China Proposes Standard For Drinking-Water Treatment Polyacrylamides

China has notified a draft national standard for polyacrylamides used in drinking-water treatment. WTO notification G/TBT/N/CHN/2371, dated 26 October 2026, sets a comment deadline of 25 November 2026.

The proposal covers anionic and non-ionic polyacrylamides used in treating drinking-water sources. Cationic polyacrylamides are expressly outside its scope. The notification describes the products’ principal uses as coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation during source-water treatment.

Proposed Product Specifications

The draft standard specifies requirements for the treatment chemical itself, together with test methods, inspection rules, marking, packaging, transport and storage.

Table 1 would limit residual acrylamide monomer to 0.02% on a dry basis. That is a specification for the polyacrylamide product, not a concentration limit for finished drinking water.

Other proposed requirements include:

• A solids content of at least 90.0%.
• Intrinsic viscosity at 30°C of at least 3.5 dL/g.
• Dissolution within 60 minutes for anionic products and 90 minutes for non-ionic products.

The table also sets limits for specified impurities, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium. Its footnote requires compliance with GB/T 17218 and relevant laws and regulations, alongside the listed specifications.

Adoption And Transition Remain Proposed

The notified text is a consultation draft, with a placeholder standard number and publication and implementation dates. The WTO notification states that the adoption date is still to be determined and proposes entry into force 12 months after approval. It therefore does not establish a fixed date when suppliers must comply with a newly adopted standard.