Preventing rust without chemicals

Preventing rust without chemicals

The Jordan Steel Factory outside Amman, Jordan was concerned about corrosion within the pipework of its cooling system, caused by large quantities of sulphate reducing bacteria, iron oxides and scaling build up. These factors combined, contributed to an overall reduction in the efficiency of the direct and in-direct cooling system at the factory. Corrosion is a major issue for the steel factory as once the metal pipe work has begun to corrode, the process rapidly accelerates. The management decided to contact the Corrosion Engineering Division of the Royal Scientific Society, Mechanical Design & Technology Center.

It was decided to undertake an eight month trial of Hydropath’s water conditioning system. One of Hydropath’s ‘AquaKlear’ P120 units was fitted to one of the pipes and a series of test coupons installed throughout the system. Seven carbon steel coupons with nuts and bolts (made from the same material as the pipes) were located throughout the system to measure corrosion and a further seven stainless steel alloy coupons were affixed with plastic nuts and bolts to measure scale build up. Plastic was used to eliminate any interference from galvanic action.