[ameerameer]

Good day all,

This is my first post in this great forum.

I have a question for you.

Lately, we faced some problems with one of the pumps in our plant. We have discovered that some deposits were accumulating on the pump rotor. This caused unbalance and therefore high vibration. After doing the lab analysis of the dirt, it was found that the main component was BaSO4.

So, do you have a suggestion how could we dissolve this dirt without removing or opening the pump?

Waiting for your reply.

Regards,

[AWK]

This is rather impossible. BaSO4 is only slightly soluble in hot concentrated H2SO4 or HNO3.
In lab we often use an equilibrium reaction to convert very insoluble BaSO4 into easily soluble in any acid BaCO3.
Na2CO3(aq. conc) + BaSO4(s) = Na2SO4(aq) + BaCO3(s)

[ameerameer]

Hi AWK and thanks for your reply,

Please excuse me if I am not that aware of the chemistry stuff since I am a mechanical engineer and chemistry is somehow out of my scope.

What I understand from your reply is that we have to convert the BaSO4 into BaCO3 in order to get red of it. So, are you suggesting to add Na2CO3 to do so? if yes, in what media should we add it? would water be OK?

Waiting and thanks again,

regards,

[Borek]

What I understand from your reply is that we have to convert the BaSO4 into BaCO3 in order to get red of it. So, are you suggesting to add Na2CO3 to do so? if yes, in what media should we add it? would water be OK?

As AWK stated - chemical removal of BaSO4 deposists may be impossible. Reaction he refers to uses concentrated water solution of sodium carbonate. Problem is, such desposits are in my limited experience much more resistant to dissolution than fine precipitates. It may take days or weeks till anything will change.

Note, that it is only a first stage - once sulfate is converted to carbonate, it have to be dissolved in some acid, hydrochloric will be probably the best. This second stage looks much more reliable and much faster, but you are limited by the first one.

[aeacfm]

Lately, we faced some problems with one of the pumps in our plant. We have discovered that some deposits were accumulating on the pump rotor. This caused unbalance and therefore high vibration. After doing the lab analysis of the dirt, it was found that the main component was BaSO4.

So, do you have a suggestion how could we dissolve this dirt without removing or opening the pump?

Using  heated EDTA ( 90 degree C ) mixed with  oxalate salt and soaking over a long period of time can help.
it wont dissolve the barium sulfate by meaning, it will dissolve some and mainly will dissociate the big chunks into a spongy lighter ones , but the key factors : temperature and soaking time.