Evaluation of Physico-Chemical Proprieties of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Quenching Environment Depending on the Degree of Thermal Degradation

Among the synthetic media used in the industry the most advantageous are the substances resulting as secondary products from the wood or paper processing industry, as carboxymethyl cellulose. Carboxymethyl cellulose dissolved in water is a synthetic quenching environment used in large tempering basin. Due to the dimensions of the quenching basins, the quenching medium is used repeatedly, which leads to its thermal degradation. The degree of modification of the cooling properties and corrosion behavior of aqueous solutions of carboxymethyl cellulose in the thermal range 800-50°C were studied. The changes in the physicochemical properties such as density, pH, specific heat, diffusivity were studied. These characteristics were found to extert major effect on cooling characteristics during tempering. At the same time, the technological characteristics of cooling were also studied. The specific cooling curve of the medium and thermally degraded compared with the characteristics of classic quenching media such as water and heat treatment oil was analyzed. This study provides guidance on maintaining the specific cooling characteristics of a tempering medium after repeated uses.