What Is a Scale Inhibitor?
Scale Inhibitors, also known as Scale Removers, are an agent that removes water-insoluble stains that have accumulated in transmission and drainage facilities, equipment, and piping.
Scale is a crystallized substance that forms when minerals such as silica, magnesium, and calcium dissolved in groundwater become insoluble in water due to oxidation caused by contact with air or changes in pressure and temperature.
Once crystallized and adhered inside piping equipment, it is extremely difficult to remove, resulting in problems during drainage.
Uses of Scale Inhibitors
When scale clogs the piping of a factory manufacturing site or a boiler in a hot spring, the pressure required for sending and draining water increases. Water circulation slows, production capacity and thermal efficiency decrease, and operating and administrative costs increase.
To remove scale, which is one of the causes of equipment failure related to pumping and draining, removers tailored to various scale components are required.
Other applications include the removal of scaling that forms on mirrors and automobile surfaces.
Principle of Scale Inhibitors
Calcium in groundwater is dissolved in the form of calcium bicarbonate in a high-pressure environment along with carbon dioxide.
As it emerges from the ground to the surface, the pressure drops, and carbon dioxide is released from the groundwater, causing the calcium bicarbonate to precipitate out as calcium carbonate, which is insoluble in water.
Since calcium-based scales can be dissolved under acidic conditions, a pH adjuster such as hydrochloric acid or an oxygen scavenger is used as a remover.
Calcium and magnesium combine with silicon dioxide dissolved in water, and when concentrated in a heat exchanger, magnesium silicate and calcium silicate precipitate and adhere to the surface, forming a scale.
Silica scale is made of silicon, a constituent of glass, and is difficult to remove even with acidic detergents.