Brewery Rids Ammonia Condensers of Scale

So much scale had built up in a western U.S. brewery’s ammonia condensers that it was operating at a 30 percent efficiency loss.

No longer able to put off cleaning the two units, the brewery brought in Rydlyme, Aurora, Ill., to handle the project. Rydlyme recommended 2,200 gal of its Rydlyme product to completely clean the condensers. The job took place over 1.5 days with three cleaning periods of four to five hours each.

Top: Rydlyme chemicals foam and bubble in a reservoir while actively dissolving scale. Bottom: The spray nozzles on the condenser are free of scale after treatment.

After treatment, the header and spray nozzles were free of all scale, and the tubes were cleaned down to bare metal, according to Rydlyme. The only scale left on the system was on the distribution pipes that were out of reach for treatment due to the spray nozzle pattern.

After completion, the units returned to service and the brewery was able to run them dry with only the outside ambient temperature providing adequate cooling. The condensers now operate at an estimated 95 percent efficiency or better.