The cooling or heating piping systems in commercial or institutional buildings are frequently fouled by the accumulation of deposits containing organic material, silt and/or iron oxide. A conventional off-line chemical cleaning with an acid or other strong solvent is a very complex and expensive process in these facilities. They are not designed for such cleaning procedures, are typically occupied most of the time and the piping is enclosed within walls. A slow on-line cleaning over a long period of time has been found to be effective in several applications. Such a cleaning uses high molecular weight anionic polymers to slowly soften and disperse the fouling agent. This paper presents information on this process and some case histories where the process has been used.
Keywords: on-line cleaning, deposit removal, building cooling systems, organic deposits, silt deposits, iron oxide deposits, fouling