Application of the Fast Controlled Precipitation method to assess the scale-forming ability of raw river waters Original Research Article

In an industrial cooling circuit supplied with raw river water, the scaling phenomena can reduce cooling efficiency and even lead to the shutdown of the power plant. During the last twenty years, various methods have been developed in order to estimate the scaling propensity of natural waters, which involve the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), the main component of scale. The Fast Controlled Precipitation (FCP) is a non-electrochemical method which consists in CO2 degassing from water by a moderated agitation. FCP allows quantifying the scaling propensity for natural water. It could be a useful tool in order to prevent the scaling risk in industrial installations.