Chemical Cleaning
Professionally Engineered Chemical Clean Services
Don’t leave the complex task of chemical cleaning in the hands of just any company. B&W Energy Services is a full-service provider of pre-commissioning and commissioning cleaning services, trusted by dozens of corporations for over 300 projects around the world. Our turnkey chemical cleaning services apply to:
- Licensed boiler operators
- Power plant cleaning
- Temporary steam generators (boilers)
- Waste disposal
- Waste holding tanks
- Waste profiling
- Water demineralizers
- And more
We’ll manage your industrial chemical cleaning project from start to finish. B&W has developed and professionally engineered chemical cleaning services on some of the industry’s most complex projects.
Got Questions? Get Answers.
Quick Facts
Service Type: Chemical system cleaning
Primary Purpose: Dissolve and remove internal deposits
Typical Use Case: Fouled or contaminated systems
Core Method: Circulated chemical solutions
Operating Medium: Engineered chemical formulations
Cleaning Mechanism: Chemical dissolution and passivation
Systems Treated: Boilers, heat exchangers, piping, vessels
Contaminants Removed: Scale, oxides, hydrocarbons, biofouling
Process Control: Lab analysis and neutralization
Environmental Impact: Fully managed containment and disposal
Many companies within the chemical cleaning industry claim to provide “specifically designed” solutions. However, B&W Energy Services is one of the only pre-commissioning companies in the world specializing in chemical cleaning for industrial plants that provide our clients with truly custom solutions using the most advanced chemical cleaning equipment designed by the industry’s top engineers.
Here’s how we do it.
Step 1: When you work with us, our industrial chemical cleaning services start by evaluating any organic materials, oils, greases, iron or mineral deposits, and other contaminants so we can professionally engineer the best chemical cleaning program for your project. The pipeline cleaning process is complex and requires extensive engineering input to develop highly detailed procedures.
Our team understands the guiding principles of sound chemical cleaning practices, like using plate and frame heat exchangers and high-volume fine filtration units. We minimize hose usage by employing hard piping, high-flow pumps, proper equipment sizing, and analytical testing and verification. Each project is prepared with the most reliable equipment in the industry, and our team is trained to ensure every safety standard is in place to protect your facilities and employees.
Step 2: We examine your entire system and engineer your custom chemical cleaning program by utilizing various design inputs, including process and instrumentation diagrams, erection isometrics, vendor drawings and data sheets, metallurgy and target contamination. Our team also reviews all client, owner and vendor specifications and guidelines to incorporate them into the engineered procedure.
B&W’s in-house engineering and design team creates and continually improves upon our own chemical cleaning equipment. We heavily consider both safety and environmental concerns as we build our equipment and your custom chemical cleaning program. Our low-risk chemical cleaning solutions are created with the highest quality materials. We construct temporary pipe spools to ASME B31.3 code standards, and all pipe spools are fabricated with ANSI B16.5 flanges, virtually eliminating the potential for leaks.
Step 3: Upon thoroughly inspecting your system, we perform incompressible fluid modeling to achieve appropriate design flow rates and velocities during fluid circulation. This step also ensures proper temporary equipment sizing and ratings are met.
Step 4: Once the plans are complete and client-approved, B&W’s team executes your custom-designed chemical cleaning program. With one of the highest safety records in the industry, B&W is committed to completing your project on time without compromising safety or expert engineering every time.
Step 5: Following the chemical clean, we perform system inspections to ensure your systems are as clean as possible. By keeping post-job inspections in-house, our clients see the same level of expertise and consistent communication across the board. Project owners won’t have to coordinate between several parties to ensure the highest cleaning standards are met every time.
What does this process mean for the project’s owner and EPC firm? In short, fewer headaches, less stress and plenty of money saved by working with one company instead of hiring multiple contractors.
Give us a call to learn more about how B&W Energy Services is better suited than anyone else within the chemical cleaning industry to handle your project’s needs.
Which cleaning method is right for my system: Chemical Cleaning, Air Blowing, or Steam Blowing?
| Criteria | Chemical Cleaning | Air Blowing | Steam Blowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Remove adhered contaminants using chemical solutions | Remove water and loose debris from piping | Remove debris and validate steam system cleanliness |
| Best for | Mill scale, rust, grease, hydrocarbons and process contamination | Water, sand and construction debris | Construction debris, welding scale and loose contamination |
| Typical systems | Process piping, heat exchangers and complex systems | General piping systems after hydrotesting | Steam lines and large pipeline systems |
| Stage of project | Pre-commissioning / commissioning | After hydrotesting or installation | Pre-commissioning of steam systems |
| Cleaning depth | Deep internal cleaning | Light cleaning | Moderate cleaning |
| Method used | Circulating chemical solutions through the system | High-velocity compressed air | High-velocity steam flow |
| When to choose | When contamination is bonded to internal pipe surfaces | When removing water or loose debris is sufficient | When preparing or validating steam piping systems |
| When it may not be needed | If contamination is minimal or loose | If contaminants require chemical removal | If system is not a steam service line |
FAQs
What do boiler cleaning services include?
Professional boiler cleaning services include comprehensive support from initial evaluation through final inspection. Services begin with engineering analysis of your system using P&IDs, isometrics and metallurgy data to design custom cleaning programs. The scope includes all necessary equipment, like circulation pumps, heat exchangers, filtration units and temporary piping fabricated to code standards. Chemical solutions are also specifically formulated for your contamination type and boiler materials.
The cleaning process encompasses chemical circulation, real-time monitoring and sampling, neutralization, thorough rinsing and surface passivation. After cleaning, inspection services document results and verify that cleanliness levels meet specifications. Full-service providers like B&W Energy Services also handle waste disposal, provide licensed operators and manage all aspects of safety compliance and regulatory requirements.
What is the difference between chemical cleaning and AquaLazing?
Chemical cleaning uses acid or alkaline solutions to dissolve contaminants, while AquaLazing uses high-pressure water jetting (15,000 psi) to physically remove deposits.
Chemical cleaning excels at removing tightly bonded mill scale, rust and corrosion from high-pressure boilers and heat exchangers, and is often required by OEM specifications for new steam-generating equipment.
AquaLazing offers an environmentally friendly alternative to piping systems that traditionally require chemical cleaning, eliminating chemical waste disposal and reducing costs. AquaLazing can clean pipes from two to 120 inches in diameter and traverse complex piping configurations.
For many projects, B&W Energy Services combines both methods—using chemical cleaning for boilers and HRSGs where specifications require it, and AquaLazing for auxiliary piping systems—to optimize costs, minimize environmental impact and achieve superior cleaning results across your entire facility.
Do you need chemical cleaning for new boilers and HRSGs?
Yes, new boilers and HRSGs absolutely require chemical cleaning before initial startup. During manufacturing and construction, boiler tubes and components accumulate mill scale (iron oxide), manufacturing oils, greases, welding flux, rust inhibitors and construction debris. If not removed, these contaminants form insulating layers that reduce heat transfer, causing tubes to overheat and fail within weeks or months of operation.
OEM warranties typically require pre-operational chemical cleaning with documented results proving that cleanliness levels meet specifications. Heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) in combined-cycle plants are particularly sensitive because gas turbine exhaust temperatures demand optimal heat transfer. Skipping this critical step to save initial costs almost always results in far greater expenses from tube failures, forced outages and voided warranties.
B&W Energy Services has performed pre-commissioning chemical cleaning on hundreds of new boilers and HRSGs worldwide, ensuring systems start reliably and operate efficiently from day one.
How long does chemical boiler cleaning take?
Chemical boiler cleaning duration varies significantly based on system size, contamination level and cleaning method. A typical boiler boil-out for smaller package boilers may take 24-48 hours, while comprehensive acid-based chemical cleaning of large high-pressure steam generators can require 5-10 days from mobilization through final passivation and testing. The process includes system evaluation, engineering review, chemical circulation (which may run 12-24 hours), neutralization, rinsing, passivation and post-cleaning inspection.
Complex projects with multiple boilers or HRSGs may extend several weeks. B&W Energy Services provides detailed project timelines during the engineering phase, and our efficient execution minimizes downtime while ensuring thorough cleaning that meets all manufacturer and industry specifications.
Can chemical cleaning damage boiler tubes or equipment?
When performed incorrectly, chemical cleaning can damage boiler tubes, but professionally engineered chemical cleaning programs are specifically designed to clean safely without harming equipment. The key is using the correct chemical formulation matched to your metallurgy and contamination type, maintaining proper concentrations and temperatures, and following engineered procedures with real-time monitoring.
B&W Energy Services mitigates all damage risks through incompressible fluid modeling to ensure proper flow velocities, analytical testing throughout the cleaning process and passivation treatments that protect cleaned surfaces.
Our low-risk chemical solutions are engineered for your specific boiler materials, whether carbon steel, stainless steel or exotic alloys. We’ve safely cleaned supercritical boilers operating above 3,200 psi, complex HRSGs with mixed metallurgy and sensitive systems worldwide without incident.
Proper engineering and execution are everything. This is why choosing an experienced chemical cleaning contractor with in-house engineering capabilities is critical.
How is chemical cleaning waste disposed of safely?
Chemical cleaning waste disposal must comply with federal, state and local environmental regulations, requiring careful planning and proper handling. After chemical cleaning, spent solutions are neutralized to safe pH levels and analyzed to determine waste classification.
B&W Energy Services manages the entire disposal process, including waste profiling (laboratory analysis to characterize waste composition), arranging licensed waste haulers, coordinating with approved treatment facilities and maintaining complete documentation for regulatory compliance.
For some projects, we provide waste holding tanks on-site to safely contain effluent until proper disposal. Our engineering approach also minimizes waste volume by using high-efficiency circulation systems and, where applicable, combining degreasing and acid cleaning in single-volume fills.
We also handle all permitting requirements and ensure disposal meets EPA standards and any state-specific regulations. Clients receive complete waste manifests and certificates of disposal for their records, providing full transparency and regulatory protection.
