Calcium carbonate scale control, effect of material and inhibitors

This paper focuses on developing a reproducible method for reducing calcium carbonate scale formation on heated surfaces where scaling can cause serious problems. It is known that calcium carbonate precipitation is sensitive to impurity ions, such as iron and zinc, even at trace concentration levels. In this paper two sets of experiments are reported. The first experiments were undertaken to investigate the effect of zinc, copper and iron dosing on CaCO3 nucleation and precipitation. Results from the experiments showed that the most effective inhibitor of CaCO3 precipitation was zinc and the effect was linked to dose levels and temperature. Copper and iron had little effect on precipitation in the dose range investigated. The second trial was undertaken to translate the precipitation data to scale formation. These tests were undertaken at 70 degrees C. 5 mg x L(-1) zinc dose reduced the scale formation by 35%. The effect of iron on calcium carbonate scaling rate was not significant. The physical nature of the material on which the scale is formed also influences the scaling. The scaling experiment was also used to investigate the effect of different surface material (stainless steel, copper and aluminium) on CaCO3 scale formation. Copper surface scaled the most.