Chemical Cleaning

Technology of fire heater tube outer surface cleaning online

Service. Chemical cleaning technology of the exterior surfaces of tubes of fired heaters (and/or WHBs) is a high-technology service, based on the use of chemical reagents, made ​​in online mode – without interrupting the process of fired heaters (and/or WHBs) operation and is the most cost-effective and appropriate method of service of fired heaters (and/or WHBs) with a high efficiency of the subsequent operation.

This cleaning method will be useful:

  • When working on mixed fuel (liquid fuel, natural gas, natural gas, and gas of own production);
  • When working on natural gas, but previously mixed composition or liquid fuel were used;
  • Working on natural gas, when the pipes of radiant and mainly convection sections have deposits (mainly soot and metal oxide products).

Regular and planned injection of reagent restores optimum operating parameters of the fired heaters (and/or WHBs) operation. The average time of reagent injection work at a unit is 3-5 days.

Process.

  1. Injection of chemical into the flow of heater/boiler flue gas
  2. Removal of loose deposits by blowoff with compressed air if access holes are available or application of stationary soot blowing system
  3. Blasting cleaning with soft abrasive (by granulate)

This technology has been successfully applied in the refining, petrochemical, and chemical industries, and also at thermal power plants and waste incineration plants.

Advantages:

  • Cleaning of both convection and radiant heaters’ sections
  • Cleaning can be performed online
  • Increase in equipment performance and heat exchange improvement
  • Reduction of fuel consumption
  • Reduction of NOx and SOx emissions
  • Application of safe chemicals
  • No risk of refractory and thermocouple instrument damage
  • Reduction of pipe corrosion
  • Reduction of maintenance expenses and an increase of run life

Before and after cleaning

During the work process

Cleaning of the outer surface of air-cooled units

Service. We clean the outer surface of the air-cooling unit’s pipes without the shutdown of the equipment. For this purpose, we use blasting.

Process. We apply a soft abrasive to the dirty surface of the air conditioning pipes. The air-abrasive flow passes through all rows of pipes, cleaning the ribbed surface from deposits. Deposits, together with the abrasive used, are carried away into the atmosphere by the dispersed compressed air stream.

Advantages. The abrasive used has low hardness. It does not scratch the surface of aluminum ribs, does not cause corrosion and is non-toxic. Compared to liquid-phase methods:

  • It does not require the air conditioning unit to shut down (it is sufficient to stop the fans alternately for short periods).
  • Applicable at almost any temperature range.
  • No toxic or aggressive components.
  • No disposal problem, the environmental damage is minimal.
  • When used on air handling units with inlet and outlet fans, not need in the fan shutdown.

Before and after cleaning

Chemical Treatment

Service. We steam the columns and apparatus with chemicals for 18-24 hours. We remove benzene, volatile hydrocarbon and partially hydrocarbonic residue, deactivate pyrophoric compositions. We provide fast and secure access inside the columns before processing.

Process. During steam cleaning the chemical is injected into the steam flow. After heating system, the reagent goes into the processing equipment and at the temperature of 100 C goes in contact with all the internal surfaces, reducing the surface tension of hydrocarbon deposits, thereby softening them, dissolution simultaneous oxidation and output as part of the water-hydrocarbon emulsion from the system.

Dynamics of removal of harmful substances

Concentration of contaminators will be measured from time to time by our staff.

Advantages:

Chemical treatment against ordinary steaming:

  • Less maintenance shut off time (due to reduction of entry time and mechanical cleaning time)
  • Lower inflammation risks
  • Lower steam and water consumption
  • Facilitation of further mechanical cleaning from coke, non-organic and hydrocarbon deposits
  • Wide application area – this method can be applied (when washing with water and steaming) both for separate equipment units and for the whole system
  • Fast and safe preparation of equipment for opening
  • Saving of plant resource
  • Personnel security

Process equipment chemical cleaning

Service. Wash the dirty internal surfaces of the equipment with a reagent.

Field of application
The chemical treatment is suitable for cleaning:

  • shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers,
  • water-heating and steam boilers,
  • a stripping column.

Process.
Chemical treatment is a recycling of the detergent solution throughout the closed circuit of the washed unit using a special installation. It is carried out without disassembling the process equipment (only inlet and outlet points are used).

We help to get rid of the following types of deposits:

  • carbonate scale
  • sulfate scale
  • rust
  • iron scale
  • non-ferrous metal oxides
  • iron oxides
  • Heavy oil products (tar, bitumen, etc.)    
  • ash and masonry deposits
  • greasy and resinous impurities
  • barium sulfate
  • iron sulfides
  • plaster deposits
  • biological deposits
  • Milkstone and beer stone

Depending on the design features, the apparatus material, and sediments nature, we select reagents individually.