CHEMICAL DESCALING OF CLOGGED LEACHATE PUMPS AND LINES with ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY & BIODEGRADABLE DESCALERS
It is well known that leachate collection systems clog up quickly with “calcite rock” type deposits. When this happens, fluids begin to build up inside landfills. Leachate containment can be lost containing toxic and dangerous compositions, as leachate is badly polluted and contains micro-organisms (including pathogenic bacteria and viruses).
The basic problem is the fluid. If a landfill begins to fill up with fluid, the weight of the fluid puts pressure on the bottom of the landfill, increasing the likelihood of bottom liner failure, so any fluid inside a landfill is a potential source of trouble. Back pressure caused by clogging mechanisms is a main contributor to this problem. In hazardous waste facilities, leaks of toxic soluble heavy metals or other contaminants that are highly detrimental and dangerous to the environment can escape containment, possibly permeating into natural aquifers and other areas.
Leachate collection systems and pumps fail in several known ways. Chemical reactions leading to calcium carbonate scale and the clogging of pipes and pumps is the root cause in almost all landfills. Anyone who has boiled a pot of "hard" water has seen the whitish crusty scale that develops. This is the same type of scale that builds up in leachate lines & pumps.
Scaled pumps in a landfill typically present the most common problem. But the leachate lines themselves also present scale clogging issues. The build-up of calcium deposits are made worse by pumps and pipes also getting clogged with silt and mud. As well, hard scale build-up occurs also as a result of the growth of microorganisms in pipes, which lead to reactions that produce scaling mechanisms.
Growth of microorganisms in a landfill cannot be prevented. Chemical and physical conditions (temperature, pH, etc.) at the bottom of a landfill by the thousands of tons of waste drives the amount of bacterial growth.
The problem of calcium or mineral precipitation can be effectively addressed with the use of environmentally friendly and biodegradable descalers.
ScaleBreak is an industrial biodegradable Descaler which quickly dissolves calcium, lime, rust, lithium carbonate and other types of deposits from passages to clear leachate pumps and piping systems in landfill applications. It is safe for use on steel, iron, brass, copper, plastic and rubber. The product is formulated with low foaming, wetting and penetrating agents in conjunction with synergistic corrosion inhibitors to protect leachate piping channels from corrosion.
By RAY FIELD, Goodway Technologies Corp. www.goodway.com
420 West Ave
Stamford, CT. 06902
203.359.4708 rfield@goodway.com