Describe the duty before requesting a grade
Identify whether the polymer serves clarification, thickening or a downstream filtration step. Record coal-fines origin, changes in the mineral fraction and the presence of upstream reagents. These observations explain why samples from different shifts may respond differently.
Give the supplier the current product, dose basis and actual limitation. A nonionic candidate may merit screening, but the coal-washing label alone does not establish ionic character, molecular profile or a reliable operating dose.
Protect the baseline
Compare candidate and incumbent on material collected for the same test event. Keep mixing and observations consistent and record preparation instructions for each code. If the current product has no documented active fraction, compare commercial consumption explicitly.
Include liquid quality, solids capture and the relevant bed or cake behavior. A visual floc observation should not displace the endpoint needed by the installed equipment. Use the controlled trial plan to retain the comparison conditions.
Check transfer and recycle conditions
Follow the treated material through pumps and the actual route to the separator. If the result deteriorates, compare before-and-after samples rather than assuming the laboratory grade is wrong. The floc-transfer investigation separates preparation, delivery and transfer questions.
Recycle-water conditions may also change across the circuit. Identify stock-preparation water independently from the suspension so the supplier can review both rather than treating a single water analysis as complete.
Qualify the commercial proposal
Request the selected production code, release specification, packaging and documents for the actual order. Preserve the trial sample and retain the conditions that justified advancing it. Confirm the expected consumption and receiving destination rather than assuming sample dispatch implies bulk availability.
For a first order, agree a bounded equipment verification and how a poor result will be investigated. Do not approve an untested substitute simply because its sheet carries the same nonionic description.
Decision record for the quotation
| Decision | Evidence needed |
|---|---|
| Duty | Clarification, thickening or filtration requirement is stated separately. |
| Baseline | Matched feed and dose basis connect incumbent and candidate results. |
| Supply evidence | Production code and first-order verification are linked to the tested sample. |