合成聚电解质因其作为混凝剂或助凝剂的有效性而在美国被广泛使用。与明矾絮凝相比，合成聚电解质产生的污泥体积较小，其有效性不受水的pH水平影响。合成聚电解质在产生的污泥中提供更好的脱水特性，并促进更好的过滤性能。然而，这些产品的一个缺点是，它们对人类健康的长期影响还不清楚。天然聚电解质，如壳聚糖（阳离子）和海藻酸钠（阴离子），不仅与同等剂量的聚电解质一样有效，甚至更有效，而且不会对人类健康造成任何不良影响。 本文介绍了比较天然和合成聚电解质的benchand中试试验结果。这表明天然产品将是合成产品的可行替代品。包括19个参考文献、表格和图表。

Synthetic polyelectrolytes are widely used in the United States because of their effectiveness as a coagulant or coagulant aid. Synthetic polyelectrolytes produce a lower volume of sludge compared with alum flocculation, and their effectiveness is not affected by the pH level of water. Synthetic polyelectrolytes provide better dewatering characteristics in sludge produced and facilitate better filter performance. However, one drawback of these products is that their longterm effects on human health are not well understood. Natural polyelectrolytes such as chitosan (cationic) and sodium alginate (anionic) are not only as effective as or even more effective then their counterparts at similar dosages, but they also do not cause any adverse effects to human health. This article presents results of benchand pilot-scale tests that compared natural and synthetic polyelectrolytes. It suggests that natural products would be workable substitutes for synthetic products. Includes 19 references, tables, figures.