Scrubber Water Quality

Most wet scrubbing applications provide adequate control of the scrubbing solutions. Managing the concentrations of the scrubbing stream and removal of the resulting buildup of material “scrubbed” is addressed. The most overlooked portion of the process is water quality. When performance becomes substandard, many systems can be traced to water quality issues. Spray nozzles can become plugged by water scale causing the system to channel and removal of the stream to be less than acceptable.

Once fouled, the system must be cleaned or descaled in order to return the process to design operating conditions. Most of these issues can be avoided by providing a source of “soft water” to the system. While conditioning water is an added cost, it is recommended, and provides a lower overall cost of operation than a system without adequate water quality. If in doubt, have your water tested for hardness and provide that information to your equipment and chemical vendors for evaluation of the impact of water quality on the overall efficiency of your system.