Scaling

The scaling agents are usually products of a highly acidic nature suitable for descaling systems, washing tunnels, nozzles, pipes, heat exchangers, tanks. They are mainly used to clean the phosphodegreasing tunnels at the periodic change of the bath, but also in all those systems where mineralized deposits and / or sludges of various kinds are formed. They are therefore "scheduled" cleaning products that are used and thrown away after the purpose. Usually the descaling bath is neutralized after use with a strong base in order to be properly disposed of. Being very acidic, these products must be used carefully and with the right percentages (from 5 to 15%) to avoid corroding the system itself or the more delicate components. The chemistry of these products is quite simple, as their primary purpose is only to remove scale deposits in a short time. We therefore find formulas based on strong acids such as phosphoric, hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric or mixtures of them. Certain acids obviously have peculiar advantages in removing some deposits rather than others, therefore one must be careful not to use the wrong product which could instead react and instead create further by-products. The acids used in traditional formulations, as just mentioned, are dangerous to humans and materials, they are also expensive to dispose of. For this reason, in recent years we tend to use weaker organic acids but which, if used at higher percentages, can replace the old scaling agents. Noteworthy in this area is sulfamic acid, often combined with other organic acids and with the assisted action of strong sequestering agents and surfactants.