01924 495 975
hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

Heat Exchanger Cleaning in the Plastics Industry

Save you & your team time, hassle & money by getting your industrial parts cleaned to the highest possible standards using the latest industrial cleaning techniques, reducing downtime and eliminating excess spend on consumables.

✅ Save Time✅ Save Money✅ Save Your Parts

Heat exchangers play a crucial role in the plastics manufacturing, blow moulding and recycling industries in a variety of ways including:

  • Temperature Control during various processes like melt and moulding, extrusion, and cooling. Without proper temperature control, the plastic products will not have the desired properties and the process will be less efficient.
  • Heating is usually applied to surrounding equipment to maintain temperatures of operation
  • Cooling is just as important as heating to maintain product density and flow rates
  • Drying plastic materials by removing moisture from the air
  • Sterilising where plastic products may be used in the food and medical industries

Why do Heat Exchangers need Cleaning?

Over time, heat exchangers can become contaminated and clogged after being exposed to various types of materials, which can include plastic particles, dust, oil/vapours and other contaminants. These contaminants can accumulate on the surfaces of the heat exchanger, reducing its efficiency and affecting heat transfer. 

Additionally, if plastic materials are not properly cleaned before being processed, they can cause contamination and clogging. The accumulation of debris and buildup can impede the flow of materials and fluids through the heat exchanger, decrease the heat exchanger’s capacity to transfer heat, leading to lower efficiency and higher energy consumption.

The cleanliness of heat exchangers is essential to maintaining their efficiency and prolonging their lifespan. 

How do you Clean Heat Exchangers?

When it comes to cleaning heat exchangers, there are several different methods that can be used to remove dirt, debris, and other buildup that can accumulate on the surfaces of the heat exchanger over time. These include:

  • Chemical flushing: Using chemicals to dissolve and remove buildup from the heat exchanger surfaces. Chemicals such as acids and alkalis are used to break down the buildup, which is then flushed away.
  • Mechanical cleaning: Mechanical tools such as brushes, scrapers, and high-pressure water jets remove buildup from the heat exchanger surfaces. This type of cleaning is often used for heat exchangers that have heavy buildup or are difficult to reach.
  • Ultrasonic cleaning: Ultrasonic cleaning is an unrivalled way of removing contamination from the complicated engineering of heat exchanges, it not only dissolves the contaminant into the solution but the ultrasonic energy rips it from the surface anywhere that the solution touches, giving you a very high-end finish and confidence of outcome.
  • Pyrolysis burn-off: This method is not that common because usually heat exchangers are made from softer metals such as copper or aluminium but in some cases where they are made of steel then we can burn off materials like oils or polymers that have contaminated them. The good thing about pyrolysis is it’s 100% removal of material and only requires a quick jet wash to remove the ash.
  • High-pressure jet washing: Using high-pressure water jets removes certain types buildup from the heat exchanger surfaces. Jet washing is effective in removing dirt and debris, but it is not recommended for use on heat exchangers that have been contaminated with chemicals.

All these methods are used to remove buildup and debris from heat exchangers, allowing them to operate at optimal efficiency and prolonging their lifespan but it’s the combination of cleaning methods that will produce the best results. 

The thorough cleaning of heat exchangers can help prevent equipment breakdown, save on energy costs and improve the final product quality.

Take a look at how we cleaned a heat exchanger and other parts from a plastic recycling drying system. The end result is pretty impressive!

The Benefits of Cleaning Heat Exchangers

Regular cleaning and maintenance of heat exchangers is crucial for efficiency and safety in plastics manufacturing, blow moulding, and recycling. 

Keeping heat exchangers clean, can improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and prolong the lifespan of equipment, while ensuring the highest quality of final products. Additionally, it can prevent equipment breakdown, downtime and save companies from unexpected costs!

Using multiple cleaning methods will ensure the best results. Combining these methods with our experience, knowledge, flexibility and passion delivers the best results for every one of our clients. The same results cannot be achieved from in-house cleaning or cleaning operations with a single cleaning method.

For friendly & knowledgable help contact us on:
01924 495 975     hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

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    Ultrasonic Cleaning Services

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    Our Clients

    Why Sonic Solutions?

    UK's Most Powerful Fiber Laser

    The UK's only Full-Service industrial parts cleaning company

    Capacity

    We've been going for over 16 years. Est. 2004

    Quick Laser Cutting Quotes

    We offer a Satisfaction Guarantee on our cleaning

    We're the Highest Rated ultrasonic cleaning company online

    Continued Investment

    ISO 9001:2015 Certified

    Excellent Customer Care

    Unrivalled Expertise on Industrial Cleaning Methods

    Quality & Accuracy

    We provide a Fast Turnaround

    Fast & Free Delivery

    Your parts are in safe hands as we're Fully Insured

    Annual Savings of at least £75,328

    “All in all a massive win for us, reducing costs and increasing revenue simultaneously in a very competitive market.”

    Simon - Engineering Support Manager
    Berry BPI Group

    How we saved Simon £75,328 - Simon’s calculations were based on the following;

    1. An average 13 filters a month were cleaned in 2019. Erema laser discs in Simon’s case, but this process also applies to Ettlinger, MAS or other hot melt filters.
    2. Our multi-stage cleaning process means that each filter now lasts at least twice as long as they would’ve done otherwise
    3. Any hot melt filter costs well in excess of £1,000
    4. Total cost of cleaning, carriage, packing etc.. costs in the region of £100 per filter.

    Simon’s conservative calculation of an annual saving of £75,328 was based purely on replacement costs.  He also benefited from higher throughput, longer runtime and less downtime.

    We often work with

    Plastics Recycling & Processing

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    Oil & Gas

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    Power Stations

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    Precision Engineering

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    Automotive

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    Click onPress the button to open our enquiry form and we’ll come back to you ASAP (usually within the hour) with answers, options, prices and services or call us today on 01924 495 975

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    Fill out the form below, or if you would prefer you can call us on 01924 495 975
    or email us at hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

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      What Our Customers Say About us

      google-review

      We approached Sonic Solutions after our parts manufacturers let us down and wasted precious time by supplying oily parts. Not only were they friendly, helpful and happy to rush our parts through - the quality was unbelievable! They arrived back at our factory just in time to not hold up production and we couldn't recommend them highly enough.

      Martin Frings

      google-review

      Our company AssetCool found the entire team at Sonic Solutions to be responsive and incredibly supportive of a new project. Their technical knowledge is superb, and they delivered exactly what they promised. We're very happy to recommend them to anyone with ultrasonic cleaning needs, and look forward to working with them again in the future.

      Tonia Parris

      google-review

      I reached out with a problem to various companies prior to talking with Sonic Solutions, most were unhelpful. These guys insisted on the first trial being for free! The job was excellent and the turn around time very impressive. We are now setting up a monthly cleaning regime with them. A joy to deal with.

      Andy Sim

      Our Story

      Hi. I’m Andy, owner of Sonic Solutions for 14 years. Our aim is simple, to get your dirty parts clean, as efficiently and effectively as possible, so you can get on with your business.

      We provide a cleaning service, cleaning chemicals, and ultrasonic cleaning equipment, so whether you want to do the job in-house or just let someone else sort it out we can help.

      So if you require any cleaning of your equipment to help maintain your parts, increase production and reduce money loss, why not get in touch with our friendly and professional team.

      We look forward to hearing from you.

      - Andy

      FAQ's

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      Read our article here.

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      Read our article here.

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