Water preparation

An informational and analytical note about the current situation and the appropriateness of the use of corrosion and scale inhibitors that are domestically produced in the industry, energy and housing and communal services of the Republic of Belarus.

The current state of the majority of native industrial objects and the object of housing and communal services is characterized by a significant deterioration of basic funds and and excessive consumption of energy resources. For example, according to the condition on October 17th, 2008 the deterioration of basic facilities, standing on the balance of Minsk heating systems was 78.64%. The total loss of industrial thermal energy by various estimates reaches up to 30-40%.

In the conditions of acute shortage of budgetary funds and the lack of hard currency (especially during the global financial crisis) the conduction of measures aimed at the increase of the efficiency and the terms of the usage of existing equipment in the condition of import substitution becomes extremely urgent task.

The solution of problems of resource economy and energy efficiency is closely related to the operating conditions of heat exchange equipment of power plants and heating systems.

The dependence of the transition of fuel from the depth of sinter is shown below.

The presence of solid blankets, sinter and various contaminations on heat exchanging surfaces leads to a significant reduction in the overall intensity of heat transfer process, decreasing productivity, increase consumption of fuel-energy resources. The dependence of fuel transition from the depth of scales is presented on the graph (according to data of All-Russian Thermal Engineering Institute in Moscow). The silting of conductive networks in turn leads to a decrease of pressure, an untimely wear and breakdowns of pumps and other equipment. As the blankets are not only in heating equipment, but also in houses batteries, central thermal points, etc. so above mentioned calculating overexpenditures should be multiplied by 2.

No less serious problem expresses the corrosion of heat exchanging equipment and thermal systems. Thus, according to the Committee on Power Efficiency under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus the adoption of the program of energy-saving and a sharp increase of prognostic quotients on the reconstruction of boiler rooms and thermal networks is primarily due to the state of heat supply systems. To date, it has not only low hydraulic and heat resistance, but also do not have the proper automatic control and emergency backup. The consequence of this is overheating or underheating of heated buildings. During the transport of thermal energy to a consumer heating systems have great losses of heat. The average life span of hot-water system is 12-15 years, and sometimes does not exceed 5 years, with rated 25. According to statistics, 85-90% the damages of pipelines fall on corrosion and the speed of local focal corrosion sometimes reaches 1 mm / year. On the other hand, the constant decrease of funding leads to the increase in the number of unsafe and emergency thermal systems. Aiming at the reduction of the amount of resurfacings, heat supply companies reduce requirements to quality; go to mass violations of Construction regulations, justifying this with the reduction in the cost of construction. In fact the costs reduced to a one year of operation, are 2-3 times higher than during a qualitative plumbing of industrial pre-insulated pipes. Pipelines corrode quickly, returning to primary emergency situation. All of this was the reason for the application of polymeric pipes in the republic. It should be noted that from internal corrosion even polymeric pipes are not protected and while using inhibitors the speed of corrosion decreases to 0.01-0.005 mm / year.

For all urgency problem-solving connected with the formation of scale and corrosion in heat exchanging equipment and heating systems, it should be noted that despite the wide variety of methods of solving these problems, one method can solve both problems simultaneously and it is the most effective – the method of chemical water treatment based on polyphosphonates.

This method has long been widely used in economically developed countries. At the same time the only drawback of this method, according to a wide range of experts, was the relatively high cost of corrosion and scale inhibitors, produced by western companies.

Till recently, these inhibitors were delivered to enterprises and organizations of the Republic of Belarus by import from distant foreign countries exclusively.

At the same time it should be noted that in 2006 the Belarusian producer Co.Ltd «New technologies and products» in Grodno successfully adjusted the production of a wide range of highly effective corrosion and scale inhibitors, which are not inferior to foreign analogues and they are significantly cheaper. These inhibitors are in-house and do not have direct counterparts.

Numerous tests of in-house inhibitors were conducted at various enterprises of the Republic of Belarus including Open Joint Stock Company «Belenergoremnaladka», Open Joint Stock Company «Grodno Asot», RUE (Republican Unitary Enterprise) «Brestenergo», Housing and Communal Services and others (reviews are included).

The tests consistently confirmed the high efficiency of the use of products of Co.Ltd «New technologies and products» from a technical and economic points of view. The domestic inhibitors have been used successfully for over 5 years, making it safe to say that the stage of experimental application has been successfully passed and it is necessary to proceed to their wide-ranging use. The dimension of supply inhibitors to Belarusian enterprises is about 20 billion rubles a year now. However, at present, a large part of enterprises either do not use scale and corrosion inhibitors or use the same of imported production, which in one case result in a huge loss of energy resources and a high cost on the maintenance and replacement of equipment, and in the other case lead to unnecessary economic costs and the increase of negative balance of the balance of payment of the country with unwarrantable costs of free currency.

So, it is clear that a widespread use of corrosion and scale inhibitors produced by Co.Ltd «New technologies and products» will allow to achieve enormous energy savings, the reduction of repair and operating costs and the increase of the lifetime of equipment, and as a result will lead to an enormous economic effect across the country. Thus, the decrease of gas consumption by 1% across the country will save $ 26 million dollars (at a price of 119 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters). The use of domestic products also has a positive impact on the balance of payments and will save foreign exchange funds of enterprises. Furthermore, the increased use of inhibitors of domestic production will create conditions to expand their the production by Co.Ltd «New technologies and products» and the output with high-tech products to Russian and European markets, that are hundreds of times greater than the size of a Belarusian market.

Considering all the above, we think that with a view to strengthen energy and economic security of the Republic of Belarus and improve its export potential in the field of high-tech production it is necessary to oblige enterprises and organizations within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Housing and Communal Services, the Ministry of Construction and Architecture, concerns «BELENERGO», «Belneftekhim», «Bellesbumprom», «Belbiopharm» and others interested establishments to test scale and corrosion inhibitors of domestic production and in the presence of a positive effect apply them in their economical activities.