Automation Parts

Non-Chemical Methods Prevent And Remove Limescale The amount of damage caused by hard water is huge, but advice on how to prevent it is lacking from all the relevant agencies, according to Environmental Treatment Concepts (ETC). ETC claims that organisations do not seem to recognise that there is any problem with hard water or limescale. The 'Low Temperature Hot Water Boilers' document (CTV008) from the Carbon Trust, however, does state that 1mm of limescale causes a seven per cent increase in energy. Now that very effective non-chemical methods exist for preventing and removing limescale, this should be the preferred sustainable solution. Of course, energy is only part of the equation. Scaling and chemical treatment methods both cause the premature failure of water-fed equipment, appliances and sanitaryware. Take direct-fired gas boilers, for example; these have a much shortened life in hard-water areas. Scale builds up on the bottom surface, above the hottest part, causing th...

Electronic Descaling Prevents Limescale Build Up Environmental Treatment Concepts has partnered Hull University's Department for Chemistry in Industry to develop an effective, environmentally friendly method of testing physical water treatment. Water that is naturally hard, as in 70 per cent of the UK, contains dissolved calcium and other minerals. These help to build and maintain healthy bodies, but their effect on pipework and water systems can be disastrous. When water-borne minerals, such as calcium bicarbonate, revert to their solid carbonate state, limescale is formed in water systems, and this narrows pipes, blocks jets, slows the flow, reduces thermal efficiency and provides a breeding ground for bacteria. Research has shown that just 6mm of limescale will reduce energy efficiency by 40 per cent and, in a moderately hard water area, 6mm of limescale can form in pipework, or on heat exchangers in just two years. This in turn results in higher running costs. Portsmouth Un...