Descaling treatment of sugarcane Evaporative tubes using Organic acids solutions

Abstract

Scales are mechanically removed from sugar evaporators' pipes and equipment. Although effective, this method is usually costly, difficult to access deposits in crevices, and risks causing equipment damage. Chemical cleaning, on the other hand, is a more effective, trustworthy, and time-efficient alternative for eliminating scale. A solution of caustic soda (10-25%) is the most used reagent in Egypt to clean the evaporative tubes used in sugar processes. The goal of this study was to provide a novel green solution that could be utilized in sugar factories to remove scale from evaporative bodies and reduce the environmental impact of NaOH. Consequently, glutamic acid and sodium gluconate were both explored as organic acids for scales dissolution. In all types of evaporator bodies, glutamic acid has a significantly better removal efficacy of up to 83%, while sodium gluconate gave a removal rate of up to 40%. According to EDX and XRD analysis, the main scales content in the sugar factory was calcium sulphate due to the sulphitation method utilized in the clarification operations. The fourth evaporator body is the most difficult because to the high quantity of Si contained in the scale structure. The findings of this study will help the industry sector choose precise thinning techniques for the use of chemical chelating agents for scale removal.