Problems with Cooling Towers
The four basic types of water treatment difficulties must be tracked and controlled in buildings with cooling towers.
Biological pollution, corrosion, fouling, and scaling are examples.
All of these issues limit the cooling tower's capacity to operate as efficiently as it was intended. This means they use more energy to perform the same task. This increases your overhead and raises your operating costs. We'll look at the overall sequence of how to treat a biologically contaminated cooling tower system in this article.
1: Biological Contamination
Cooling towers are naturally hot and humid environments. It's an excellent area for undesired biological development, such as bacteria, to grow, thanks to the common and plentiful nutrients found in most water sources. These toxins are bad for people and far worse for your cooling tower's performance. Biofilm, which is a build-up on the inside components of your cooling tower, is one example. Even relatively thin layers can drastically diminish thermal efficiency.
2: Corrosion
Ignored cooling systems are frequently to blame for leaking cooling towers and chillers. This is particularly common in cooling towers with closed loop systems. When air, sodium, and other chemicals found in our drinking water are allowed to flow freely through a cooling tower system, they eat away at the metal and cause leaks.
3: Fouling
Fouling can happen in a variety of places in your cooling tower system. One of the most common places for fouling to develop is in the fill. Fouling is the accumulation of debris, filth, and dust on cooling surfaces or pipes. The air is not appropriately cooled when water cannot enter and travel through the fill as designed.
How to defeat the enemies of cooling water?
Each cooling tower will have its own set of issues. The water source, age of the cooling tower, and even the air utilised to cool the water differ from one area to the next. As a result, cooling tower maintenance and water treatment is a gradual and tailored process.
When it comes to cooling tower maintenance, there is no such thing as a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Lowering operational costs can be achieved by hiring a cooling tower maintenance business that can help control all four performance-degrading issues.
1: Biological Contamination Treatment
Collecting a water sample is the first and last step after discovering that a cooling tower is polluted with biological growth, and it is also the last item of business. Contaminants in the building and on the site are detrimental to people's health since they can induce respiratory diseases. It is treated by shocking the system with chlorine at varying doses over a 48-hour period, followed by a full flush and refill with fresh water.To avoid further contamination, any leaks in the cooling water system should be repaired.
2: Corrosion Prevention
Corrosion can be managed in three ways: epoxy coatings, orthophosphate in the water treatment, or elevating the pH of the water to near 9.0.
A carefulmix of these measures can help your cooling tower and its individual components last longer. When the pH of cooling tower water is too high, chlorine treatments that assist control biological pollutants are ineffective. Orthophosphate not only helps to prevent corrosion, but it can also work as a "fertiliser" for some microbiological species. Chiller tube and cooling tower coatings of high-quality help prevent metal against carbon steel corrosion.
3: Fouling Treatment
Fouling in cooling towers reduces cooling tower performance, resulting in higher energy consumption. Fouling occurs when debris or biological matter obstructs the uniform distribution of water throughout the system, such as in tubes, nozzles, fill, or other regions where water must flow freely. To recover the performance the cooling tower was intended with, chlorine can be used to treat fouling, fill can be altered, and nozzles or other hardware can be exchanged out for new ones.
4: Scaling removal
Scaling is a thin layer of minerals or chemicals that insulates the tubes and prevents efficient heat transfer, increases back pressure, and limits the generator's output. The main cause of scaling is calcium in the makeup water, which should be monitored and rectified as needed. One method for preventing scaling is to use polymer-based tube coatings. These coatings create a heat-conductive surface that maintains performance while preventing calcium from adhering to the surface and forming deposits. There are cleaning processes that will eliminate severe scaling, which is an ideal time to utilise chiller tube coatings to avoid scaling in the future.
Conclusion:
Scale. Scum. Bacteria. Debris. Corrosion.
Tower technology attracts its fair share of foes. They can cause major difficulties for your cooling system if left unchecked.
Crucial Steps in Water Treatment
>Ensure that biofilms are constantly controlled in your system. Keeping it clean is easier and less expensive than having it cleaned.
>Keep your bleach fresh, store it in the shade, and test it before each delivery.
>Test your assumptions regarding the variables in your cooling tower with labs for verification, and make adjustments as needed.
>The only way to keep your cooling tower scaling, corrosion, and biological development under control is to monitor it constantly. Check in on a regular basis!
Contact Netsol Water for more information.
Netsol Water is Greater Noida-based leading water & wastewater treatment plant manufacturer. We are industry's most demanding company based on client review and work quality. We are known as best commercial RO plant manufacturers, industrial RO plant manufacturer, sewage treatment plant manufacturer, Water Softener Plant Manufacturers and effluent treatment plant manufacturers. Apart from this 24x7 customer support is our USP. Call on +91-9650608473, or write us at enquiry@netsolwater.com for any support, inquiry or product-purchase related query.