Chelating Agents General Information Chelating agents are used to solubilize hard water salts so that they stay in solution. Chelating agents are used in alkaline cleaners. Chelating agents do not decompose or lose their effectiveness at high temperatures. A major disadvantage of chelating agents is that they impair the ability of other chemicals to remove emulsified oil and dissolved metals from the solution. This can create a waste disposal problem. Chelating agents are produced in both powder and liquid form. The most common chelating agents are ethylene diamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) and nitrilo triacetate (NTA). State Information | Glossary | Conversion Checklist | Comments Home | Process Advisor | Alternatives | Links | Search All SAGE material, Copyright© 1992, Research Triangle Institute Last Update: 14 March 1995 sage@rti.org http://clean.rti.org/alt.cfm?id=ch&cat=gi