What Is Chemical Cleaning and Why It’s Recommended

Chemical cleaning is a method that is used in removing equipment from walls and surfaces, removing unwanted contaminants from; heat exchangers, pipelines, kettles and vessels. Chemical cleaning involves purification, treatment, conditioning and the disinfection of water. Its services ranges from an ongoing maintenance to a new construction.

The construction of new facilities usually undergoes cleaning before start-up. For the maintenance purpose which is because of; scales, oxides, oil and debris that ought to be removed for an efficient running of the plant. Cleaning is essential in order for the vessels, pipelines and process systems to work at its peak.

Chemical cleaning has two major categories; which are pre-operational of commissioning activities and post-operational chemical cleaning. Pre-operational chemical cleaning is done to remove any present foreign material from construction activities. It is done on the pipe or the fabrication system, its major considerations are; oil, grease, mill scale, corrosion products, temporary protective coatings, sand, dirt plus any other construction debris.

Post-operational chemical cleaning on the other hand is performed due to a number of reasons for instance;  the reduction in heat transfer, reduction in surface area, access to full inspection, safety, a reduction in flow and so much more. The frequency and the type of post-operational chemical cleaning to be done vary with the operating requirements, the history of operation plus fluid or water treatment and the design of the system.

Recommendations for Chemical Cleaning

• Building on the existing efforts and the acceleration of their delivery is essential. There can be a particular focus on training the chemistry and chemical engineering students.
• Business executives need professional development in sustainability. For instance, the R&D managers ought to first understand and then support innovations; that reduce or avoid the environmental plus society impact.
• Professional societies are to encourage the integration of sustainability plus green chemistry and engineering facts to standardize testing, certification and accreditation programs.
• The education material like the lab modules, new textbooks and LCA module to infuse the sustainability; plus green chemistry concept to the essential materials to be developed.

When choosing the appropriate chemical cleaning method consider factor such as; the cost, deposit solubility in the cleaning fluid, the characteristic plus the quantity of deposits and the system design among others.