Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of the Inorganic Deposits from Water in Domestic and Technical Heat Exchangers

Johannes Kiefer*, Alexander Staerk, Agnita Lynda Kiefer, Heike Glade

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)
76 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The deposition of insoluble inorganic substances on heat exchanger surfaces has a strong negative influence on the heat transfer and thus on the performance of the apparatus and the process. The analysis of the deposits is a crucial step towards the development of suitable technologies for scaling mitigation and prevention. Such analysis, however, is challenging and often requires advanced instrumentation and sample preparation. To overcome this problem, we present a straightforward analytical approach based on Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We demonstrate that FTIR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the chemical analysis of inorganic deposits. For example, it can identify the common anions in scales such as sulfates and carbonates. It can even distinguish between salts with the same anion but different cations such as calcium and sodium. Test measurements are performed on the deposits from a domestic water cooker and from the evaporator of a seawater desalination pilot plant.

Original languageEnglish
Article number798
Number of pages8
JournalEnergies
Volume11
Issue number4
Early online date30 Mar 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2018

Keywords

  • Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy
  • chemical analysis
  • scale
  • debris
  • heat exchanger
  • boiler
  • carbonate
  • sulfate
  • QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS
  • CALCIUM-CARBONATE
  • IR SPECTROSCOPY
  • CRYSTALLIZATION
  • SEAWATER
  • SPECTRA

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