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Zero-fouling
with hard water cooling
Cleaning Technology
In this case study , TAPROGGE * explains how it was able to achieve up to zero-fouling operations at a dairy plant by using its KLAREN self-cleaning heat exchanger technology .
All text and images provided by TAPROGGE GbmH
Vapor from a multi-effect Falling film Evaporator ( Shell Side )
Hard Well Water
A dairy plant in the USA suffered from severe fouling of three condensers used for condensing the vapor of a multieffect falling film evaporator due to hard well water used for the cooling process . Hard well water is water that originates from a well and contains a high mineral content , especially calcium and magnesium ions . When hard water is employed as a coolant in a condenser , these minerals can scale on the surfaces , diminishing the efficiency of heat transfer and potentially causing operational issues . |
Condenser system . |
Hard Well Water ( Tube side ) |
Condensate |
Problem The hard well water that is applied in the condensers has a hardness of 7-8 grain per gallon ( gpg ) and led to rapid scaling , reducing the cooling capacity significantly in a matter of days . One grain per gallon ( gpg ) is equivalent to 17.14 parts per million ( ppm ). Water hardness can be measured in gpg or ppm , but gpg is the most used measurement . Various conventional solutions ( for example regular cleaning , optimizing process conditions , etc .) had been tried by the customer to prevent this fouling problem , however without success . Plant management decided to replace their fouling conventional condensers by self-cleaning fluidized bed heat exchangers .
Results All three exchangers went into operation without any problems and were only opened once to twice a year for
Table 1 . KLAREN Technology dairy plant self-cleaning condenser operation .
Industry |
Dairy ( food ) |
Application |
Hard well water condenser |
Product |
Self-cleaning Condenser |
Location |
USA |
Year of Installation |
1988 |
Additional Purchase |
2023 |
inspection . The units operate 85 % of the time and are still running ( as of 2023 from 1988 ) to the satisfaction of the customer . The plant expresses that they are satisfied with the performance and operation of the heat exchanger . Fouling has never been observed , contrary to earlier experiences with conventional exchangers that required a lot of maintenance on a regular basis . The self-cleaning heat exchanger technology helped the customer to achieve up to zero-fouling operations .
Table 2 . Condenser system details .
Parameters
Tube Side Shell Side
Condenser I II III
Hard Well Water
Vapor Number of Tubes 7 19 19 OD / ID Tubes ( mm ) 51 x 1.5 60.3 x 1.5 Length Tubes ( m ) 6 Heat Transfer Area ( m 2 ) 6 18 21 Particle Size ( mm ) 3
Self-cleaning condenser . Conventional
Self-cleaning * KLAREN Technology is one of the competence brands of Taprogge GmbH and can be applied to heaters , coolers , evaporators , crystallizers , reboilers and condensers .
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