To operate at peak performance, heat exchangers must have scheduled cleaning, which involves removing the lime, scale, and rust that builds up over time. The scale decreases the efficient transfer of heat from one medium to another, which is the exchanger’s purpose.
If your facility uses heat exchangers, cooling towers, boilers, or steam systems, you must decide the best products and equipment to descale this equipment. The choice between traditional chemical and organic descaling solvents in the cleaning process has significant ramifications for the environment, equipment, and workers.
Comparing Chemical and Green Descaling
Both chemical and green descalers flush through a system, removing existing scale buildup. While these descaling options clean the equipment, chemical descalers have been proven to have harmful aftereffects. Chemical descalers use hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or citric acid. Though corrosion inhibitors are often added to these acids to provide a layer of protection, the result is minimal regarding the harsh side effects. Chemical descalers can cause skin and eye burns, respiratory irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and organ or neurological damage in severe cases to the operator if not properly equipped with safety gear. When descaling equipment with chemical descalers, increased corrosion, pitting, and equipment failure can occur. Harm to the environment is also a major concern with chemical descalers. Contaminated water systems, harm to wildlife, lower soil fertility, and higher air pollution are just some of the adverse effects of chemical descalers.
The Introduction of Green Descaling
In recent years, there has been an influx of green descaling solutions. Descalers claiming to be biodegradable are less harmful than chemicals but are not completely safe to the environment because they can still release harmful chemicals and microplastics during degradation. However, organic descalers, such as WheelHouse Industries’ Quantum Organic Descaler™ line, provide environmentally safe descaling options that are as efficient and cost-effective as traditional descalers. Non-toxic and USDA Certified Biobased certified, these organic descalers are completely safe for the environment, equipment, and operators. Quantum does not “eat, attack, or dissolve” scale, it is formulated to break the calcium bonds in deposits to remove scale for an eco-friendly cleaning solution, allowing you to take a proactive role in preserving the environment while maintaining your equipment.
Many descalers claim to be green or biodegradable. But 100% organic descalers are the only truly safe descaling solution for employees, equipment, and the environment.