Alfa Laval heat exchanger cleaning
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Is there an Alfa Laval heat exchanger used with concentrated sulfuric acid and water? Have any of them been cleaned? And how often, or under what conditions, is cleaning necessary?
It’s our third year; how long have you been using it?
If the heat exchange efficiency is poor and does not meet the process requirements, it needs to be cleaned.
Under the same conditions, by observing the temperature change trend, if the heat exchange efficiency is poor and the requirements for cooling concentrated acid are not met, then inspections and cleaning should be scheduled at an appropriate time. Now, many companies offer their own online cleaning services, and the results are quite good
The manufacturer says it needs to be inspected and cleaned every two years, but we think it’s unnecessary; the cost of cleaning it once is too high
In which process section do you use sulfuric acid? Why concentrated sulfuric acid? We use it in the purification section, and cleaning is carried out by changing the water side and the dilute acid side once a year!
Contact the manufacturer to have the appropriate rubber strips for the plate heat exchanger ready (usually the material of the strips is indicated on the manufacturer’s label), as well as scale remover and special adhesive. Before disassembly, measure and record the width of the plate exchanger. Be careful when removing the plates to avoid getting cut by them; some plates in the middle of the exchanger may have directional plates, so note their positions carefully. Collect the rubber strips, put descaling agent in a large bucket to soak the plates in – do not use wire brushes for descaling, and make sure the plates do not deform. After soaking, the plates can be rinsed with a high-pressure water gun; once dried, fix the rubber strips to the plates, and you can use special adhesive for securing them. When installing the plates, pay attention to the correct orientation, and ensure that the clips on the rubber strips are properly aligned (usually, on plates at the same level, the clips are one above the other). After all plates have been installed and tightened with plate bolts, their upper, middle, and lower dimensions are measured to ensure they match those before disassembly; then a pressure test is conducted using cooling water.