Nalco ACT Advanced Condensate

Treatment Program saves operating costs

in a Latin American malt roasting plant

Situation
A malt roasting plant in Latin
America was facing serious
operational issues with radiator
tubes. Used to roast turkey grain,
these radiator tubes were corroding at an excessive rate due to
aggressive condensate water and
oxygen corrosion. Costs for these
systems were excessive. In one
year, the plant spent over
$200,000 US dollars for radiator
tube replacements. They also
spent $35,000 US dollars in
excessive maintenance costs.
Due to the corrosive nature of
the condensate, chemical costs
were also high.

Program
Knowing the plants concerns, the
Nalco representative looked for
alternatives for this facility. The
representative utilized the 7- Step
Problem Resolution method to
solve this facilitys concerns.
Working with plant staff, they
worked through the process.

Step 1: Defining the Problem

Due to the nature of the process,
radiator tubes were exposed to
untreated condensate and airborne
oxygen in the cooling process.
Iron levels in the condensate
reached levels above 15 ppm.

Step 2: Planning the Resolution

Process operations could not be
changed, so they looked for a
possible chemical solution. Since
this was a food processing plant,
chemical program options had
to be FDA approved.
Step 3: Quick Fix
To bring iron levels down, the
plant applied a FDA-approved
neutralizing amine condensate
treatment program. After a few
weeks, the plant noticed a
decrease in condensate iron
levels from 15 ppm to 2 ppm.

Case Study CH-514

Step 4: Identifying Root Causes

Although the neutralizing amine
treatment program helped prevent
carbonic acid corrosion in the main
condensate system, oxygen corrosion was still occurring in the malt
cooling process. The metallurgy of
the radiator tubes also allowed for
accelerated galvanic corrosion.
Step 5: Implementing Corrective
Actions
To prevent oxygen corrosion in
the radiator tubes, a filming-type
chemistry was needed to form a
substantive layer between the
metal and the corrosive environment. It was also very important
that the condensate treatment
was FDA approved.
The Nalco representative and
supervisors at this facility agreed
that the Nalco ACT program was a
viable solution to the plants
needs. Being FDA approved and a
filming type of chemistry, this
program would meet the regulatory and technical needs of the
facility. They also decided to
change the metallurgy of the
radiator tubes to avoid galvanic
corrosion.
(Continued on Reverse Side)

Step 6: Evaluating Corrective

Actions
When the Nalco ACT program
was applied, corrosion rates
plummeted. Figure 1 shows how
the iron levels in the condensate
dropped over time. No treatment
was used until March 1999 when
the amine program was started.
During this time, iron levels
dropped from about 15 ppm, to
about 2 ppm. Condensate iron
levels continued to fall after
initiating the Nalco ACT program
in February 2001. As you can
see from the graph, these levels
continued to drop to less
than 50 ppb.
Step 7: Follow Up and Keeping
the Gains
Since implementing the Nalco
ACT program, iron levels have
been maintained to less than
50 ppb throughout the condensate
system. Sample radiator tubes
installed in the system to monitor
corrosion continue to look excellent and the increased condensate
quality has allowed this facility to
recover more condensate for boiler
feedwater. This has saved the
facility from using additional
energy to heat incoming cooled
soft water for the boiler system.

Figure 1 Condensate Iron Levels vs. Time

Return on Investment
This facility noticed considerable
results within days of implementing the Nalco ACT program. Some
of the results the supervisors of
this facility saw were:
Savings of $200,000 US dollars
by minimizing radiator tube
replacements
Decreased maintenance costs
Reduction in makeup water
due to the increased condensate
return
Fuel savings from latent heat
being returned with the
condensate

Increased boiler cycles due to

the better quality of the returned
condensate
Decrease in chemical treatment
costs due to increased boiler
cycles
Utilizing the 7- Step Problem
Resolution tool, along with Nalco
advanced technologies, helped
meet this facilitys needs. This case
study demonstrates how a problem-solving tool and a highly
trained Nalco representative can
provide value to our customers
and demonstrate a return on
their investment.

NALCO COMPANY OPERATIONS

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