Maintenance and Equipment:
Cooling towers are inherently dirty systems due to their operation and being open to the environment. As explained in a previous entry, cooling towers harbor a constantly increasing amount of contaminants and impurities. Traditionally, this build up would require the cooling tower to be shut down, drained, and the layers of sediment and other deposits to be manually removed. It is not uncommon for a properly maintained cooling tower to undergo this cleaning twice a year, costing extra in downtime, labor, lost water from draining and refilling the system, and additional cleaning chemicals (PNNL 2012). Side stream filtration, by constantly “cleaning” the water within the cooling tower, provides for considerably longer periods of operation between shutdowns for required maintenance actions, drastically reducing the annual cooling tower maintenance costs. In a study at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, annual maintenance requirements for a 400-ton cooling tower with a side stream filter were 80% less than a comparable tower not using side stream filtration. In this example, the cooling tower with a side stream filter took half a day to be cleaned out by a vacuum truck, while the non-filtered tower took two and a half days to clean (US DOE FEMP 2014). In addition, keeping the system cleaner extends the life of the equipment, meaning cooling towers and their components can be used longer before needing replacement or maintenance.
Summary of Study:
Beginning in October 2016, AS Filtration, LLC conducted a year-long study to document the effectiveness of a non-oxidizing biocide within a side stream filter on the cooling tower system of a four-story office building in Chattanooga, Tennessee. AS Filtration installed an Aqua-Stream™ side stream filter, utilizing their unique Pathex® antimicrobial filter media, on the 400-ton cooling tower system in operation at the office building. The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of the Aqua-StreamTM and Pathex® on bacteria, energy use, water use, and overall equipment/maintenance costs.
Cooling towers are inherently dirty systems due to their operation and being open to the environment. As explained in a previous entry, cooling towers harbor a constantly increasing amount of contaminants and impurities. Traditionally, this build up would require the cooling tower to be shut down, drained, and the layers of sediment and other deposits to be manually removed. It is not uncommon for a properly maintained cooling tower to undergo this cleaning twice a year, costing extra in downtime, labor, lost water from draining and refilling the system, and additional cleaning chemicals (PNNL 2012). Side stream filtration, by constantly “cleaning” the water within the cooling tower, provides for considerably longer periods of operation between shutdowns for required maintenance actions, drastically reducing the annual cooling tower maintenance costs. In a study at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, annual maintenance requirements for a 400-ton cooling tower with a side stream filter were 80% less than a comparable tower not using side stream filtration. In this example, the cooling tower with a side stream filter took half a day to be cleaned out by a vacuum truck, while the non-filtered tower took two and a half days to clean (US DOE FEMP 2014). In addition, keeping the system cleaner extends the life of the equipment, meaning cooling towers and their components can be used longer before needing replacement or maintenance.
Summary of Study:
Beginning in October 2016, AS Filtration, LLC conducted a year-long study to document the effectiveness of a non-oxidizing biocide within a side stream filter on the cooling tower system of a four-story office building in Chattanooga, Tennessee. AS Filtration installed an Aqua-Stream™ side stream filter, utilizing their unique Pathex® antimicrobial filter media, on the 400-ton cooling tower system in operation at the office building. The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of the Aqua-StreamTM and Pathex® on bacteria, energy use, water use, and overall equipment/maintenance costs.
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Neglecting to perform preventative maintenance can degrade cooling tower performance and increase the water and energy required to cool effectively. It can also shorten the life of cooling system equipment. Side stream filtration can help reduce required maintenance and lengthen the amount of time in between maintenance actions. Pathex® further enhances the effects of side stream filtration by killing waterborne bacteria and improving overall water quality within the cooling system.
Contact us today for more information and to learn how to use Pathex® at your facility!
Contact us today for more information and to learn how to use Pathex® at your facility!
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