Why Clean My Equipment

Specialists in the chemical cleaning of boilers, heat exchangers, process piping, chill rolls, and cooling towers.

the solution for your scale and corrosion problems.

Water has been called the universal solvent, because it dissolves many substances. It never occurs in nature in a pure state, because groundwater picks up impurities as it seeps through rock strata. Surface water contains organic matter and insoluble suspended matter such as sand and silt. Even rain picks up oxygen and carbon dioxide as it falls to earth.

When water is turned into steam, the minerals previously dissolved in the water are left behind and deposit a scale on the hot boiler surfaces. This scale, mostly calcium and magnesium, is an excellent insulator and slows the transfer of heat to the water. When boiler surfaces are covered with scale, heat normally absorbed by the water goes up the stack instead, and the tube metal temperature rises to the point of failure.

The amount of scale dissolved in the feedwater is measured in parts per million (ppm). While parts per million may seem like an insignificant measurement, consider the accumulation of scale for a 100-hp boiler producing 3,450 lb of steam per hour with the feedwater hardness at 50 ppm.

Boiler failure occurs when scale is allowed to accumulate. Steel retains its strength up to 700 deg. F, and it starts to weaken above that point. At 1000 deg. F it has a hard time supporting its own weight. How does steel survive in a boiler when the flame temperature is 3,000 deg. F? It survives because the water absorbs the heat from the metal fast enough so the temperature of the metal does not reach the danger point. Start adding insulation such as scale between the metal and water, and the metal temperature increases. With enough scale, the metal will overheat causing blisters, bags, and eventually a ruptured pressure part.

 

Please Contact Us
P.O. Box 96, Russell, IL 60075
Office Phone: 800-228-6462
Fax:  847-838-2226