Why is corrosion and scaling of the tube bundles in petrochemical heat exchangers a problem that requires our attention?
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The images above show the corrosion and scaling conditions of the gasoline water cooler (on the gasoline side) and the wastewater cooler in a certain petrochemical facility; the tube bundles have a short service life and result in low heat exchange efficiency. This is a common phenomenon in petrochemical carbon steel pipe bundles, posing a significant bottleneck for enterprise production. It is also a challenge facing us, the technical professionals. How to prevent corrosion of carbon steel heat exchanger tubes to ensure no corrosion or scaling occurs.
Leaks caused by corrosion in heat exchangers pose serious problems for enterprise production; it is hoped that breakthroughs can be achieved in low-cost corrosion-resistant technologies
Hello, dear author. Some of the heat exchangers in our factory work fine without any leaks under normal use, but after undergoing major maintenance and cleaning, and after being disassembled and reassembled, they start leaking even more. I would like to ask if you have encountered such a problem before? Is it necessarily beneficial to disassemble and clean a heat exchanger, or could it have negative effects instead?
In your case, it’s likely that the tubes of the heat exchanger have been corroded and punctured; the holes are very small and blocked by dirt and corrosion products. No leakage was observed at first, but after the dirt and corrosion products were removed through cleaning, the internal leakage increased significantly. The main issue is indeed tube corrosion. Analyze the corrosion mechanism; ideally, prevention through process controls is the best approach, with the addition of corrosion inhibitors being the simplest method.
Does cleaning the heat exchanger tube bundle cause significant damage to the tube bundle’s existing anti-corrosion protection?