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FoulingInHeatExchangers:ACostlyProblem

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FoulingInHeatExchangers:ACostlyProblem
Tue,09/17/20138:01am
byJanDeBaatDoelman,President,ScalewatcherNorthAmericaInc.

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Thedepositionofmaterialonheattransfersurfacesiscalledfouling,whichsignificantlyimpactsthethermaland
mechanicalperformanceofheatexchangers.Foulingincreasestheoverallthermalresistanceandlowersthe
overallheattransfercoefficientofheatexchangersaswellasimpedesfluidflow,acceleratescorrosion,and
increasespressuredropacrosstheheatexchanger.Thecleaningoffouledheatexchangerspresentsasignificant
challengetomaintenanceandoperationofheatexchangersinprocessindustries.
Thecommonfoulingmechanismsare:
1. Particulatefoulingresultingfromsedimentofdust,rust,finesolidsandotherentrainedsolids.
2. CrystallizationfoulingCalciumcarbonateisthepredominantcomponentofthehardandtenaciousscale
depositfromwaterandisparticularlyapparentinprocessesinvolvingheattransfer.Aconcentrationof
dissolvedsolidsbyrepeatedpartialevaporationofthewateristhemainfactorthatcausescalcium
carbonatescale.Evensoftwaterwilleventuallybecomescaleformingwhenconcentratednumeroustimes,
i.e.two,three,four,orevenhigher.
3. BiologicalfoulingOccurswhenbiologicalorganismsgrowonheatexchangersurfaces.Problemscanbe
causedbyalgaeandothermicrobessuchasbarnaclesandzebramussels.Atcertaintimesoftheyear
whenmicrobesaresaidtobloom,coloniesseveralinchesthickmaygrowacrosstheheatexchanger
service,affectingthermalperformance.
4. ChemicalreactionfoulingThistypeoffoulingoccurswhenthedepositionsareformedasaresultofa
chemicalreaction.
5. CorrosionfoulingResultsfromachemicalreactionthatinvolvestheheatexchangersurfacematerial.
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Costs
Costsforextrafueloccurwhenfoulingleadstoextrafuelburninginboilersandfurnacesorwhenotherenergy
suchaselectricityorprocesssteamisneededtoovercometheeffectsoffouling.Itiscalculatedthatadditional
fuelandenergycostsequatetobillionsofdollarseachyear.
Additionalcostsareattributedtomaintenancechargesfortheremovaloffoulingdeposits.Manufacturersofheat
exchangersstatethat15percentofallfactorymaintenancecostsarecreditedtoheatexchangersandofthat50
percentisduetofouling.Addthecostsofplantshutdownfordaysatatime,andtheeffectoffoulingisonlytoo
plain.
Cleaning:
Therearenowfourpopularmethodsofremovingfouling:
Mechanicalcleaning,whichinvolvesbrushingandscraping.
Chemicalcleaning,whichusessolventsorchemicals.
Highvelocitycleaningusingwaterjets.
Electronicwatertreatment.
ElectronicWaterTreatmentTrials
ResearchcarriedoutatCranfieldUniversityintheUnitedKingdomidentifiedconditionsunderwhichmagnetic
treatmentcanleadtoamaximumof70percentreductionincalciumcarbonatescaleformation.Thedegreeto
whichscaleformationisinhibitedhasbeenidentifiedtobedependentonanumberofphysicochemicalconditions
suchastemperature,pH,hardness,andalkalinity.
During20062007,Uniquest,anindependentconsultingandresearchcompanyinQueensland,Australiawas
engagedtocarryoutlaboratoryinvestigationsandtestingontheheatexchangertubes.Anelectronicwater
treatmentdevicewasinstalledontoamanifestheatexchanger.Attheendofthe12monthperiod,itwasfound
thatnohardscalehadformedonsamplesduringtheperiodofthetrialnorwasthereanybiofoulingslime,
corrosion,orcalcitesludge.
ElectronicScaleRemoval
Inprocessindustries,itiscommonforchemicalstobeaddedtowatereitherbecausethewaterisbeingusedfor
scrubbingorcleaning,ortoachieveachemicalmineraleffectaspartoftheproductionprocess.Thisinevitably
leadstolimescaledeposition.Scalingdepositsarecommoninflowlinessubjecttochangesofpressureor
temperature.Regardlessofhowhardwatereffectsareachieved,theoutcomeisthesame:Scaleformationresults
inreduceddiameterorblockedpipes,reducedheattransferefficiency,seizedpumps,inoperarablevalves,
misleadingmeterreadings,anddefectiveheatingelements.
Toexplaintheeffectofelectronicscaleremoval,itisfirstimportanttounderstandthemajorfactorsthatcause
scale.Whilescalecanbeacomplexofmanyminerals,calciumcarbonateisthemostprevalentinindustrial
processes.

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Supersaturation
Aqueoussolutionscanbecomesupersaturated,whichmeansthattheycontainhigherconcentrationsofdissolved
solutethantheirequilibriumconcentration.Suchsolutionsarenotstableandareeasilytriggeredintodropping
backtosaturationlevel,forcingthedissolvedcompoundtoprecipitate.Evenwhenabulksolutionislessthanfully
saturated,scaleformationcanoccurspontaneouslyduetolocalizedsupersaturation,atasurfaceforexample.
pHEffectonScaleFormation
ThepHofthesolutionisdirectlyrelatedtoitsacidcontent(typicallycarbonicacid).Thehighertheacidcontent,
thelowerthepHnumber.ThesolubilityofcalciumcarbonateisdirectlyaffectedbythepHofthewater.IfthepH
ofthewaterisdecreased,morecalciumcarbonatesolidcanbedissolved.Conversely,ifthepHofthewaterrises,
itwillforcecalciumcarbonateoutofsolutionandhencescaledepositswillform.
TemperatureEffectonScaleFormation
Gasesingeneral,andspecificallycarbondioxide,arelesssolubleinwaterathightemperatures.Therefore,asthe
temperaturerises,thedissolvedcarbondioxidedecreases.ThisincreasesthepHofthefluid,reducingthe
solubilityofthecalciumcarbonateandforcingthemineraltodeposit.
PressureEffectsonScaleFormation
Carbondioxideandgasesingeneralaremoresolubleunderhigherpressure.Therefore,asthepressuredrops,
carbondioxidegaswillbeforcedoutofsolution,loweringthecarbonicacidconcentration.TheriseinpHis
associatedwithadropincalciumcarbonatesolubility,leadingtotheformationofmineralscaledeposits.
ElectronicWaterConditioning
ElectronicWaterTreatment(EWT)isanoninvasivesystemutilizingasolenoidcoilorcoilswrappedaroundthe
pipeworktobetreated.Acontinuouslyfrequencychangingsignalgenerator,withinaspecifiedrange,supplies
currenttothecoils.Thepulseshapedcurrentcreatesaninducedelectricfield,concentricaroundtheaxisinside
thepipe.Asaconsequencetothisarrangement,anychargedparticleorionmovingwithinthefieldexperiencesa
socalledLorentzforcegeneratedbytheinteractionbetweenchargedparticlesandmagneticandelectricfields.
Thetreatmentinfluencestheinitialnucleation,resultingincrystalsthatdonot"stick"together.Untreatedwater
buildsupmattedstructuresthatcontinuouslygrow.Thistreatmentcreatesidiomorphic,scatteredcrystals,which
donotformmattedstructures.Theyhavearotundasshape,whichmeansthattheyhavealargervolumein
relationtoasmallersurface.Thisfeaturemakesthemsensitivetowatercurrentsandtheyareeasilyflushedout
ofthepipeline.Asnonewscalelayersareformed,thesheerforceofthewaterflowwillgraduallyremoveexisting
layersofscale.Theabilitytoadjustpower,frequency,andcoilconfigurationsofproductsliketheScalewatcheron
siteenablesperformancetobeoptimizedwithnodowntimeandnopipereplacement.
BiologicalFoulingIsAlsoSuccessfullyTreatedWithEWT
TheimpactofzebramusselsextendsfromtheGreatLakeswatershedtothemouthoftheMississippiRiver.The
musselsaffectindustrybycloggingpipesandintakestructure.Crustaceansandzebramusselsaresimilarinthe
waytheyusecalciumakeycomponentofpipescaling.Theybothconvertcalciuminafreeionformtocalcium
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carbonatetoconstructtheirshellorexoskeleton.AstudyundertakenbyAquaticSciences,Inc.aninternational
underwaterinspectionservicefoundthatEWTtechnologywassuccessfulinremovingcalciumcarbonateand
therebydrasticallyreducingthelevelofzebramusselinfestation.
Thefoulingofheatexchangersinprocessingindustriesisachronicoperatingproblem.Costsduetoadditionalfuel
consumptionandmaintenance,lossofproduction,etc.havebeenestimatedas0.25percentoftheGNPof
industrializedcountries.EWTofferscompaniesanenvironmental,effective,andcostsavingmethodofreducing
foulingonheatexchangerswhichcanonlyproveawin,win,winscenarioforall.
TheScalewatcherisanenvironmentallyfriendlyalternativetochemicalandmechanicaldescaling.Launchedinthe
1980sithassuccessfullytreatedhardwaterproblemsforindustrialmanufacturersaswellaswatercompanies,oil
producers,farmers,horticulturists,shippingcompanies,shoppingcenters,school,universitiesandgovernment
establishments.
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