Questions and Answers

Q. What does the system do?

A. The system continuously recovers "free" acid for re-use in your production operation
while concentrating the iron as ferrous chloride. The system does not manufacture HCl
like a “roaster” system, it recovers the acid that is unused in the process. The system re-
concentrates the HCl, removes the iron chloride, and also recovers the excess water.
This reduces purchase of fresh acid, eliminates neutralization or disposal, and provides
high quality water that can be reused.

Q. How does the system work?

A. Spent acid is processed into three parts: recovered acid, recovered water, and a
FeCl2 solution. The system uses heat to vaporize the water and hydrochloric acid from
the iron chloride solution. The iron chloride becomes a super-concentrated solution that
can either be recovered as a concentrated liquid for sale as a feed stock for water
treatment, or can be crystallized for ease of shipment and other uses.

Q. In what concentration is the acid returned?

A. The grade of the HCl acid being returned is a function of the feed supply but is
generally in the range between 16 and 20%. Fresh, virgin acid must be added to the
process tank to replenish the acid consumed in the pickling process. The consumed acid
becomes FeCl2 and is recovered as a usable co-product.

Q. Will the system consume hydrochloric acid, returning less to the pickle tanks? Will
the system add additional water to the process tanks?

A. The system itself does not consume HCl. The pickling process does. The system will
return 99.5% of the available free acid, with 0.5% remaining in the ferrous chloride
concentrate. Since the vapor is recovered using condensers (cooling supplied by an
external cooling tower), no additional water is added to the process.

Q. What happens to the recovered water?

A. The recovered water can be returned to the pickle tank or to a storage tank. It has no
metals in it so it can also be sent to waste treatment or the sewer. It has only a slightly
low pH and requires minimal pH adjustment before discharge. Since it has no metals, it
will not create sludge. Most people use it to replenish rinse tanks or to fill the cooling
tower to make up for water lost to evaporation.

Q. Can the system recycle rinse water?

A. The system can be used to process rinse water. We recommend, however,

processing rinse water separately because different set points must be used.
Q. What markets are available for the ferrous chloride concentrated solution?

A. Municipal wastewater treatment is the principal market. Other large markets include
mining and circuit board etching.

Q: How do you control the output acid concentration and the FeCl2 concentration?

A: We use a process known as rectification. HCl concentration is temperature

dependant so we use a reflux of water dripping through a contact media to control the
temperature and produce a separate HCl concentrate. The water vapor passes through
the contact column, but the HCl is captured from the rectification column.

Q: Does the remaining FeCl2 solution contain a certain level of HCl?

A: Essentially not, i.e. the remaining HCl level is very low, most often below 1%.

Q. What type of heating system is necessary to operate the system?

A. The system requires a steam boiler capable of producing 7 bar (90 psig) steam. In
some cases, hot oil can be used if necessary.

Q. Are storage tanks necessary?

A. A storage tank is necessary for the ferrous chloride. Storage tanks for the feed
supply and recovered acid are optional and dependent upon the individual site
conditions. Many of our customers draw the pickle solution directly from the tank and
return the recovered acid to the same tank so they don’t use intermediate storage.

Q. What does installation cost?

A. Installation costs vary from site to site. Some plants have space close to the pickle
line, others build a small building. Beta supplies its equipment ready to be connected to
the local plumbing and utility connections provided by the customer.
Q: What are the on-going operational costs?

A: The main costs are steam, electricity, and filters. Beta has a simple calculator to
determine this if we can get your local energy cost.

Q. Is operation of the system difficult to learn or time consuming?

A. The system is fully automated. An operator is expected to walk by periodically to

check on conditions, to respond to alarms when indicated, and to change filters when
the system alerts the operator to the need.

Q. How many maintenance personnel are required to manage the system?

A. No additional people are required beyond your existing staff. Beta supplies a
preventative maintenance list, the implementation of which would require two man-days
per quarter to accomplish. Further, there is not much work to do when the system is
running either. For example, about an hour of a workers time per shift is sufficient for a
Model 25KL system processing 25,000 liters of spent acid per day.

Q: What are the operation and maintenance duties are involved?

A: The operation and maintenance items are listed below.

Daily Operation

Confirm boiler is operating and compressed air is on. Water should be available at all
times.

Check liquid levels of both spent and recovered tanks. Check level of concentrate tank.

Check that all lines into and out of the system are open and ready.

Press the start button F16 from the Initial screen. The Operation screen will appear.
The system is now operating automatically. No further action is required until shut down.

An audible alarm issued by the PLC will alert the operator to any problems.

Daily Maintenance

Perform a visual check of the plant every hour. Look for leaks in pumps, spools, tank
lines, or tanks and any unusual pump motor sounds.

Inspect iron chloride storage tank and water tank.

Weekly or As Needed Maintenance

Inspect seals of pumps

Grease motor seals and bearings

Inspect exchangers

Inspect temperature probes

Inspect compressed air line

Clean flow meters and level sensors

Check liquid levels in pumps

Recalibrate probes, sensors, and flow meters

Annual Maintenance

Contact a local chiller maintenance company for the annual maintenance of the chiller.

Wash and polish the system’s exterior. Paint any chips or scratches in framework.

Inspect inside of Separator and Crystal Reactor for delamination.

Tune feed valve and concentrate valve.

Clean carbon block heat exchangers

Q: What is the average maintenance cost?

A: About US$5000 per year (max) for a Model 25KL.

Q: How often does the filter need to be changed?

A: Once per week for clean solutions, twice or more times per week for very dirty
solutions. The need for a change is indicated by a drop in pressure. It takes about 30
minutes to change a filter.

Q: How much do the filters cost?

A: US$6 per filter.

Q: Does the system need to be shut down for the filter replacement?

A: Systems equipped with a dual pre-filter feed station do not need to be shut down for
filter replacement. The system uses only one filter at a time. When the first filter
becomes clogged, the system will signal the operator and switch to the second filter.

Q: What is the life span of the system?

A: 10 years. But we have systems in operation for almost 20 years. It is more likely that
components will be replaced rather than the system itself.

Q: During the first 4 years, what are the main items that need replacement or attention?

A: The pump seal will have to be replaced every year or so. Heat exchangers need to be
cleaned from time to time depending on the amount of oil in the bath. A few valve
actuators may need to be repaired or replaced. The major components tend to last for
quite a long time and require little attention, however.