Dry on-line cleaning (drycleaning)
ELBLAST™ Dry on-line Cleaning (Drycleaning)
The ELBLAST™ process is a non-destructive method for dry-online cleaning (Drycleaning) that was designed and adapted for induced draft air-cooled heat exchangers. We propel Sodium Bicarbonate (commonly known as ‘baking soda’) with compressed air through a blasting unit and out of a special blast nozzle.
The ELBLAST™ material consists of formulated sodium bicarbonate (which has a crystalline structure that to the naked eye looks like granular sugar (as opposed to the conventional powdery baking soda). The ELBLAST™ process of cleaning is an extremely brittle material that has micro fragmentation on impact, literally exploding away surface materials without damage to the substrate. The unique properties of sodium bicarbonate allow it to remove dust, grease, oil, soot, pollen and other contaminants without damaging the thin metal sheet of the fins of the air-cooled heat exchangers tube. There are no other blast media on the market today that have the same characteristics.
The ELBLAST™ material consists of formulated sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) having a crystalline structure that has a naked eye appearance of course granular sugar as opposed to the conventional powdery baking soda. The ELBLAST™ process of drycleaning is an extremely friable material that has micro fragmentation on impact, literally exploding away surface materials without damage to the substrate. The unique properties of sodium bicarbonate allow it to remove dust, grease, oil, soot, pollen and other contaminants without damaging the thin metal sheet of the fins of the air cooled heat exchangers tube. There are no other blast media that have the same characteristics.
Our product is non-abrasive, dissolves in water, and is formulated to be pure and free-flowing.
ELBLAST™ is sprayed using compressed air directly onto the fins (drycleaning). It quickly cleans the metallic surfaces with no abrasive impact thanks to the use of low pressure compressed air.
The ELBLAST™ process is mainly used to clean “critical” air-cooled heat exchangers and allows these facilities to recover close to design values and operations running characteristics.
The ELBLAST™ method is a self-contained system that includes a blast generator; low pressure compressed air, moisture decontamination system, blast hose with remote controls, and a blast nozzle that is capable of handling our specialized blasting material.
Before & after cleaning
Before
After
Safety benefits:
- No entry inside plenum chamber anymore, thus
- No risk of accidents due to heat stress
- Risk of accidents with running fans
- No high-pressure application anymore
- Nontoxic and biodegradable formulation: no treatment of liquid waste is required
Drycleaning Cost improvements:
- No production losses as on line cleaning (while fans are running)
- No more lengthy motor isolation procedures as cleaning can be carried out while fans are in operation (on line cleaning)
- No scaffolding or wooden boards required
- No damage on fins due to spray jetting as the work pressure is low (8-10 Bar)
- No risk of damage to fins as our specialists do not need to walk on fins at all (we stay under the finned tube bundle)
- No more lengthy issuing of entry permits
- No more damage on pumps, motor, bearings due to water ingress
- No EEC classification for transportation or storage
- No more water waste management required
- 100% capacity during complete period time of the year in combination with CLEANFIN™ filter system
Drycleaning References:
Major refinery in South-East Asia
35% increased capacity after cleaning with dry on line ELBLAST™
Major refinery in Europe
55% increased capacity after cleaning of air cooler
GTL Plant in Middle-East
3% increased throughput of entire plant
