Non-Carbonate Scale Removal

HydroFLOW can assist not only with the treatment and prevention of normal limescale – i.e. calcium carbonate, but also with the treatment of non-carbonate scale, such as sulphate and phosphate scale. Non-carbonate scale occurs in a range of industrial applications such as in mining and smelting works, in pipelines and other systems.

In this example – a nickel mine and smelting works – a pulp mixture of sulphide concentrate and water was pumped through several pipelines, each one over a kilometre in length. The scale which would accumulate in the pipelines, significantly reducing the carrying capacity and the flow rate, and the pipelines would often become fully blocked in only 6 weeks, necessitating a deep clean.

The HydroFLOW was installed on two of the pipelines for a 45 day trial. Flow rate and the mass of pumped concentrate were monitored and compared with results from the other pipelines which had no HydroFLOW installed. With the HydroFLOW, the rate of blockage of the pipeline was 8.8 times lower, and the mass of pumped concentrate over the trial period was 2.26 times larger. The operators of the mine found that with the HydroFLOW it was possible to work with pulp of a higher density and to increase the intervals between maintenance checks. Flushing during the cleaning process was also seen to be more efficient with the HydroFLOW, due to the softening of any remaining scale.