On the issue of formic acid sodium scaling in heat exchangers
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The oil phase after passing through the oil-water separator contains some water, while the water phase contains dissolved formic acid. After this oil phase enters the refining tower, the sodium formate, being a heavier component, moves to the bottom of the tower. At high temperatures, sodium formate causes scaling in the reboiler at the bottom of the tower, thereby blocking the heat exchangers. Are there any good solutions for this issue? Thank you!
It is recommended to make the oil-water separation process cyclic: by adding deionized water to the oil after separation and then circulating it back to the oil-water separation unit, it is possible to effectively reduce the amount of formic acid sodium present in the oil as a result of water contamination. Alternatively, multiple washing cycles and oil-water separations can be carried out
Thank you for your suggestion. The device is still in the pilot stage, and we will conduct tests following your advice. Thank you again!
If special materials are not required for the heat exchange tubes in the reboiler, an approach that involves using springs inside the tubes to remove scale automatically on-site can be employed. This is a technology developed over 30 years ago, and it was used in thousands of applications in the petrochemical industry during the 1990s. Used in thermal siphon reboilers, improved segmented springs are preferred due to the low flow rate.
Thank you for your reply; I really had never heard of this method before. I’ll go check the relevant literature.