When it comes to dependable performance and minimized maintenance, factory-assembled cooling towers made with advanced, engineered plastics offer a corrosion-resistant alternative to galvanized models. As such, plastic cooling towers are increasingly being used for food-processing applications. One such company is a soy sauce producer in California.

The soy sauce maker uses a cooling tower to cool the process water flowing through heat exchangers used to reduce the temperature of the soy sauce after brewing. Leaks and excessive scaling were occurring in the metal-clad basin of the company’s existing tower. It was time for a new unit.

The soy sauce producer wanted a replacement cooling tower that would be more efficient and durable. Jonathan Reimer, a millwright and general foreman with HMI Industrial Contractors, proposed an HDPE high density polyethylene (HDPE) model. The benefits resulting from the HDPE cooling tower design include ease of operation, upkeep, maintenance of chemical balance and tower installation.

The specific solution for this facility was the twin-cell TM Series from Delta Cooling Towers. These towers are designed to be modular, which allows cells to be isolated to provide operational flexibility.  In addition, the modular design allow for an increase in capacity should it be required in the future. The towers selected have a cooling capacity of up to 820 tons in an induced-draft, counterflow design.

The HDPE plastic is impervious to corrosive and caustic elements, necessary water treatment chemicals and harsh environments containing industrial gases. The TM Series, because it is all HDPE, eliminates rust and corrosion problems entirely.

According to Reimer, the HDPE cooling tower installation met the soy sauce manufacturer’s original objectives, and the company expects the towers’ performance to pay dividends far into the future.