Complexing agents are used on a large scale in trade and industry to bind metal ions in the water by complex formation and thereby prevent unwanted disturbances in various processes. In water, they then no longer exist as free acids or salts, but as metal complexes. The toxicity of the complexing agents is usually not very pronounced, but complexing agents can be biodegraded only very poorly.
Quantitatively, EDTA, NTA and DTPA are the most widely represented products.


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