Air Cooled Condenser Cleaning
Air Cooled Condenser units have become increasingly popular in facilities to provide another option to the standard water cooled shell and tube units that have been the mainstay for condensing water in steam power plants since the inception of steam turbines. Since the units have become more popular air cooled condenser cleaning techniques and methods are becoming more important. The main benefit of the air cooled condensers is that these units do not use water to cool. They utilize large fans and airflow turn the steam back into liquid water. These air cooled condensers are essential for plants that are being built in areas where there are strict regulations on access to water or where water is not available. Over the years limited access to water sources for power plants has become a bigger issue and this has led to growing popularity in the use of air cooled condensers. Another benefit of air cooled condenser units is that they not only eliminate the traditional water cooled condensers but they also eliminate the need for cooling towers.
Projectile offers innovative methods for air cooled condenser cleaning as well as related maintenance on these units.
Air Cooled Condenser Cleaning Methods
A standard water cooled condenser is typically maintained by use of mechanical cleaning utilizing our patented tube cleaners, also known as projectiles. Our crews have completed this work for decades and every year we clean millions of tubes in Power Plants, Refineries and Food and Beverage facilities, and many other industrial plants. This process involves shooting projectiles through the tubes to remove deposit and return the unit to peak efficiency. Air cooled condensers and water cooled condensers have a similar maintenance problems and solutions – fouling reduces heat transfer and this fouling needs to be removed in order to return the unit to proper performance targets. In the case of air cooled condensers the fouling is not on the insides of the tubes, but on the outside tube finning. The fouling is not based on water chemistry, it is based on whatever fouling is in the air that is being used to cool the air cooled condenser. The best method for removing fouling from air cooled condenser fins is to use high volume, low pressure water. The high volume of water weighs down the solid fouling and assists with removing it. The water pressure assists with removal, but is not high enough to damage the fins, which is very important. The important technological benefit of Projectile’s air cooled condenser cleaning system is how the cleaning set up is designed to efficiently and safely clean air cooled condensers.
Traditional air cooled condenser cleaning methods involve tedious work at dangerous heights with scaffolds and ladders using fire hoses or hand lances to spray off condenser fins. The traditional air cooled condenser cleaning method has some considerable disadvantages such as safety hazards from doing manual work from dangerous heights. This work can cause exhaustion, injury, and potential for human error when at unsafe heights. Manual methods are also more prone to fin damage due to the climbing that needs to take place to reach all the fin surfaces. Damage can also result from using too high a pressure with pumps and nozzles that are not specifically designed to clean air cooled condenser fins. Damage done to the unit due to these practices could result in costly repairs and unexpected downtime in power generation. Manual spraying methods also tend to take more manhours to complete cleaning. Due to the excess man hours involved with this cleaning method, semi automatic methods are vastly safer and lower cost.
Other traditional methods use chemicals which, although could be effective, have an impact on the environment that is not desirable. These chemicals may not be acceptable by most industrial standards to be put down drains or on the ground and oftentimes are expensive and will run up the cost of the overall project. In most cases, water can completely clean air cooled condenser fins and the extra cost and environmental hurdles of using chemicals is simply not justifiable.
Projectile’s air cooled condenser cleaning system alleviates the issues with traditional cleaning methods and creates a safe, consistent, and very effective way to clean the finned tubing of air cooled condenser. Our method utilizes a semi-automated system that has a rail mounted series of sprayer heads of water only that travel up and down the length of the air cooled condenser to spray off debris and deposit. The system has an adjustable frame and tracks and can be adapted for use on A frame air cooled Condensers or horizontal Air Cooled Heat Exchangers. This can easily be adapted to work on A-frames, V-frames, vertical or flat horizontal heat exchangers with a compact size making portability easier.
Video Showing Projectile’s Air Cooled Condenser cleaning Process:
Benefits of Projectile System
Safety:
With Projectile’s air cooled condenser cleaning, safety is at the forefront as it allows operators to remain on walkways or on a platform at a safe height, completely eliminating the need for scaffolding or working at dangerous or unsafe heights. The rail system that feeds the spray nozzles up and down the heights of the air cooled condensers does the bulk of the work allowing the laborers to perform their cleaning with risks minimized.
Consistency:
The semi-automated feature enables the system to be driven at an optimal speed, with the right flow rate and pressure. This results in a faster, more consistent, and more efficient cleaning than hand washing, foam washers, or fire hoses. The sprayer heads can be set at a constant distance from the tubes as well as the feed of the heads can be set at a constant rate so that all sections of the tubing will be cleaned at the same effectiveness. The sprayer head utilizes low pressure high volume water so that the air cooled condenser cleaning will remove deposit, but it will not damage fin integrity.
Quality of Cleaning:
Projectile’s air cooled condenser cleaning system is designed to provide the highest quality cleaning. The pumping system is the optimal size from a volume and pressure standpoint to saturate and remove fouling. The sprayer nozzle angle and nozzle distance from the condenser fins is specifically designed to clean the fins with the least number of passes.
Before and After Cleaning ACC Fins
No Chemicals Needed:
Our system effectively cleans air cooled condensers with 100% water. There is no need to use harsh chemicals that other companies in the industry use. This decreases the environmental impact of the cleaning process and allows for savings as it eliminates the need for costly chemicals.
Flexibility:
Projectile’s air cooled condenser cleaning system can be transported anywhere in the United States with ease. Our cleaning crews will simply disassemble our cleaning system into small enough sections, load into our trailer, and travel to your site. Our method can be utilized while the unit is online, so there is no need to wait for the condenser to cool down. With online air cooled condenser cleaning, the plant can save unnecessary downtime due to outages related to a cleaning scope of work. This allows the plant to focus on other maintenance or safety tasks during an outage without having to worry about air cooled condenser cleaning. It also allows plants to clean around fouling incidents such as farming activities and pollen blooms.
Projectile’s method of air cooled condenser cleaning is proven as a safer, more cost effective, and better quality alternative method compared with other cleaning methods on the market. As an Industry leader in Air Cooled Condenser cleaning, Projectile is more than capable to handle your next project and answer any questions you may have.
