One of the industrial techniques for cleaning industrial equipment and facilities is cleaning with chemical products. Chemical cleaning consists of performing cleaning cycles by circulating chemical products in pipes, condensers, tanks etc.
Chemical cleaning can be done by dipping or by applying chemicals in a closed circuit. The choice of chemical products depends on the type of material to be cleaned and the scale to be removed from a given type of equipment. The chemical solutions used are alkaline, acid or solvent detergents.
Chemical cleaning is necessary when incrustations impede the proper functioning of machinery, for maintenance of pipes and equipments. But they are also used to remove rust, scale and dirt from new installations.
The main advantage of chemical cleaning lies in the simplicity of the process, since it is often not necessary to dismantle the parts, i.e. cleaning can be carried out in closed circuits in situ. It is a very important advantage of this cleaning method! However, the limits of chemical cleaning are the following ones:
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High quantity of chemicals is required, they are generally quite aggressive.
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Costs for the waste treatment.
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It is an industrial cleaning process that has to be carried out by a professional, in order to avoid corrosion of the metal due to an inadequate use of chemical products.
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After the cleaning cycle it is necessary to rinse several times and passivate to avoid corrosion of the metal.
Technical cleaning is necessary when incrustations and fouling compromise the operation of a type of equipment or its full performance.
Chemical cleaning is also used for the very specific purpose of sanitation – an industrial cleaning method used in the food and pharmaceutical industry – because it eliminates micro-organisms.
If we compare technical ultrasonic cleaning with chemical cleaning, we could say that the main advantage of ultrasonic cleaning is the speed of the cleaning cycle and the low use of chemical products, which are usually not aggressive. In addition to being used in minimal quantities, they are used for many cleaning processes, since the same bath is recycled for months.
The ultrasonic equipment can be operated by any workshop staff without the need of specialised operators. And the mechanical action exerted by cavitation makes possible to clean even the most hidden areas. The main disadvantage is that the part must necessarily be immersed in the tank and, for large parts, very large tanks are necessary. With both industrial cleaning methods it is necessary to rinse and apply a passivating agent. Contact us for more information.
