Anti-corrosion water

treatment for boilers, cooling

waters and process plant:
some new developments
Boiler water test methods
A comprehensive range of easy-to-use boiler water tests have
been developed by Wilkinson & Simpson Ltd, Palintest House,
57 Queensway, Team Valley Estate, Gateshead, Tyne &
Wear NE11 0NS. These are designed to provide plant
managers with an accurate means of monitoring all aspects of
water quality which affect boiler operation. Many modern
boiler designs are very sensitive to water quality. Failure to
control features such as alkalinity, hardness and treatment
chemical concentrations can seriously affect boiler efficiency,
energy consumption, maintenance and operating costs.
All of the tests are based on simple methods which involve
the observation of colour changes produced in water samples.
These test methods have been developed to eliminate the
need for laboratory equipment or technical knowledge of the
chemistry involved. The reagents for each test are precisely
formulated into single tablets, so there is no need to use messy
liquid chemicals or for any weighing or measuring.
Off-the-shelf kits are available which contain a series of
standard tests for common types of boiler installations with
specific water treatment cycles. But, individual tests or special
combination kits can be made up to suit individual
applications.
Within the comprehensive range are tests for checking
aspects of raw water, boiler feedstock, circulation water,
condensates and additives. The most commonly used tests
are for hardness and alkalinity. These can be used on raw
water to determine the degree of feedstock treatment
required, but are more usually used to monitor the
performance of treatment plant such as deionisers.
Chemical additive tests cover deoxygenation treatments
using sulphite compounds of hydrazine, anti-scaling
treatments such as phosphates or tannin-based products and
condensate corrosion inhibitors such as filming amines.
Many of the tests are based on the convenient Palintest
tablet count method. Apart from the tabletised reagents the
only equipment needed is a graduated sample container
supplied with the kit. To carry out a test, tablets are added, one
at a time, to a small measured water sample until a colour
change occurs. By multiplying the number of tablets used by a
constant test factor, the aspect of water quality under test can
be easily calculated. Though very simple, this procedure
provides accurate, reliable and immediate results.
source or a mixture of waters for possible introduction into its
supply system.
Sometimes two or more benign sources of water can - in
combination - produce a relatively corrosive mixture.
The traditional method of testing the corrosivity of different
waters is to use a copper tube test rig through which water is
passed intermittently in a programme simulating normal
domestic service. Unfortunately, the apparatus is large,
requires huge volumes of water and may take over six months
to produce an answer.
In contrast, it is claimed that the small electrochemical cell
can be set up on a bench, requires only two litres of water and
gives a result within 100 hours.
The water under test runs slowly through the cell in which a
small electric current is passed between a copper wire
cathode and an anode comprising 12 small copper surfaces,
one of which is partially screened to make it more susceptible
to corrosion.
In a non-pitting water, the current taken by each of the 12
anode elements remains approximately equal. In a pitting
water, a pit is initiated on the screened element which then
takes a higher proportion of the applied current than the
others. Tests with waters of known aggressivity to copper in
service have established the criteria for relating pitting
propensity to the percentage of the total current which is
passed by the screened element.
Experience has shown that, as a rough guide, a non-pitting
water will result in less than 20% of the total current being
passed by the screened element. A borderline case would
register 20-50%; fairly aggressive waters would account for

Accelerated test to detect 'aggressive' supply waters

A compact inexpensive test system, invented and developed
by BNF Metals Technology Centre, and sponsored in part by
the International Copper Research Association (INCRA), will
be of interest to all tube manufacturers and all water
undertakings concerned about Type 1 pitting corrosion. This is
the most common form of localised corrosion, which can lead
to pinhole perforation in copper water cylinders and tubes.
The BNF electrochemical cell offers a rapid means for
reliability determining the 'aggressivity' of a potable water. It is
particularly useful for a water undertaking considering a new

4 ANTI-CORROSION May 1985

50-70%; and those exceeding 70% would be classified as
'very aggressive'.
More than 60 waters have been tested in the BNF
laboratories. Ten were from supplies for which no service
experience was available but all the rest gave test results in
agreement with service experience.
The electrochemical test cell has proved a simple and
reliable tool, not only for studying the effects of supply waters
but also for predicting the effects of proposed water treatments
and for determining in which supply areas the use of
aluminium protector rods is advised to prevent pitting
corrosion of copper hot water cylinders. The protector rod
(which is fixed in 40% of copper cylinders in the UK) was
invented by BNF research staff in the sixties.
The testing may be carried out by BNF staff. Alternatively,
the equipment can be purchased outright.
Details: Dr V. F. Lucey, BNF Metals Technology Centre,
Grove Laboratories, Denchworth Road, Wantage, Oxon
OX12 9BJ. Tel: (02357) 2992.
Multi-function water treatment chemical
Polytreat 291, a new, multi-function water treatment chemical
for use in both boilers and cooling water systems has been
launched by Houseman (Burnham) Ltd, The Priory, Burnham,
Slough SL1 7LS.
Often, a number of scale and sludge deposit problems are
evident in one system, each problem requiring a different
solution; for example, a chelant might be best applied where
corrosion products require removal, a threshold agent where
hardness salts are present and a dispersant where suspended
matter is a problem.
Polytreat 291, a blend of sodium polyacrylate and organo-
phosphonate, is said to combine the functions of threshold
agents, chelants and dispersants and effectively prevents the
build-up of hardness salts, iron and other metallic oxides. The
benefits claimed for the use of Polytreat 291 are that
blockages, water flow disruption, heat transfer reduction and
boiler hot spots are all minimised, clean metal surfaces are
maintained, allowing inhibitors to function effectively and
existing deposits are removed, enabling Polytreat 291 to be
used during on line cleans.
Supplied in 25 and 200 litre drums, the product is non-
hazardous, thus minimising storage and handling problems.
Houseman (Burnham) Ltd is part of Portals PLC, one of the
world's largest specialist groups in water treatment.
Dosage and control equipment contract
Houseman also reports that it has recently been awarded a
contract to supply and install specialised dosage and control
equipment and chemicals at Blood Products Ltd's new
manufacturing facility at Borehamwood, Herts.
The main requirement of the contract, to treat a 108m3
capacity process cooling system, was for flameproof electrical
equipment. Houseman's solution did away with the need for
electrical motors on the pumps by proposing an inductor
system whereby the recirculating water sucks in the necessary
chemical treatment at a controlled rate.
Solenoid valves, actuated by water, ensure correct dosage
while a conductivity control maintains optimum concentration
factor in the system, minimising water and chemical
consumption. Biocide treatment is dosed by timer.
The whole dosage and control system, which is designed to
treat large volumes very quickly, is housed in a single cabinet
outside the flameproof area.
The absence of electrical motors on the pumps results in
lower running costs with a considerable reduction in
maintenance.
New low toxicity corrosion inhibitor
Houseman (Burnham) Ltd also report that it has added
Hatamet 7, a new low toxicity scale and corrosion inhibitor, to
its range of water treatment chemicals.
ANTI-CORROSION May 1985
Based on a blend of sodium polyphosphate and sodium
silicate, Hatamet 7 is suitable for use in both portable water
and cooling systems where its low toxicity overcomes certain
effluent restrictions eg those preventing zinc discharge, thus
making the product more environmentally acceptable than
alternative inhibitors.
Other advantages claimed for Hatamet 7 are:
1. Suitability for a wide range of applications including hot and
cold systems, naturally soft, softened or desalinated water.
2. A reduction in corrosion rates to less than 3 mpy.
3. Effective scale inhibition, preventing deposition in
moderately hard water.
4. The prevention of 'red water', giving visual acceptance of
purity.
Hatamet 7 has been approved by the Department of the
Environment for use in public water supply and swimming
pools and also WHO requirements.
Middle East contracts for Water Management Chemicals
A £40,000 contract for water treatment chemicals has been
received from Egypt by Water Management Chemicals Ltd,
Lisle Ave, Kidderminster, Worcs DY11 7DF, through Namin
Company of Cairo. The contract covers scale and corrosion
inhibitors, biocides and oil dispersants for the treatment of
industrial cooling water.
The chemicals will be shipped in the recently-developed
V-200 plastic containers printed with WMC livery, one of the
first applications of a new design of ring-type drum.
Water Management Chemicals also report that they have
appointed Eastern Trading Co Ltd of Jedda as their agents for
Saudi Arabia.
Mr Mark Wilcock, who has joined Eastern Trading as
Marketing Manager, began his career in the water treatment
field in 1970 as an employee of WMCL. He was recently
're-briefed' at their headquarters in Kidderminster before
going to Saudi Arabia to take responsibility for the sales there
of the full WMC product range.
Water Management Chemicals Limited are members of W.
Canning plc, the Birmingham-based chemicals, metals and
electronics group.
Measures thermally induced scaling - evaluates inhibitor
and dispersant chemistries
The RCS 1000 Scalometer instrument is claimed to introduce
a new standard of speed and sensitivity to the measurement of
temperature dependent scaling in cooling water systems.
5
Designed to meet the demanding requirements of industrial
on-line operation, it automatically and rapidly provides
quantitative information about the onset or rate of fouling on
heat exchanger surfaces. This can be vital assistance to the
plant operator or chemical formulator concerned with
controlling, designing or evaluating a cost-effective treatment
program.
In the Scalometer flow cell, two identical metal surfaces are
exposed continuously to the flow of process water. The
tendency for scale or thermally induced fouling to form is
determined by heating one surface (the test surface), while
leaving the other (the reference surface) unheated, and
periodically examining the relative thermal resistances of the
surfaces by means of a sensitive, automated differential
measurement. By using this differential technique, the sensing
system is made highly sensitive to scale or any similar foulant,
but is largely unaffected by variations in bulk water
temperature and flow rate. The test and reference surfaces
are easily viewed, and provide the opportunity for visual
corroboration of scale nucleation and growth with the data
presented by the instrument.
Details: Rohrback Cosasco Systems Ltd, RohrCo House,
Unit A1, Warton Grange, Imperial Way, Reading, Berks RG2
OTD.

Fluorocarbon insulation for North Sea cathodic

protection
When a vast structure like a jacket or platform is used in
conditions as drastic as those found in the North Sea,
corrosion is, of course, a major problem. Sometimes a
component, in itself a small part, plays such a major part in the
safety of the unit, that very special attention must be paid to its
design.
Such a problem was encountered in the corrosion control
system of a tension leg platform (T L P) for Conoco's Hutton
Field, which came on stream last August as the first T L P in the
world, two months ahead of schedule.
Tension leg platforms are moored to the sea bed by 'legs' of
which on Hutton there are four at each corner of the
rectangular platform making a total of sixteen.
Hutton's legs are made of steel rods of 260mm diameter
which are kept in tension by the positive buoyancy of the hull
structure.
In order to keep the hull weight to a minimum and hence
achieve greater buoyancy, an impressed current type
cathodic protection system was chosen, where the electrical
current is passed from permanent anodes, through the
seawater and back to the hull.

Watertight insulation
Wilson Walton International supplied a system that needed
electrical power, available inside the structure, to be
connected to anodes mounted outside on the hull. The
requirement was that the connection be insulated from the hull
and be capable of remaining watertight for 20 years without
electrical anode connector which was provided with two 'O'
any form of maintenance. Fluorocarbon were called in to
rings to seal in the bore of the PTFE liner and a full face nitrile
advise on a method that, itself, would remain impervious to
gasket.
corrosion.
The details given here are indicative of results that can be
Fluorocarbon, a market leader in fluoropolymer technology,
obtained when companies, each leaders in their own fields,
carried out a development and feasibility study and a
combine to achieve a result.
hydrostatic cyclic testing program with UV detection, which
Details: Fluorocarbon Co Ltd, Caxton Hill, Hertford, Herts
culminated in the final design.
SG13 7NH.
Wilson Walton International had provided for 70mm
diameter holes in the steel hull plating into which the electrical
connector was to be fitted. The connector had to seal the hull
yet was to be capable of being dismantled and reassembled
without any corrosion having taken place in the bore of the
hole.
The final design was for virgin PTFE as the most suitable
material for hole lining. Inserts were machined from this
material and were bonded into the holes with epoxy adhesive.
Before bonding the inserts were chemically etched by
Fluorocarbon's own process and adhesive applied both to the
insert and to the hole. After the insert had been fitted heat was
applied, to ensure that a full cure of the adhesive was
obtained, in spite of the work being carried out in winter in north
Scotland.
Sealing of the hole was completed by insertion of the

6 ANTI-CORROSION May 1985