Houston-based Cooling Technology Institute has added a mobile app for smart phones and tablets that allows attendees of its winter meeting to plan their schedules on portable devices. The association, which is focused on promoting the use of environmentally responsible evaporative heat transfer systems, cooling towers and cooling technology, will meet February 4-7 at the Omni Bayfront Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The annual conference begins on Monday with more than 25 technical presentations.  The educational seminar scheduled for Wednesday, February 6, will include presentations on CTI's toolkit software, cooling tower testing preparation and execution, and cooling tower particulate matter and EPA regulation. A session for cooling tower owners and operators provides an opportunity to talk with other owners and operators about issues with equipment, suppliers and peers.

The technical presentations are expected to include:

• "How Stripping Biofilm from the Cooling Water Loop Impacts Power Plant Production Output," a presentation by Tom Muilenberg and Cem Candir of Miox Corp., Albuquerque, N.M. It will present an environmentally friendly methodology for biofilm control within the cooling water loop.
• "Fire Protection in FRP Cooling Towers," a presentation by James L. Baker of Composite Cooling Solutions LP. It will explain the facts about fires in cooling towers, discuss the FM approval process, and describe standards that govern all types of fire protection systems and testing procedures.
• "A Novel Biocide Delivery for Improved Control of Biofilm Organisms," a presentation by Dorothy Reynolds of GE Water & Process Technologies. A biocide delivery material that reportedly enhances delivery of biocides to biofilms for increased efficacy is described.
• "Chemical Cleaning Techniques for Galvanized and Stainless Cooling Towers," a presentation by Kevin Emery and Rob Bedniger of ChemTreat Inc. They will discuss techniques for online and offline cleaning of cooling towers, including galvanized towers.
• "Condenser Performance Monitoring," a presentation by Daniel M. Cicero of Nalco Co. The paper presents several cases where condenser performance monitoring tools were used to quickly document condenser performance changes.

Also during the meeting, CTI's technical committees — engineering standards and maintenance, performance and technology, and water treating — will meet to review and update CTI standards.

To download the mobile guide for use during the CTI meeting, which will allow attendees to plan each day with a personalized schedule as well as browse exhibitors, maps and general show information, visit the Apple App Store or Android app marketplace and download the Guidebook app. (Users also can visit http://guidebook.com/getit from the phone's browser.) Once installed, choose CTI from the "download guides" menu in the Guidebook app. Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry users can access the same information via a mobile site at http://m.guidebook.com/guide/4401/.