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During process cooling, the cooling water absorbs large volumes of airborne particulate while the cooling tower acts as an air scrubber, filtering the surrounding air. With time, these fine particles can build up and settle within the system, adversely affecting cooling performance while lowering the life of wetted subcomponents.
Excessive accumulation of biofilm can lead to process cooling water system fouling and corrosion; loss of heat transfer and reduction in energy efficiency; downtime for cleaning; illness or death; and costly equipment repair or replacement.
Alone, continuous low-level chlorine feed may not be enough to control cooling water biofilm and its related problems. For improved protection, chlorine should be continuously fed, monitored and controlled.
The proliferation of microorganisms — bacteria, fungi and algae — presents a significant challenge in the maintenance and operation of process cooling water systems.
Uncontrolled microbiological growth within a cooling water system can result in the formation of biological fouling layers (biofilm) on all surfaces in contact with the cooling water. The biofilm acts as a thermal insulator to decrease heat transfer efficiency in the production equipment and usually results in a substantial corrosion rate increase due to the formation of anaerobic areas under the fouling layer.
This article, which explores the reasons why you should manage your industrial cooling water, is one in an occasional series on water management basics and technologies.