Brief Analysis of Precautions for Compressor Pickling Operation

During the operation of a compressor, high exhaust temperature often occurs. One of the main reasons for this problem is that there is some blockage in the pipeline. For example, if the lubrication system is not cleaned for a long time, the gum and dirt in the head of the air compressor can cause a series of problems such as insufficient air pressure, high noise, high energy consumption, and rapid component damage. Cleaning out the dirt is the only feasible method when equipment cannot be replaced or disassembled at will.

1、 Acid cleaning of compressor unit

To clean the complete machine, generally run the air compressor for several minutes. When the lubricating oil reaches normal temperature, turn off the air compressor, add cleaning agent, and let the air compressor run for 30 minutes. Drain the old engine oil and add new engine oil again. When cleaning the water vapor separator, it is necessary to remove the water vapor separator gas cover and soak it with cleaning agent for cleaning. To clean the air compressor cooler, it is necessary to disassemble the cooling water inlet and outlet pipes, inject cleaning solution for soaking or use a pump for circulating flushing. After cleaning with clean water, reinstall the cooling water inlet and outlet pipes.

Some large compressor stations use a large amount of lubricating oil, and the oil stations transmit lubricating oil to the compressor units through stainless steel pipes. To ensure the oil supply quality of the unit, it is necessary to ensure that the lubricating oil pipeline is clean. Before commissioning or after long-term use of the unit, the oil supply pipe needs to undergo acid cleaning treatment before it can be used normally.

Pipeline pickling procedure: pickling → water washing → neutralization → water washing and drying → oiling → sealing and protection → reinstallation.

a) Prepare pickling solution and neutralization solution in two tanks according to their respective formula proportions. When preparing a solution, clean water with a calculated weight should be placed in the tank according to the planned volume, and then a quantitative amount of nitric acid and sodium carbonate should be injected in turn. When injecting solvent, it should be added through a funnel, and it should be stirred gently to avoid solvent spillage.

b) Reasonably place the pipe section in the pickling tank according to the size of the tank, and soak it for 15 minutes. After taking it out and washing it with water, put it into the neutralization tank and soak it for 10 minutes. After taking it out and washing it with water.

c) After flushing, the pipe section shall be purged with compressed air to ensure that the inside is clean. After drying, the inner wall of the pipe shall be coated with oil, and then sealed with gauze and plastic cloth. They shall be transported to their original positions in time for assembly.

D) After pickling, the quality of the pipeline shall be checked by visual inspection and PH test paper before applying oil. If the inner wall of the pipeline has metallic luster and the PH test paper shows neutral or slightly alkaline, it is qualified.

In order to minimize the downtime of the facility, an air compressor can be used as a standby machine for flushing to avoid additional downtime.