Water Blasting for Pulp/Paper Mill Applications
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Water Blasting for Pulp/Paper Mill Applications

A pulp and paper mill in Florida recently engaged our company to provide cleaning services for a critical piece of equipment in the facility. Our team of high pressure water blasting technicians was able to perform the task with a level of success that our clients have come to know as a trademark of Thompson Industrial Services. Following is an overview of this particular water blast cleaning job, along with some explanation of the equipment, tools and techniques that made it a success.

 

 

Industry-Leading Water Blasting Equipment

 Our expert technicians know very well how important their support equipment is, and few are as uniquely crucial as the ones that our customers understandably refer to as the “Big Pumps.” Each of these units is mounted on its own flatbed tractor-trailer complimented by an extensive range of automated devices for various cleaning applications, and carries the following specifications: ·         Up to 1,200 gallons per minute of water flow·         Up to 10,000 PSI of water pressure·         2,250 horsepower rating These enormous pumps bring some of the highest volume water blast cleaning power available in the industry, which translates into a number of bottom-line benefits for our industrial cleaning clients. Testimonials from satisfied mill personnel regularly mention the speed and thorough effectiveness of our Big Pumpsand their supporting equipment. Due to the immense power and thrust behind our high volume hydroblasting equipment, we regularly use automated/robotic tools in combination with it. Instead of working in close proximity to high water pressure and in hazardous environments, our professionals are able to operate the equipment by remote control, nearly or totally eliminating exposure and threat to human workers. Recovery Boiler Cleaning The task before our Big Pumps and technicians was to simultaneously and thoroughly clean deposits from a recovery boiler’s upper furnace and remove its smelt bed at a Florida pulp and paper mill. At this particular mill, plant management estimated that each hour of extended boiler outage time costs the mill $20,000.00. With the high volume hydroblasting provided by our Big Pumps, supporting automated equipment to capitalize on its efficiency and the creativity of our experienced team, the cleaning of the recovery boiler took six fewer hours than any previous cleanings. The estimated savings for the mill were $120,000.00, and the recovery manager overseeing the job also expressed a high level of satisfaction for the thoroughness of cleaning and ability to immediately commence their inspection and maintenance activities in record time.
 

Each capable of hydroblasting at 10,000 PSI/1,200 GPM

 Recovery boiler cleaning has traditionally been viewed as anexceptionally time-consuming, expensive and hazardous process, requiring many hours of downtime. Over our decades of work in the industrial cleaning field, however, Thompson’s researchers have developed and engineered our own automated water blasting equipment designed especially for the Big Pumps, which dramatically minimizes the time necessary for a boiler to be cleaned for inspections and/or maintenance. In some cases, 18 hours or even less are allowed for our hydroblasting technicians to achieve the boiler cleanliness standards as routinely demanded by our clients, which is one of the reasons we clean a recovery boiler an average of one every six days on a coast-to-coast, annual basis. Highly Qualified Water Blasting Experts In our post-cleaning communication with the manager of the paper mill, he emphasized his appreciation for our team’s extremely high level of professionalism and knowledge of the equipment. Instead of needing the mill’s staff to explain the job’s requirements and process, our technicians came in with the training and experience necessary to plan and execute the cleaning on their own. This preparedness is a key feature of all of our industrial cleaning services, from heat exchanger cleaning to vacuuming of combustible dust to boiler cleaning. When our team encounters a job that is truly out of the ordinary, they follow a detailed research plan, devising a unique solution and even creating new combinations of equipment when the job calls for it. On every job, we make it a point to exercise our decades of experience to solve the problem rather than expecting the client to guide us. Other Money-Saving, Safety-Focused Industrial Cleaning Solutions Industry-leading water blasting is just one of the many solutions that Thompson Industrial Services provides to clients across the United States and in the Caribbean. We are constantly researching new ways to make our services safer, more effective, and less costly, giving our valued clients even more reason to contact us when they need to have their plant’s equipment serviced with a minimum of expense and downtime, but always with utmost safety as Job One. Please call us today to learn more about our water blast cleaning, Ultra High Pressure cleaning, hydro-cutting, chemical cleaning, wet and dry vacuuming, hydro and pneumatic vacuum excavation, and other customized industrial services.

 

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