonly used disinfectants, with excellent disinfecting and sterilizing performances. So what are similarities and differences between them? This article will help a lot.
What is Dichlor
Dichlor, also known as Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate (SDIC or NaDCC), usually white granules, is a compound widely used as a disinfectant. Due to 55%-60% available chlorine content, it is effective in killing bacteria, viruses and algae in the water. In addition, it can be made with an effervescent agent as Effervescent Tablets, which dissolve much higher than pure dichloride tablets. It's commonly used for household disinfection.
What is Trichlor
Trichlor, also known as trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), is also widely used to sterilize and disinfect, and is available in white tablets, granules, or powder for flexibility in use. The available chlorine content of pure TCCA can reach 90%, which is highly effective at killing bacteria, viruses and algae, thus making it the first choice for water treatment in swimming pools, spas and water purification.
Similarities Between Dichlor and Trichlor
As disinfecting chemicals, SDIC and TCCA have a lot in common. Both are stabilized chlorine, which can hydrolyze to cyanuric acid (CYA), thus protecting the chlorine in outdoor pools from UV ray's damage. Moreover, they not only have good security, but also have a long shelf life.
Differences Between Dichlor and Trichlor
As the saying goes, no two leaves in the world are exactly alike. SDIC and TCCA also have many differences, which are reflected in the following aspects:
- Chlorine Content
SDIC and TCCA are widely used in pool maintenance, water treatment and other fields where chlorine content is an important factor. SDIC usually contains 55%, 56% or 60% available chlorine. On the contrary, the available chlorine content of TCCA can reach 90%.
- Dissolution Rate
SDIC disinfectant dissolves quickly and has the high solubility feature, which enables it to quickly dissolve and release available chlorine in the water, thereby rapidly playing a role in killing bacteria. So it is used in applications that require immediate release of chlorine. For example, SDIC can be used to increase the chlorine concentration in daily maintenance, outdoor drinking water disinfection, etc. While TCCA has a low solubility, which make it steadily release chlorine for a long time, and it's suitable for continuous chlorination process.
- pH Level
In the swimming pool maintenance, the pH level is an important factor that affects the water quality. SDIC has little impact on swimming pool pH, but TCCA solution is acidic after being dissolving in water, which will lower the pH level of pool water.
- Applications
SDIC is widely used in agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture, textile and other fields. Its strong sterilizing ability and low residue characteristics make it one of the indispensable disinfectants in these fields. Because of its high chlorine content and excellent bacteria-killing effect, TCCA occupies a leading position in many fields such as swimming pool water disinfection, hospital disinfection and tableware disinfection. In addition, TCCA is also widely used in industrial water treatment, bleaching agent, disinfectants, etc. In fact, both SDIC and TCCA are common in the same field, for example, they can be used for pool water treatment.
In short, SDIC and TCCA are excellent Disinfectants, widely used in a variety of fields. You can choose the suitable disinfectant based on your needs.