Cooling Tower Acid feed distribution header design 2

[BBMM]

Does anyone know how to design a distribution header (sparger) for a cooling tower for 93% sulfuric acid.?
The normal flow rate is 0.014 gpm (0.038 gpm max). Can this be even done using pure acid. or should a water carrier line be used....what water flow rate should be used if water carrier is used? Any other ideas welocomed.

 

[StoneCold]

BBMM
What we do is we have a small side stream of cooling water. Probably twenty gallons a minute that feeds back to the return line for the towers. We feed our chemicals into the side stream at what ever rate required and they are diluted with the side stream so there are no fancy alloys involved. Mostly PVC piping.

Regards
StoneCold

 

[BBMM]

thanks..we have that side stream planned as an alternate idea but wanted to distribute it evenly across catch basin say via an 8 ft perforated pipe for plant reasons. know how to size the holes if 20 gpm is used? the pump is just a 150 psi positive displacement metering pump.

 

[StoneCold]

If you tie the return of the side steam into the main return piping it will be as well distributed as the main return water flow. Would that be good enough for you?

StoneCold

 

[cub3bead]

The problem with feeding the concentrated acid to the tower splash out and poor mixing of the acid and tower water at the point of application due to the high specific gravity of the acid. The acid drops tend to stay together unless you have vey intense mixing ocurring.

The problem with diluting the acid is finding the right materials for the job that will stand up to the heat of solution and the corrosion.

If you use a perforated pipe for the distributor, size the holes for a 3 - 5 psi drop across the holes to get good distribution.

Put a backpressure regulator at the discharge of the acid feed pump. Use a set point of about 35 psig. This puts enough backpressure on the metering pump so that it will accurately meter the acid and prevents siphoning of acid from the charge tank or bulk storage tank.

 

[BBMM]

thanks guys for the tips...I can movve on from here.