Date:  2009

Client:  Coventry & Solihull Waste Disposal Company

Problem:  In late November our engineers were performing routine maintenance which entailed removing the fresh water cooling heat exchangers from the steam generation plant for overhaul. Upon removal of the cooling water feed pipes we found heavy deposits on the pipe walls thought to be caused by the poor quality of the local water supply. An example is shown in the photo. The site manager was consulted who remarked a gradual reduction in performance of the cooling system had been observed.

Solution:  He was informed that PowerFal chemical cleaning division were available to mobilise equipment and travel to site at short notice to clean the system during the maintenance shutdown. Photo below left shows the level of deposits we had to deal with and the outcome after chemical cleaning..

We installed a filter to catch hard deposits leaving the remainder to be dissolved or flushed out in suspension.

Photo to the left shows our engineer monitoring solution strength, these tests indicate how successful the cleaning operation is and when the circulation process has done its job. Once circulation was complete and the pipe work was checked to be clean the system was neutralised and circulated with a passivating solution to protect the pipe work from oxidation whilst undergoing maintenance.

Our operations were complete in four days this included re fitting the heat exchangers and the removal of pipe work which required cleaning at our workshop.

We were very pleased with the results of cleaning operations as was the customer, the photograph above shows the before and after and the level of cleanliness we were able to achieve.