| 摘要 |
The disclosure relates to an apparatus for cleaning piping and a method of cleaning piping. In particular, the apparatus may be a "pig", a device for insertion into a pipe for removing deposits from the inner surface of the pipe. The disclosure is particularly applicable in the field of alumina production. In this field, it is common to obtain alumina from bauxite by grinding the bauxite, mixing this with caustic liquor to form a slurry, and heating the slurry. This leads to the alumina trapped in the bauxite dissolving to form a supersaturated solution of alumina in the caustic liquor with a suspension of the residue from the bauxite. Using known methods, alumina can be recovered from such a solution. The disclosure provides a pipe cleaning device (1) for removing deposits from the inner surface of a pipe. The pipe cleaning device (1) comprises a propelling piston (10) and a cleaning tool (100) attached to the propelling piston (10), wherein: the cleaning tool (100) comprises a main body (110) and a plurality of circumferentially spaced arms (200), pivotably attached to the main body (110) and urged by an urging force to pivot away from a longitudinal axis of the main body (110); each arm (200) has an insert (300) with a plurality of teeth (400) on its distal end defining a working surface for engaging deposits on the inner surface of the pipe; and the teeth (400) have a distal end and a cutting edge spaced from the distal end. |
