The recycling of produced water for beneficial reuse, including industrial applications such as cooling towers and power generation, is the focus of exclusive technology licensing agreements Tetra Technologies Inc. has executed with KMX Technologies LLC and Hyrec Holdings Co.

Almost every manufactured product uses water somewhere in the production process. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), industrial water is used for fabricating, processing, washing, diluting, cooling or transporting products. 

Condensers are used to prevent direct mixing between the shell-side steam and the cooling water flowing through the tubes in steam-turbine-driven equipment in power plants and food processing applications. Biofouling and other problems can lead to tube leaks and unplanned outages.

WEFTEC, the annual water quality technical conference and exhibition, promises an extensive slate of educational programs and an exhibition of companies displaying industrial water-related technologies and services.

As water resources become increasingly stressed by drought and intensifying demand from competing uses, industries that use significant quantities of water will face greater pressure to adopt water-efficiency strategies that can decrease fresh-water withdrawals. One approach that facilities can adopt to reduce their draw from these supplies — thus reducing stress on drinking water reserves — is to use alternative makeup water sources.

Evaporative cooling towers are popular because they provide cost-effective cooling technology for industrial processes.

Water treatment technologies such as reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration are not new.

Evaporative cooling is not a modern concept — in fact, its origins can be traced to ancient times when Egyptians hung wet blankets across the doors of their homes to cool the space as fresh air blew in.