Non-Clogging Deposit Monitor

Both blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) produce hot gases containing iron particulates, oxides of calcium, and CO.sub.2. These are scrubbed from the gas using recirculating water. This recirculating particulate-containing water tends to scale such equipment as pumps, transfer lines, and venturis. Monitoring of this deposition in the past has proven fruitless due to the iron particulate matter in the water. The fouling monitors which have been used would tend to plug up before any scales could be measured.

A non-plugging deposit monitor of simple design capable of detecting deposit formation in waters containing particulates and other scale-forming components would be an advance in the art.

In addition to detecting the deposit-forming characteristics of gas scrubber waters, the device of the invention is also useful for monitoring the scale-forming tendency of other industrial cooling waters.

The drawing is a schematic vertical view of the device of the invention.

With specific reference to the drawing, there is shown a water influent line 10 which discharges water through a rough screen 40 into a constant head tank 12 having a side wall 14, a bottom 16, and a drain 18. The constant head tank 12 is also fitted with an overflow line 20.

In practice, a sample of the water to be tested is taken from any place in the system sought to be monitored. In most industrial systems, this would be from a recirculating line of a high solids water blast furnace gas scrubber. The water would be continuously flowed through a rough screen and into the constant head tank 12 which provides a uniform volume of water continually leaving the constant head tank through drain 18. Drain 18 discharges into a second tank 22 which, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is a graduated cylinder containing appropriate liquid level markings 24. The bottom 26 of the second cylinder is fitted with an outer drain tube 28. Within the outer drain tube 28 is a cylindrical tube on rod 30 whose top portion 32 is conically tipped or shaped. The inner tube 30 is of smaller diameter than the outer tube, thereby defining an annular space 34.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inner tube is fitted with appropriate heating means 38. These heating means allow the water to be elevated to a temperature corresponding to that encountered within the system sought to be monitored. It also allows scale buildup to be accelerated if this is desired.

The bottom of the drain tube empties into a suitable drain 36. The drain 36 also receives discharge from the overflow line 20.

In operation, as water is discharged from drain 18 into the second tank or graduated cylinder 22, an equilibrium level 39 is established. Water flows from the second tank through the annular space and into the drain. Since the annular space is constricted and large particles have been removed by the rough screen, particulate matter deposit will tend to build up within this space, thereby causing a partial plugging or reduction in flow rate. This will cause the liquid level in the second tank to gradually increase. An unskilled plant operator can observe the cylindrical tank if it is graduated and made of a clear material. When an increase in liquid level is observed, it will be known that deposits or scale could be occurring within the equipment of the system being serviced by the waters monitored by the apparatus of the invention.

The need to field monitor deposit formation in water systems containing high levels of suspended solids necessitated the invention of the non-clogging deposit monitor. Other deposit monitors have been used successfully for waters containing low levels of suspended solids but found to be ineffective for waters containing high suspended solid levels due to the solids clogging these monitors.

The first application of the invention was for high suspended solids process waters in the steel industry. Scale-type deposit formation can occur in process water system equipment such as transfer lines, pumps, and venturis which can cause the shutdown of the system. The non-clogging deposit monitor has been found to be a valuable tool for detecting and monitoring deposit formation in these systems before equipment so adjustments can be made before failure occurs.

In addition to detecting scale type deposits, the monitor can detect microbiological foulant deposits and other general deposit.

Because a wide variety of water systems contain high levels of suspended solids, the non-clogging deposit monitor would be useful for many applications.

A non-clogging deposit monitor of simple design capable of detecting deposit formation in waters containing suspended solids and other deposit forming components would be an advance in the art.