ChemTreat - Open Recirculating Water Cooling Towers

In this cycle, the water returning to the cooling tower water absorbs excess heat, which is then dissipated by passing the water over a cooling tower where evaporation takes place. The cooling tower exposes the heated flowing water to air, causing a percentage (approximately 1–3%) of the water to evaporate, removing 1,000 BTUs per pound of evaporated water. This cools the water that is not evaporated, which is then recirculated through the system.

Reusing cooling water results in water and chemical savings, as the chemistries are retained in the system. However, problems associated with corrosion, deposition, and microbial growth become more severe for several reasons. First, the evaporation process concentrates the amount of dissolved and suspended solids in the circulating water, leading to deposition. Second, the warm temperatures in open recirculating cooling towers are optimal for biological growth. Third, cooling tower operation tends to scrub airborne contaminants from the air. These contaminants can accumulate in the circulating water, causing fouling and microbial growth.

ChemTreat have experience treating every kind of water cooling tower, including natural draft, mechanical, crossflow, and counterflow cooling tower designs. Our technical staff averages 21 years of experience, which helps them customize a solution for your unique cooling water system and work to find savings in the following areas:

• Increase heat transfer efficiency by eliminating heat exchanger fouling within heat exchangers with scale inhibitors
• Prevent fouling caused by the precipitation of constituents, the settling of suspended matter, and microbial growth
• Reduce maintenance and plant downtime with corrosion inhibitors
• Maintain the integrity of metal components by mitigating corrosion and pitting that cause system failures
• Increase cycles of concentration with proprietary chemical solutions
• Reduce the amount of makeup water and chemicals required and lower your sewer costs
• Maintain cooling tower water design efficiency with biocides
• Reduce microbial growth on the cooling tower fill, resulting in an increased splash effect that maximizes air contact and increases evaporation rates