Posted on: May 12th, 2022 by Apex Team

Heavy-Duty Degreasing with RYDALL HD

What is Heavy-Duty Degreasing?

Heavy-Duty degreasing is the process of removing grease, oil, and other soil particles from industrial machinery, appliances, and surfaces. Degreasing agents typically demulsify the light carbons with non-aggressive ingredients during the degreasing process. This breaks the oil bond that holds together all of the different hydrocarbons that comprise fouling grease residue.

Where are Heavy-Duty Degreasers Used?

Heavy-duty degreasers are typically reserved for degreasing hard-to-access machinery, or large machinery that requires a special cleaning process. Common targets for heavy-duty degreasing include:

  • Heat exchangers
  • Lube oil coolers
  • Crank cases
  • Machine parts
  • Other hydrocarbon-based fouled equipment

Industries that have machinery that needs regular degreasing include:

  • Petrochemical
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Automotive
  • pulp and paper
  • Power
  • Petroleum
  • Steel
  • Other similar manufacturing industries

Heavy-Duty Degreasing Safety Protocols

Several safety tools and precautions are necessary before beginning any heavy-duty degreasing procedure:

  • Goggles
  • Gloves
  • Protective clothing
  • Proper disposal tools (if necessary)

Heavy-duty degreasers like RYDALL HD are typically biodegradable. Make sure to read any disposal instructions or warnings before disposing of any degreasing agent.

RYDALL HD Heavy-Duty Degreaser

RYDALL HD is a water soluble, non-butyl, non-phosphate, non-corrosive, alkali emulsifier (simply put; a heavy-duty degreaser). This innovative product is used specifically on all carbon based derivatives that are found on the oil and/or process sides of your critical equipment or systems

RYDALL HD is a safe yet powerful solution to your degreasing and cleaning needs. Although RYDALL HD is typically circulated through equipment it can be utilized in many other applications where hydrocarbon deposits are present. Try it the next time you have a buildup of heavy hydrocarbon based deposits in your critical equipment or systems or contact our technical staff to determine if RYDALL HD is the right product for your application.

RYDALL HD is the leading heavy duty degreaser due to:

Speed: Reduce process equipment downtime resulting in more profits due to increased operating time.

Safety: Utilize metal compliant chemistries to effectively remove fouling deposits down to bare metal.

Ease-of-Use: Does not require disassembly of equipment, thus saving labor, time and money for the plant. RYDALL HD is also non-toxic, easy to handle, and able to be applied by your own plant personnel.

Biodegradable: RYDALL HD is readily biodegradable.

How to Use RYDALL HD

Using RYDALL HD is as simple as following these instructions*:

  1. Isolate and drain the oil or process side of the exchanger to be cleaned.
  2. Install valves between the isolation flanges and the heat exchanger on both the supply and return. On larger volume applications, we recommend a 2” inlet/outlet as a minimum. The larger the valves and hosing, the better the flow and performance of the RYDALL HD.
  3. The same principle applies for the circulation pump as with the valves and hoses. We recommend a 90-140 GPM (340-530 LPM) flow rate for the RYDALL HD circulation pump. The better the volumes and flow rates of the pump, the better the performance of the cleaning solution.
  4. Generally, the circulation system described above, will circulate the RYDALL HD from a tote or Baker tank, to a high flow rate pump, to a plate and frame steam heat exchanger (to elevate the temperature to between 140-160ºF (60-71ºC)), in through the bottom of the equipment and out through the top, and finally back to the circulating tank.
  5. Ascertain the proper quantity of RYDALL HD for this particular job. Most applications require between 25-50% aqueous dilution of the total volume of the equipment or system to be cleaned.
  6. Pump all of the required RYDALL HD into the exchanger. Once that is accomplished, begin to add water to the tank until a stable circulation is realized. Once the level desired to maintain circulation is reached, turn off the water supply.
  7. Continue circulating the solution for the recommended amount of time. The time required to completely clean your application will depend on the severity of the deposits to be removed and the system volume. As a general guideline, most applications will require between 3-6 hours of circulation. Heavy deposits or volumes over 1,000 gallons (3,785 liters) may require 6-10 hours of circulation. (Please consult with your RYDALL HD representative or our technical staff for the recommended circulation time). As the circulation progresses and the cleaning solution removes the deposits from inside the unit, the volume will increase. To account for the increase in volume, please add water to the circulation vessel, as needed.
  8. The cleaning solution exiting from the heat exchanger is filtered through a “balancing” tank, which basically holds a portion of the solution, letting the lighter hydrocarbons emerge and float on the surface, and the heavier hydrocarbons sit at the bottom of the tank. The “clean”, filtered solution that re-circulates back to the heat exchanger is drawn from the middle of the balancing tank. We occasionally use two inline industrial filters to separate the heavier particles when the infrastructure allows.
  9. Upon completion of the recommended circulation time, all of the solution should be pumped back into the Baker tank.
  10. RYDALL HD is split-phasing, so after some time, can’t off and recover the oil residues, then dispose of the remaining water per plant and
  11. local regulations.

*Please make sure the machinery you are using is turned off and doesn’t require any special steps or treatment before degreasing begins.