Can Citric Acid Monohydrate Be Used To Remove Scale?
The answer is YES!In industrial cleaning, citric acid monohydrate is not only effective for scale removal, but also a widely used, high-quality descaling agent that combines efficiency and safety.
In industrial production, hard scale inevitably forms on the inner walls of cooling systems, boilers, heat exchangers, and various industrial pipelines. This scale, primarily composed of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide, acts like a “hard shell” that clings tightly to the equipment, significantly reducing heat exchange efficiency, increasing energy consumption, and in severe cases, causing equipment corrosion and even leading to safety accidents. Citric acid monohydrate is a classic chemical cleaning material that solves this industrial problem.
Advantages of using citric acid monohydrate in industrial descaling:
1. Outstanding safety: Compared to strong inorganic acids like hydrochloric acid, citric acid is milder and has extremely low corrosion to metal substrates like carbon steel and stainless steel. This significantly reduces the risk of intergranular corrosion and over-cleaning during the cleaning process, thereby ensuring the lifespan and safety of the equipment.
2. Better operating environment: Citric acid does not produce irritating acid mist, effectively improving the working environment for on-site operators. Furthermore, the wastewater generated after cleaning is relatively easy to dispose of, and its environmental impact is far less than that of strong acid cleaning agents.
3. Thorough Cleaning: Citric acid monohydrate is particularly suitable for steel equipment. After cleaning, it forms a passivating film on the metal surface, providing a certain degree of rust prevention. For scale formed by a mixture of silicate scale and rust, combining citric acid with other substances such as sulfamic acid and ammonium bifluoride to create a cleaning agent will achieve even more effective descaling.
4. Excellent System Compatibility: Citric acid monohydrate is highly compatible with industrial equipment and systems with complex structures, high precision requirements, or those sensitive to chloride ions (such as austenitic stainless steel equipment), making it ideal for cleaning such equipment.
A typical industrial cleaning process: A circulating cleaning method is commonly used in the industrial sector to descale equipment. For example, the cleaning process for plate heat exchangers is as follows:
1. Prepare the cleaning solution: Add clean water to the mixing tank and dissolve 3%-10% citric acid monohydrate. An appropriate amount of corrosion inhibitor is often added to provide additional protection for the equipment.
2. Establish a circulation system: Use a temporary pump station to create a closed loop of the prepared cleaning solution within the heat exchanger, ensuring it flows through all scale-forming areas of the equipment.
3. Control the reaction process: Appropriately heat the cleaning solution (generally keep the temperature between 60-80°C) to accelerate the reaction between citric acid and scale. Continue the cleaning cycle for several hours. During this time, monitor the concentration and pH of the cleaning solution in real time. When the concentration stabilizes, the reaction between scale and citric acid is essentially complete.
4. Neutralize and discharge the wastewater: After cleaning, neutralize the wastewater and wait until it meets discharge standards before discharging it.
5. Rinse and passivate the equipment: Thoroughly rinse the equipment system with clean water to remove any residual cleaning solution. If necessary, passivate the equipment to prepare it for the next operation.
For industrial water treatment, citric acid monohydrate is more than just an “acidic cleaner.” It is a proven, high-quality cleaning solution that combines efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness. When industrial equipment faces scaling problems, choosing citric acid monohydrate or its compound agents for cleaning is an ideal choice to ensure stable operation of the equipment system, achieve energy conservation and consumption reduction, and extend the service life of the equipment.
