Fin-Tek has developed a proprietary dielectric removal tool for the Ozonia M-Series Ozone generator.
A client water treatment plant operated its Ozonia M-Series ozone generators for seven years without performing a proper cleaning of the dielectrics and of the stainless steel shell. While on-site performing a routine ozone monitor calibration, a Fin-Tek technician suspected that the ozonators needed cleaning and suggested that the plant take at least one of their three large ozonators off-line for inspection.
The plant managers agreed and scheduled a Fin-Tek engineer to oversee the inspection. The Ozonia M-Series that they shut down and inspected suffered from nitric acid fouling, so much so that ceramic dielectrics inside had become "glued" to the shell.
After the initial inspection, a Fin-Tek engineer and technician spent a week on-site in order to design a maintenance protocol that would not only clean and overhaul the system but that would also do so without breaking the ceramic dielectrics. Together the engineer and technician developed a method that employed specially machined tools to safely remove the ceramic dielectrics.
With the tailor-made solution in hand, Fin-Tek technicians spent the following week on-site removing and cleaning all the ceramic dielectrics and the stainless steel shell. They spent the following week reassembling the ozonators. When the plant engineers started the unit again, they found that the generator achieved higher ozone concentration and higher output for the same energy input as compared to their other two, un-serviced Ozonia M-Series generators.
One may conclude that ozonators develop nitric acid fouling, even Ozonia M-Series ozonators such as the one described here, which uses liquid oxygen as the feed gas. Here, nitric acid is the result of the partial pressures imbalance of nitrogen and water vapor working against gaskets, threaded connections, backwards through monitors, etc to enter the shell.
The Water Treatment Plant in this instance had been told that a full-cleaning would not be required until after the tenth year of operation. The plant had put its ozone generators on-line seven years before the cleaning, however, the cleaned generator had operated for only 16,000 hours, or only two full years. In other words, it accumulated such heavy nitric acid fouling in only two years time. Fouling after a full ten years would undoubtedly have been much, much heavier and costly.
Fin-Tek is experienced and capable of servicing the Ozonia M-Series generator and would be happy to do it for you. Please contact one of our engineers for more information about how to protect your investment.
Useful Links
EPA Study on Ozone Applications Engineering (PDF)
Water Tech Online discusses Ozone Examined as Treatment Against Pathogens
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