The source(s) of water supplied to cooling towers, boilers, and processes may vary greatly daily or even hourly.  The impact this has on water systems must be closely monitored to avoid scale, deposits, corrosion, inefficient water usage, and other negative impacts on operational costs.

Chem-Aqua representatives are frequently asked, “How often do I need to test my water?”  The answer to this question is as varied as the systems that Chem-Aqua treats.  There are a number of factors that go into determining the “best practice” for each facility.  Typically, these factors are:

Every spring we welcome the milder weather, and with it, various plant and animal life. However, not all of nature’s gifts are beneficial to our evaporative cooling systems; especially the outdoor cooling towers that reject heat from our commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities. Late wintry storms can cause ice and snow accumulation. Heavy rain and hail can disrupt the anticipated easing of the harsh environmental conditions of winter.

When seeking to cool a large scale commercial or industrial facility, insufficient information often leads to an unsatisfactory solution. While some stakeholders choose water-cooled chillers because they believe the cooling tower in these systems offers more efficiency, others prefer air-based cooling systems because of the less prohibitive upfront price. And with recent technological advances made in both air and water-based chilling systems, determining which option is the right fit has become even more challenging. To decide which system best suits a specific project’s needs, it’s important to understand the pros and cons associated with each option.

Simply defined:  Risk Management is the process of identification, analysis, and either acceptance, or control of risks you’ve identified.

A deaerator preheats boiler feedwater and removes dissolved gases, especially oxygen and carbon dioxide. These gases are undesirable because they cause corrosion and increase treatment chemical requirements. 

Deaerators operate based on the reduced solubility of dissolved gases as temperature increases. For example, the solubility of oxygen decreases from about five ppm at 150ºF to about two ppm at 190ºF. Virtually all the free carbon dioxide gas is removed by increasing the temperature to greater than 170ºF.

Closed loop systems, typically hot and cold water recirculating systems, are often ignored when it comes to water treatment programs. Not only should closed loops be chemically treated to control corrosion and microbiological growth, they should also include a side-stream filter to remove suspended solids. 

Even though closed loop systems are theoretically “closed,” suspended solids can still be introduced as a result of corrosion, new construction, new additions to older systems, leaks, and poor commissioning practices. Turbidity or discoloration can be one sign of suspended solids.

With the cooler months upon us, it is important to prepare your cooling towers for freezing temperatures. Even in extremely icy conditions, cooling towers can be operated successfully if proper precautions and protocols are followed. A frozen cooling tower is a major issue for business operations as well as from a cost standpoint.  Now is the time to prepare for winter weather.

Corrosion costs money.  In fact, water system corrosion costs an estimated $50+ billion annually in the United States alone.  System life, maintenance costs, production time, deposition, and efficiency are all negatively impacted by corrosion.

Periodic boiler inspections are necessary to ensure that all equipment and components are operating safely and properly. When removing a boiler from service, the proper procedures should be used to reduce thermal stress and prevent sludge from settling and “baking on” waterside surfaces.

If a boiler is cooled too rapidly or unevenly, the extreme expansion and contraction stress can cause leaks to develop on rolled tube ends as well as damage firebrick or refractory material. Rapid cooling and draining can also cause any suspended solids in the boiler water to form hard, difficult-to-remove deposits. These deposits not only reduce heat transfer efficiency but could also lead to a false interpretation of the treatment program results.