Methods/machines for dry cleaning a brick lined furnace

[AD_1979]

Dear all,

First of all, I don't know if this is the right forum to post this question. If that is not the case, the Administrators can move this question to the right forum.

I try to explain as better as possible the problem I currently have. We have a brick lined vertical furnace of around 10 m diameter in which we are going to accumulate in the combustion process a considerable amount of Oxide powder that might create build up areas that could cause problems in the operation of the furnace. I am wondering if there is any kind of machine or system that could perform a dry cleaning of this powder, without using any kind of liquids. This system also should be able to clean the interior of the furnace without the need of operators accessing the interior of the furnace because of safety and operational reason.

Any submitted hint would be highly appreciated.

Regards,
AD.

 

[MintJulep]

Look into dry ice blasting.

There are a bunch of existing threads here on Eng-Tips:

https://www.eng-tips.com/search.cfm?q=dry+ice+blasting&action=search

 

[3DDave]

I thought of dry ice as well, but the requirement is no one goes in. It doesn't seem as if this user would be buying a robot to send in to manage the job.

 

[MintJulep]

if there is any kind of machine

 

[AD_1979]

Thanks to everyone involved in the replies.

Indeed one of the requisites that we have for the cleaning operation is no person can go inside the furnace because it will be still at a relatively high temperature (around 100 C), so that's the reason for specifying this job to be done with a machine and the operators being from the outside. I know they are some companies selling this type of systems, but using a liquid system. Here is an example I found out:

https://www.uraca.de/fileadmin/Down...enreinigung/Anw_Behaelterinnenreinigung_e.pdf

What I am trying to find is a similar system that could work with a dry cleaning environment.

Thanks,
AD

 

[TugboatEng]

Do you have steam available?

 

[AD_1979]

Concerning the availability of steam, yes, we have steam available in the plant but using it for cleaning will create condensation -I assume- and we wish to avoid it.

Thanks,
AD

 

[TugboatEng]

Can you use steam to clean the furnace while it is firing? That avoids the condensation issue. Retractable spot blowers are standard fare on boilers. They're aggressive at 350 psi and normally only used on the tubes. But perhaps they could be effective on the brickwork at lower pressures.

 

[AD_1979]

Can you use steam to clean the furnace while it is firing? That avoids the condensation issue. Retractable spot blowers are standard fare on boilers. They're aggressive at 350 psi and normally only used on the tubes. But perhaps they could be effective on the brickwork at lower pressures.

I don't think the steam option would be feasible, because it would imply a huge modification in our current installation, and also I believe the managment are not so keen on using steam unless strictly necessary, as it's not produced but bought from the outside. Thanks for the suggestion, in any case.