×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Onstream chemical cleaning of cooling water heat exchangers

Onstream chemical cleaning of cooling water heat exchangers

Onstream chemical cleaning of cooling water heat exchangers

(OP)
Hi, Does anyone have experience with onstream inhibited acid cleaning of cooling water heat exchangers. We suspect that these cooling water/wet gas compressor heat exchangers are fouling due to calcium carbonate deposits made worse by low flow conditions and high elevation (pump head limits).

Does anyone have experience with rhodamine or similar inhibitors? Does anyone have advice for avoiding problems during the cleaning procedure? AB Clean is the contractor suggested to do it.  They plan to use rhodamine (not sure of the concentration yet) and temporarily drop the pH to 4-6.  I am hoping to get them to just treat this exchanger and avoid sending over to the cooling water tower.

RE: Onstream chemical cleaning of cooling water heat exchangers

1. Make sure that you all of the metals in your system.  You don't want to fix one problem and cause 3 others.
2. Open units and inspect and take samples.  Make sure that you KNOW what is fouling the tubes.  Make sure that the cleaning proposed will remove it.  And make sure that there is a test to indicate when you have reached the end point.  Time is not an indication of cleaning, chemical tests are.

I have seen people clean systems with a tank truck and aux pump.  There should be continuous circulation.  There is no need to run full flow and you are right in not wanting this in your tower.  Unless it need descaling also.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Rust never sleeps
Neither should your protection
http://www.trent-tube.com/contact/Tech_Assist.cfm

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources