Companies worldwide spend billions of pounds in total each year dealing with foam and the effects it has on their businesses. Reliable, accurate foam monitoring and control will have numerous operational benefits for operators, key amongst them being a significant reduction in costs. This saving can be achieved in several ways:
- Reduced antifoam use
- Improved process control
- Increased security of process and equipment
- Reduced downtime
- Reduced workforce
- Increased yields and vessel utilisation
Key amongst these is cost savings through the reduction of the use of antifoam and de-foaming chemicals. The high cost of these chemicals, coupled with the traditional habit of constantly dosing or dosing on a timer basis, has led to considerable expense for many companies. Clear benefits are to be achieved through the use of a reactive system that doses antifoam only when it is required. Typically Hycontrol customers have reported substantial savings, with one energy producer in America achieving a 99% saving on their antifoam costs. A UK customer recently reported lowering use of antifoam by 92% annually.
Consideration must also be given to the long-term detrimental effect that the disposal and dispersal of de-foaming chemicals have on our health and the environment. There is clear evidence that considerable savings can be made by actively controlling the addition of antifoaming substances, and the technology is now available to achieve this. There is no need for companies to continue with out-dated control systems, which ultimately only serve the interests of the chemical suppliers. |
