Date: 2008

Client: HMS Enterprise

Problem:  The chemical cleaning division of PowerFal were called to the vessel after ships engineers had reported a significant build-up of marine growth in the main salt water cooling system.After inspecting sea chests and associated pipe work we discovered large areas of heavy growth within the system were nearly choking sections in some areas as can be seen in this shot of the main 300mm cross over line before cleaning facing and after cleaning below.

Solution:  After manually de-scaling accessible areas of pipe work we set up a circulation system to flow chemical solution throughout the ring main. The washings from the system became contaminated very quickly so we had to install a filter inline and change the chemical solution regularly to achieve optimum cleaning performance. Once our tests indicated the system was clean it was neutralised and charged with a passivating solution to prevent the pipework from oxidising during the remainder of the refit period.