Gently remove stubborn fouling

When conventional cleaning methods don't get anywhere: Cleaning shell-and-tube heat exchangers and individual tubes gently, effectively and without the use of water, either manually or automatically.

Especially when it comes to the stubborn fouling of shell-and-tube heat exchangers, conventional cleaning methods sometimes reach their limits. In the case of graphite tubes, for example, maximum pressures of no more than 10 to 20 bar are often prescribed for cleaning with water. Particularly when this pressure is insufficient in the case of firmly attached fouling, or even maximum water pressure cleaning at 2,500 bar does not deliver satisfactory results, the patented TubeMaster cleaning process developed by the company mycon with pressures between three and seven bar is a promising alternative. When soft abrasives are used, the process is also gentle, making it suitable for glass tubes, plastic tubes or graphite tubes. More solid granules, however, remove even the hardest deposits. Extensive experience is available for tubes made of materials ranging from steel and stainless steel to brass or copper, titanium and special alloys. The patented automated TubeMaster AS process allows straight, long tubes to be cleaned of extremely hard residues at a blasting pressure of 6.5 bar. The entire cleaning process is carried out with constant parameters, which leads to a very good cleaning result with reduced processing time.

Patented blasting process

In the TubeMaster process, the nozzle is guided manually or automatically by means of a special adapter through the tube to be cleaned at a defined feed rate to remove the residues. The cleaning performance is usually between three and twelve meters per minute. When special granules are used, the process can improve the surface quality of the inner tubes and achieve a consistently good polishing effect on the inner tube surfaces. The material removal that takes place in the process was previously not measurable. An appropriately adapted version of the TubeMaster even makes it possible to clean bent tubes with slightly reduced cleaning power. Special connection joints are used for cleaning individual tubes. The standard version is capable of processing tubes up to an inner diameter of 50 mm, but with an appropriate nozzle, tubes up to 100 mm are also possible.

Application without disassembly

Different granules and grain sizes are available for each pipe material, whereby the choice of the respective abrasive is a matter of experience. The abrasive can be completely collected and filtered on the tube exit side together with the removed residues by means of an extraction system. TubeMaster can be used in both the manual and automated versions as a completely closed process; blasting media and residues can be immediately packaged for disposal. The system technology is so compact that it can be transported through manholes even in the automated version and can thus be used without further disassembly work on the installed heat exchanger. The manufacturer promises trouble-free operation of the device - in normal cases, two employees should be sufficient for this. Experience has shown that TubeMaster is often used when other cleaning methods have not been successful or when wet cleaning is not desired or not possible.

mycon GmbH www.mycon-germany.com