Cleaning tubes in Shell and tube condenser

[Harbour View]

Does anyone know the procedure to clean the copper tubes of a shell and tube water cooled heat exchanger?
what cleaning agents should I use?

[lana]

Hi there,

The cleaning agent is Hydrochloric Acid with 10% concentration.
Commercial de-scaling agents usually contain corrosion inhibiting agents.
Be careful, copper inhibiting agents are very corrosive with galvanized steel. Separate the copper pipework from the steel piping.
You have to use a tank with a pump and circulate the solution through the condenser. When de-scaling is complete then circulate some kind of alkaline solution to neutralize the acid. After that circulate water to clean the remaining residue.
Cheers

[Harbour View]

Thank you lana.