Discussion on the reduced cooling efficiency of crystallization tanks
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My workshop uses crystallization tanks with jackets for cooling. These tanks have been in use for 6 years now; the cooling medium is calcium chloride solution. They have not been professionally cleaned – only hot water cleaning was started in 2008, and it does provide some effect, but it isn’t as effective as it was in 2004. Back then, the cooling time was 6–7 hours, while now it’s around 9 hours. I wonder, experts, whether this is due to a decrease in cooling efficiency – could there be scale buildup inside the jackets? (I heard from others that it might be substances like calcium sulfate, but the cleaning company says it could be algae or microorganisms; however, they haven’t opened the jackets to check.) How should I clean them?
Apart from this possibility, it is mainly due to crystallization occurring on the wall of the vessel during the crystallization process, which leads to a decrease in the heat transfer coefficient.