Trichloroisocyanuric acid is the organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

 with the formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 (C₃Cl₃N₃O₃). It is used as an industrial disinfectant, bleaching agent and a reagent in organic synthesis

Organic synthesis

Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the construction of organic compounds via organic reactions. Organic molecules can often contain a higher level of complexity compared to purely inorganic compounds, so the synthesis of organic compounds has...

. This white crystalline powder, which has a strong "chlorine

Chlorine

Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

odour," is sometimes sold in tablet or granule form for domestic and industrial use.

Use in water treatment

The compound is a disinfectant, algicide and bactericide mainly for swimming pools and dyestuffs, and is also used as a bleaching agent in the textile industries.

Applications:
It is widely used in civil sanitation, pools and spas, preventing and curing diseases in husbandry and fisheries, fruits and vegetables preservation, wastewater treatment, algaecide for recycling water of industry and air conditioning, anti shrink treatment for woolen, treating seeds, bleaching fabrics, and organic synthesis industry

Benefits of TCCA in Swimming Pool-

• Available with 90% chlorine concentration
• Due to high chlorine content, handling is easy for large pools.
• Reduces chlorine loss during day time. TCCA is stable it does not strip like any other halogen compounds.
• Reduces algae growth.
• Dissolves slowly in water, allowing for continuously metered dosing of available chlorine, especially when in tablet form.

Drawbacks of TCCA in Swimming Pool-

• Cyanuric Acid (CYA) build-up from TCCA use can decrease the effectiveness of Free Active Chlorine (FAC) over time.
• Such build up can only be reduced by dilution with water that does not contain CYA.
• The economics of this effect can greatly reduce the cost-effectiveness of high chlorine availability in TCCA.
• At high CYA concentrations, normal chlorine levels can be rendered ineffective, requiring either dilution by draining and refilling the pool or by adding abnormally high doses of chlorine to overcome this effect.

External links

• Symclosene data page
• Safety data for trichloroisocyanuric acid from Oxford University Chemistry Department.