Product category:
Plant services equipment
News Release from: Hydropath (UK) | Subject: Water treatment system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 September 2006
Garment factory reduces fuel bills by
30%
By iinstalling a physical water treatment system that prevents the build up of all limescale deposits, including calcium carbonate, to its boiler, a garment factory reduced its fuel bills by 30%.
An Indonesian garment producer has reduced its fuel consumption by a third, simply by improving the water supply to its boiler The Cathay Murni Garment Factory has been using a 20-year-old steam boiler to supply hot water for washing and steam for ironing
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 15 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Electrical system prevents limescale build-up
A physical water treatment system that prevents the build up of limescale deposits and calcium carbonate works by emitting randomly-varying electric fields throughout the system.
Physical water conditioning saves chemicals, time
Physical water conditioning units in three locations control limescale are saving a dairy the chemicals, time and lost production associated with cleaning of the system.
The factory draws its water supply from a bore hole, but the water has a hardness of 200 parts per million.
In an attempt to prevent limescale build-up on the boiler's internal surfaces and heat exchangers, the company was chemically softening the water supply and shutting down the system annually to give it a thorough chemical descale.
Additionally, they carry out a 'blow down' for 20s at the end of every day.
Further reading
Conditioning system prevented water lime scale
Having a factory in an area of particularly hard water presented a notorious production problem until a water conditioning system prevented the build up of limescale on the heat exchangers.
Over-coming limescale problems in die-casting
Aluminium pressure die-casters using die cooling water in 'hard' water areas has to cope with to limescale build up and blockage in the dies, but water conditioners can solve the problem.
Not only was this regime costly in term of time and money, but it is: "Less than friendly for the environment," commented James Leung, independent water treatment consultant.
A further problem of using sodium to soften water is that it can encourage corrosion within the system.
Leung recommended the The patented Hydroflow system is a physical water treatment system that prevents the build up of all limescale deposits, including calcium carbonate.
Hydroflow works by emitting randomly-varying electric fields throughout the system.
This enhances the precipitation of the bicarbonates from solution to suspension by introducing clusters of ions in the water to act as seed for suspended crystallisation.
The resulting suspension therefore does not adhere to pipework or internal surfaces, but is merely 'washed away' with the flow and during blow down.
No other physical water treatment system operates in the same way as Hydroflow; it offers specific advantages such as treating the water both upstream and downstream of the unit.
Uniquely, it also protects standing water and is not dependent on water flowing past the unit.
A Hydroflow S100 model was installed, without the need for cutting any pipes, on the inlet water pipe and the water softener was turned off.
For the first three weeks, blow down frequency was increased to 10 seconds per hour to eliminate any existing scale within the boiler.
After three weeks, it was noticed that TDS at blow down dropped to below 1500ppm.
The blow down frequency was then reduced to the normal daily routine.
It was estimated that fuel consumption was reduced by 30%.
The boiler was then opened for inspection and it was free from hard scale.
Leung commented, "Hydropath's range of water conditioners do not work like any other physical water treatment product and have been proven in installations around the world.
Initially, some customers are sceptical but find that they pay for themselves within a short period of time, in terms of energy and chemical costs, as well as the staff and production time that is saved.".
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