The Nyc Cooling Tower Maintenance Program March 1St Deadline can Be Used!
If you have an open condenser system as part of your facility, this is a blog post you will not want to miss. Commonly referred to as the "cooling tower system," your open condenser system needs to be properly treated and maintained in order to run at peak efficiency. This post will address what you need to do before the end of cooling season.
WHY is this So Important?
A cooling tower introduces condenser IRO water to the atmosphere so that heat energy can be transferred to the open air by way of evaporation (hence the term "open" condenser - because it's "open" to the atmosphere). In doing so, the water in the cooling tower is always exposed to whatever may be flying around in the air, like dirt, organic materials, bugs, bacteria, etc, etc... These types of materials can accumulate in the tower water and, if left untreated, they could lead to very big problems like biofouling and corrosion issues. A system that runs dirty is using more fuel and energy to maintain cooling than a system that runs clean. In some cases, this can translate to tens-of-thousands of dollars down the drain in lost energy. Operating a dirty cooling tower is also dangerous; a fouled cooling tower presents ideal conditions for harmful bacteria like Legionella (the cause of Legionnaires' Disease) to grow. The proper water treatment chemistry program, pre-treatment of makeup water, system filtering, regular tower cleanings and proper layup procedures during non-use, will ensure that your tower system will operate at peak efficiency and hazard free for years to come.
What Needs to Happen at the End of the Cooling Season?
Many of the best cooling tower cleaning companies will quote OSHA standards becuase of the safety benefits:
?Cooling towers should be cleaned and disinfected at least twice a year. Normally this maintenance will be performed before initial start-up at the beginning of the cooling season and after shutdown in the fall.??
-OSHA Technical Manual ? Section III: Chapter 7
Regardless of whether or not your cooling tower runs year round or not, it should be cleaned at LEAST twice per year. Additionally, if you shut your cooling system down during part of the year, there are methods of "laying up" your system that you will want to follow to keep it well protected during its non-use. Many industrial water treatment service providers offer these services as part of their monthly water treatment contracts and they will know which method of mechanical cleaning and layup is best for your system. We are still experiencing some pretty mild weather in the northeast United States but those cooler months are coming up on us quickly. Now is the right time to start thinking about cleaning your cooling towers and laying them up for the winter.
What Happens If I DO NOT Lay Up My Towers During Non-Use?
You are taking a pretty big risk. Chances are you will experience some kind of issue(s) in your system. Many operators believe that their stainless steel cooling towers will hold up to anything that mother nature can throw at them, however, this is very often not the case; and it is not even the cooling tower itself that is most susceptible to damage - it's the chillers that they share their water with. Chillers are expensive pieces of machinery that contain the most important heat transfer surfaces inside of them (they are usually made of very thin copper tubes); whatever 'lives' inside the towers is making its way to the chillers. Deposits love heat, so the heat transfer surfaces are usually where you will have the biggest issues. Sulfur reducing bacteria can eat their way through copper tubes and mild steel tube sheets given the right circumstances.
My Water Treatment Company is Responsible for that Stuff, Right?
Technically yes; but as a facility owner/operator there are ways for you to double check that things are being done correctly. Check out this video for an example of what we found inside a one-year-old cooling tower/chiller system that was not properly maintained at the end of the cooling season:
Don't make this mistake with your cooling towers!
What Should I Be Doing To Protect My Tower During the Off Season?
In the northeast United States, the end of cooling season is coming up soon. Now is a perfect time to have your towers professionally cleaned and chemically passivated. Consult with your water treatment service provider as to which method they recommend to lay up your system for the winter. If your cooling system runs year round, it is still a good idea to consider a cleaning during the next month or so. If you need help in assessing your specific situation, we are always available to help.
My Cooling Tower Always Looks Dirty, What Can I Do?
Dirty water doesn?t always mean bad water treatment; however, it is something that needs to be dealt with. While you may need to re-evaluate your current water treatment program, many times there are mechanical issues that need to be addressed first. For instance, if it doesn?t already exist, you may need to add filtration to your system of some kind. Usually an industrial grade sand filter on a cooling tower system is a very good thing; however, picking the right kind can be the difference between a clean cooling tower system and a complete waste of money. These decisions should be made with the help of an Industrial Water Treatment Specialist from a reputable water treatment company.
Want to learn more about the most advanced solid feed cooling tower treatment?
Click this link:
Greg Frazier is an expert in Industrial Water Treatment and is currently the Managing Partner of Clarity Water Technologies. He has over 18 years of Industrial Water Treatment experience and holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee.
Researchers are Able To Predict Properties Of Disordered Polymers Credit: Acs
LinkedIn introduced one-click endorsements on its professional network this past September. Since that time, over 58 million professionals have been recognized by their peers for being proficient in a particular skill or area of expertise.
We thought it was pretty great that the billionth professional endorsement on LinkedIn was for Water Treatment! We tweeted LinkedIn's Infographic on our official Clarity Water Twitter page earlier today. Click the link below to check it out:
The Billionth Professional Endorsement on LinkedIn was for #WaterTreatment!Nice!linkd.in/10NyDX5
? Clarity Water Tech (@ClarityWater) April 8, 2013
Here is a list of some the Related Skills that come up for Water Treatment on LinkedIn: Reverse Osmosis, Industrial Water Treatment, Water Softening, Waste Water Treatment Plants, Wastewater Treatment Design, Wastewater Treatment, Industrial Wastewater, Chlorine Dioxide, Biological Nutrient Removal, Effluent Treatment, Boilers, Cooling Tower Treatment, Recycled Water, Flocculation, Closed Loop, Corrosion Inhibitors, Water & Wastewater Design, Nanofiltration, Biocides, Water Reclamation, Activated Carbon, Microfiltration, Legionella Remediation, and Chemical Sales.
How do you pick the best IRO water treatment company on LinkedIn? Just look at their employees' skills. Do they have the skills that you are looking for in a water treatment company? Are their water treatment professionals the right fit for your facility? Do they have what it takes to properly address your water treatment needs?
If you would like to learn more about Water Treatment, please follow us on Twitter! You can find our tweets here: @ClarityWater
Are Your Boilers Running Without Automated Blowdown?
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), inaugurated the extension project of M-Station in Jebel Ali, the largest power and desalination plant in the UAE.
DEWA adds 700MW to M-Station, homepage largest power and desalination plant in UAE (Photo: AETOSWire)
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, noted that the total cost of M-Station with its extension reached AED 11,669 billion with a current production capacity of 2,885 megawatts (MW) and 140 million gallons of desalinated water per day. The expansion cost AED 1,527 billion and added new generating units with a capacity of 700MW. The extension design has a 90% fuel efficiency rate. This project has been completed with over 20 million Safe Man Hours without Lost Time Injury.
Al Tayer thanked DEWA?s partners, especially Siemens, which implemented the project and Mott MacDonald, the project consultant.
?The completion of the Jebel Ali M-Station expansion marks another milestone in the long history of Siemens and DEWA as strategic partners. It?s a testament to what we can achieve with innovation and technology to support society and economic growth in the UAE,?? said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO, Siemens Middle East and UAE.
Before the extension, M-Station generated 2,185MW of electricity from 6 Siemens F-model gas turbines, each with a capacity of 255MW, 6 Doosan Waste-Heat Recovery Boilers for steam generation, 3 Alstom steam turbines with a capacity of 218MW each. The Project included construction of 16 fuel-oil storage tanks, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres and totalling 320,000 cubic metres of fuel-oil storage. The station generated 140 MIGD from 8 Fisia desalination units, deploying Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation technology, each with a capacity of 17.5 MIGD and two dual-fuel-fired auxiliary boilers.
The expansion project comprises of two dual-fuel gas turbine generators each with a capacity of 263.5 MW, two Waste Heat-Recovery Boilers for steam generation and a back pressure steam turbine from Siemens with capacity of 173 MW. The expansion?s design increased the plant?s fuel efficiency to 85.8%, which is one of the highest rates worldwide. DEWA?s total production capacity is currently 11,100 MW of electricity and 470 MIGD of water production.
