Recommendation of Water Quality for BHE Units.

It is suggested that precautions are taken so that fouling/corrosion on the units does not occur.

• In water systems, if the water is dirty and contains sediments, a strainer of a mesh size of
approximately 0.5 mm is to be installed in the water circuit at the inlet to the H/Ex.

• Avoid using water containing a high percentage of dissolved solids. This can form scales on
the heat transfer surface and reduce the thermal efficiency of the H/ex, which is then to be
cleaned in place by circulating a suitable CIP solution to dissolve the scales.

• The water also should not contain chlorides, which can attack the stainless steel plates and
can cause pitting, crevice corrosion which will develop into pinholes on the plates. The
permissible chloride content is less than 50ppm at a Ph of 7.0 for the water. At lower Ph
values, the chloride limits are still lower.

• Usually it is advisable to maintain a Ph between 6.5-7.5, as a higher Ph will increase the risk
for scaling and a lower Ph will increase the risk of corrosion attack by the chlorides.

• For preventing scaling it is necessary to keep the following as low as possible.

• Total Solids
• Alkanity
• Calcium Content

• It is suggested a check made, about the scaling tendencies of the water by analyzing the
above factors and the Ph value of water. There can be various combinations of the above
values which give an acceptable analysis at the operating temperature. One such typical water
analysis is given below.

• Ph Value-7
• Alkalinity as Caco3,ppm – 50
• Calcium as Caco3,ppm – 100
• T.D.S , ppm – 500

** This water will have less scaling tendency upto an operating temp of 60 deg.

Another set of values are as below:

• Ph Value-8
• Alkalinity as Caco3,ppm – 30
• Calcium as Caco3,ppm – 200
• T.D.S , ppm – 500

** This water will have less scaling tendency upto an operating temp of 50 deg.