How to use ODACON® for cleaning and corrosion protection in CHP engine cooling water

The usage of Film Forming Amines (FFA) in industrial boilers and power plants is nowadays widely known and accepted. But there are quite a few other applications, where FFA´s can be used. One example is the cooling water of large engines in combined heat and power units (CHP).

Important role of CHP in the energy mix

CHP units play a major role to generate safe, reliable and flexible electricity. In large fermenters biogas is produced from organic waste. This biogas is used onsite to run CHP engines. Beside the electricity these engines produce also heat which can be used in a local or district heating network. With the use of large heat storages the production of electricity and heat is decoupled. This and the possibility of fast start-up and shut down increase the flexibility of CHP units and makes them essential for a sustainable energy mix. But this flexible operation requires as well an effective corrosion protection during offline periods. These are exactly the same challenges, combined cycle power plants are facing and where FFAs like ODACON® are used to protect this critical equipment from damages due to offline corrosion.

Water treatment challenges in CHP engine cooling water

In general CHP engine cooling cycles are run with glycol based anti freezing products containing standard corrosion inhibitors. Even if the CHP units are placed in buildings where the temperature never drops below 10 °C, these glycol based products are used. Not only that they are decreasing the heat transfer in the heat exchangers, these organic products are subject to an aging process. This requires a change of the whole cooling water at least every two years.

Another issue is that due to local over-heating, the glycol is decomposing and forms hard deposits at the heat transfer surfaces and organic acids which are lowering the pH and cause acid corrosion. The consequence is a decreased efficency of the CHP unit and the risk of corrosion damages which reduces the availability and increase the maintanance costs.

Contaminated cooling water during discharge

Waterside of flue gas heat exchanger bevor cleaning

To clean or not to clean - alway yes.

The cleaning of a cooling cycle with cracked glycol deposits is really difficult. We have developed a multi step cleaning process to remove most of the glycol and iron-sludge from the system by applying also ODACON® at such a dirty system.

Iron sludge catched by magnetic filter before cleaning

After an alkaline and acidic cleaning step, ODACON® is used to finally remove most of the organic deposits from the surfaces. Due to the strong adsorption forces, ODACON® is penetrating the organic deposits and mobilizes them. The process of application is similar to a preservation under high FFA concentrations.

Iron sludge catched by magnetic filter after cleaning

Waterside of flue gas heat exchanger after cleaning

ODACON® chemistry for CHP engine cooling water treatment

To avoid the problems with glycol based cooling water, ODACON® can be used instead together with demineralized water. As ODACON® does not contribute to an increase of the conductivity in the cooling water, the corrosion rates even in this mixed metallurgy systems are very low. The protective layer formed due to the adsorption on the surface prevents offline corrosion and lowers the risk of corrosion damages to a minimum. This ensures the avalability under flexible operation and reduces the total costs of operation.

What else happened at REICON?

In July we celebrated our company anniversary! Since 31 years we are now serving our clients with our ODACON® products and the related services. We celebrated this special occasion by embarking on a fascinating journey to the ZEISS planetarium. Under the twinkling stars, we not only looked back at our past, but also explored our future horizons.

Company outing at Jena Planetarium

But that's not the only accomplishment we're proud of. We are pleased to announce that we have successfully renewed our ISO 9001 certification. This is a testament to our continued pursuit of excellence and the highest quality in everything we do.

Our enthusiasm knows no bounds as we enter an exciting era. Starting now, we invite you to stop by our YouTube channel where we will be posting informative videos. Immerse yourself in insights, tips and news from our industry. We believe that knowledge should be shared, and we are excited to share this resource with you.

You want to get more information about REICON and our efficient and cost saving technologies?

1. Follow @REICON here on LinkedIn

2. Have a look at our webpage www.reicon.de

3. Directly book your personal call with me here (Calendly).

4. Have a look at our videos on YouTube

See you soon.

Cheers Ronny