Rinse/reclaim acid (wash water, off spec acid, purged acid) will be delivered to the acid mixing skid by means of a duplex set of gear pumps controlled by VFD’s. The pumps will be installed on polypropylene pump stands adjacent to the Rinse/Reclaim Tank, typically designated as Tank R-1 within the secondary containment structure for the Acid Mixing Room. Systems will typically include 1or 2 more (R2 and R3) Rinse/Reclaim Tanks. A common header is also provided connecting all the Rinse/Reclaim tanks. If desired, system can be run in manual mode with tanks R2 and/or R3 supplying the feed pumps.
The acid mixing skid will include a water tank (~150 gals) for assisting in the mixing of low gravity (ie, 1.150 SG) acid and the preparation of 1.400 SG acid for paste mixing (rinse/reclaim is not used to mix pasting acid).
Sodium sulfate solution can also be added during mixing. Setup and operation of the sodium sulfate solution is discussed in Section 5.5 of this functional spec.
The mixing skid is normally equipped with a ¾” Kynar flange connection for concentrated acid, a 1½” CPVC connection for rinse/reclaim, a ¾” CPVC connection for sodium sulfate solution and a 1½” connection for the water line. Vendor shall verify that line sizes provided are adequate for the expected flow rates listed in Section 5.1.1 above. Each feed line shall include a manual valve, flow sensor, actuator valve, and back flow preventer valve. Kynar or other type of heat resistant piping shall be used upstream of the blend point. A Kynar static mixing tube shall be installed between the blend point and the heat exchanger.
After exiting the heat exchanger, a density cell shall be used to measure the acid specific gravity. The total flow or more typically a slip stream flows through the density cell. Cell components shall be selected that are resistant to materials and impurities (ie, sulfur dioxide) that may be present in the sulfuric acid. The system shall also include a manual gravity check station (w/ a hydrometer) to sample and check the specific gravity. The acid mix skid shall include provisions to automatically flush the density cell at preselected intervals.
Each feed line to the skid shall include magnetic flow meter. The acid mix skid will include either a graphite block or ceramic tube heat exchanger. Graphite block or ceramic tube units are preferred.
5.1.3 Typical System Operation
The system shall be capable of preparing the mixed acid in both an automatic and manual mode. In the auto mode, the system shall continually monitor the level in all the mixed acid storage tanks. When a preselected level is detected in one of the tanks, the mixing process shall be initiated. During setup, initial pump speeds will selected for the acid, rinse/reclaim, and water pumps. After the initial run and/or setup, pump speed will be set based on the speeds that the pumps were running at when the last mix cycle for that specific gravity was run.
For battery fill acid, the mix process begins by starting the rinse/reclaim pumps and measuring the specific gravity of the rinse/reclaim acid (Tank R1). Depending on the measured specific gravity, the acid, rinse/reclaim, and/or water pumps will start. The specific gravity in the rinse/reclaim tank can vary from 1.000 – 1.200. Listed below are some situations that could be encountered on how the system may react. With a low R/R SG (Condition 1), the desired gravity can be prepared by adding R/R to the acid. There are typically limits on how much the pump flow can be reduced before the VFD faults or the flow becomes erratic. As R/R SG approaches the desired gravity (Condition 2), it may be necessary to add water to reduce the gravity, then add acid and R/R to achieve the desired value. If the R/R SG is above the desired value (Condition 3), then only water and rinse/reclaim are needed for mixing. For the higher gravities, only acid and R/R will be needed. Rinse/Reclaim cannot be used to prepare pasting acid. When paste acid is mixed, it is not necessary to check the R/R gravity before mixing, and only the water and acid pumps will operate.
Condition Desired SG R/R SG Acid Pump R/R Pump Water Pump
1 1.150 1.100 Yes Yes No
2 1.150 1.140 Yes Yes Yes
3 1.150 1.180 No Yes Yes
4 1.350 1.180 Yes Yes No
5 Pasting - Yes No Yes
After verifying the SG of the rinse/reclaim, the appropriate pumps will start. Flow sensors in all the feed lines plus the cooling water loop must verify the flow or the system will shutdown. The SG of the mixture will be checked, compared to the desired set point, then the pump speed varied accordingly to achieve the desired value. Normally the R/R flow is held constant, the flow of acid is varied. After a preselected time period, the SG is