Hydrokinetics - Northwest Alaska Mining Company

Customer – A Northwest Alaska Mining Company
Location – Northwest Alaska
Project – Cleaning of 8" Pipe – fouled with water deposits
Production Equipment/Unit
Facility – Mill Operations
Equipment – LT Return Pipe
Pipe Material – Carbon Steel
OD – 8"
Schedule – 40
Length – Approximately 200' in total length (divided into 3 sections)
Foulant/Buildup – Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Silicate, produce water and other water deposits

Problem
For years, the mining company had encountered fouling problems in several areas of their mill operations. With unsuccessful attempts to remove the buildup from the pipes, the fouling had become a critical issue in mill operation. The facility had to construct a new LT return pipe to continue mill operations since they had been unable to find an effective cleaning technique. Even with this new line in place, the facility was left with a challenge: how to clean the original pipe and utilize the existing pipe as a standby line.

Evaluation
For years, conventional methods and techniques had failed to fully remove buildup along the walls of the pipe in a reasonable amount of time. The client made several attempts to have the line completely cleaned using various hydroblasting techniques and methods. Most of the cleaning was conducted during mill work stoppage or shutdowns. Typically these outages lasted roughly 48 hours, which was not enough time to thoroughly clean and/or remove the buildup from the pipes. The cleaning contractor merely managed to clean "what they could" during the shutdown period and, subsequently, the mill went back into operation.

Solution
AIMM Technologies was contacted to discuss the possibility of removing the foulant from tubes via our patented HYDROKINETICS™ method.

The client had several concerns in regard to whether the HYDROKINETICS™ method was up to the task. In our 15+ years in the industrial cleaning business, AIMM had never performed a cleaning job for a mining company.

Would HYDROKINETICS™ be able to do the following:

• Can it break the bond between the fouling and pipe?
• How long of a pipe can it clean?
• Can it navigate the foulant through bends and turns?

AIMM did have a few concerns with this particular application. We recognized that, because the pipes had been in water service, there may be issues with corrosion, and the fouling appeared to be extremely hard. As a result, this could make it very difficult to navigate through 90° turns.

Comparison
Not only did AIMM Technologies HYDROKINETICS™ method remove the hardened water buildup along the walls of the tubes, it accomplished the task in a matter of a few hours. A vertical section of pipe approximately 80' long took only 3.5 hours to clean, while another 80' horizontal section took approximately one shift to clean. Because the hardened foulant could not navigate through two back-to-back 90° turns, AIMM separated the line just before each turn (about midway through the 80' section) to clean it. The remaining shorter sections (6' in length, or spool pieces) were cleaned in relatively short periods of time (one to two hours).

Conclusion
We learned valuable lessons regarding the capabilities of our cleaning system, including the amount, length and turning radius the HYDROKINETICS™ method was able to navigate past with this particular fouling material and under this type of work environment.

The operations manager of the mining facility was delighted with AIMM's successful cleaning assignment. Both the management team and AIMM's personnel were amazed at the amount of material removed from the pipe, and the client was astonished that AIMM was able to separate the bond between the foulant and pipe wall so quickly and easily.

This was the first time in a long time that the mining company's pipers were clean and fully functional. They now have a clear line that serves as a standby system in the event fouling becomes an issue in the new LT return pipe.

AIMM looks forward to further opportunities to serve this mill and is currently discussing future cleaning opportunities within the mining operation area.