
Cooling Tower Water Treatment Tower Water is a leading cooling tower water treatment service provider that has been servicing New York, New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia area since 1992.
Full Answer
How much water should be in your cooling tower?
Typically, 6,000 hours a year will have a wet bulb of 60°F or lower, meaning that a cooling tower cell designed for a 78°F wet bulb will be able to make 65°F -67°F water for 6,000 hours per year nearly 70% of the year. Most cooling towers are capacity rated at a "standard" wet bulb temperature of 78°F. That means on the days when the wet ...
How much water is used in cooling towers?
While all cooling towers continually cycle water, they can consume 20 to 30 percent, or more, of a facility’s total water use. Optimizing operation and maintenance of cooling tower systems offer facility managers significant savings in water consumption through enhancing cooling efficiency.
When to clean a cooling tower?
Step by Step Cooling Tower Cleaning
- Turn off the cooling tower fans! It’s critical to your safety and those that are helping clean the cooling tower to power down the fans.
- Inspect Cooling Tower For Problem Areas. Take the time to inspect your cooling tower and find areas that needs attention. ...
- Protect Yourself With Safety Gear. ...
- Spray Cooling Tower For Mold. ...
- Vacuum Out Sludge From Basin. ...
Does a cooling tower require treatment?
The actual number of cycles of concentration the cooling tower system can handle depends on the make-up water quality and cooling tower water treatment regimen. Typical treatment programs include corrosion and scaling inhibitors along with biological fouling inhibitors. Install a conductivity controller to automatically control blowdown.

How do you treat cooling tower water?
How Does A Cooling Tower Water Treatment System Work?Filtration & Ultrafiltration. Filtration systems are some most common water treatment options for cooling towers. ... Makeup Water Intake. ... Ion Exchange & Water Softening. ... Addition Of Chemicals. ... Side-Stream Filtration. ... Blowdown Treatment. ... Cooling Tower Cleaning.
Where does the water go from a cooling tower?
Water first passes through a heat exchanger where it absorbs heat. The water is then distributed over the top of the cooling tower where air travels past the warm water causing a portion of the water to evaporate.
Where is used in cooling tower?
Cooling towers are primarily used for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and industrial purposes. Cooling towers provide a cost-effective and energy efficient operation of systems in need of cooling. More than 1,500 industrial facilities use large quantities of water to cool their plants 2.
How are cooling towers cleaned?
Vacuum Out Sludge From Basin These tower vacuums clean the hot water basin floor without the need to shut down the system or drain the basin. During this process you'll need to connect to a power source and either connect to a drainage outlet or use a filter system to return the water to the cooling tower.
How do you service a cooling tower?
The cooling tower maintenance service takes care of these steps.Remove Scale Deposits. Because cooling towers work using evaporation, there is a build-up of scale deposits, which has to be removed regularly. ... Keep Air Flow Running. ... Keep the Tubes Clean. ... Inspect Your Water Pump. ... Treat Your Water.
How does water evaporate in cooling tower?
In the open cooling tower, the warm return water from the heat exchanger is sprayed over the “fill”. The fill provides the surface area to enhance the heat transfer between the water and air, causing a portion of the water to evaporate.
How do cooling water towers work?
6:318:48How Cooling Towers Work (Working Principle) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWork how cooling towers work cool cooling water is pumped from the cooling tower basin to theMoreWork how cooling towers work cool cooling water is pumped from the cooling tower basin to the process. The cool cooling water is heated by the process. And its temperature increases. The warm cooling
What is the best pH level to maintain in a water tower?
between 6.5 and 7.5If you have doubts about the proper pH levels for your tower water, ask your water treatment company for recommendations. A pH between 6.5 and 7.5 is generally considered the ideal range for reducing scale formation, though some non-acid treatments for scale prevention can increase the cooling tower pH range up to 8.5.
What is cooling tower fill?
Fill, or wet deck or surface, is a medium used in cooling towers to increase the surface area of the tower. Increased surface area allows for maximum contact between the air and the water, which allows for greater evaporation rates.
Which chemical is used for cleaning cooling tower?
Chlorine dioxide – This chemical can be used as a disinfectant to destroy microorganisms and prevent recurring growth.
How frequent should we clean the cooling tower?
twice a yearOSHA recommends that cooling towers be cleaned and disinfected at least twice a year. More frequent cleaning and disinfection may be required if inspections show visible microbiological growth or an excessive buildup of debris, or as a remedial measure in response to positive Legionella or bacteria test results.
How much does it cost to clean a cooling tower?
Costs for Cooling Tower Cleaning and Disinfection Typically cooling tower cleaning packages will cost you somewhere between $5,000 – $15,000. Costs can fluctuate based on: Amount of remediation necessary. Size and complexity of systems.
How does a cooling tower water treatment system work?
Specific treatment processes vary depending on the requirements of the cooling tower and quality/chemistry of the feed and circulation water, but a typical cooling tower water treatment system will usually include the following steps:
What is the next step in cooling tower water?
Filtration and ultrafiltration. The next step is generally running the cooling tower water through some type of filtration to remove any suspended particlessuch as sediment, turbidity, and certain types of organic matter.
How much water will filter through a cooling tower?
A good rule of thumb is that, if you cooling tower water treatment system requires side-stream filtration, about 10% of the circulating water will filter through. It typically consists of a good quality multimedia filtration unit. Blowdown treatment.
Do you need treatment for cooling tower water?
Depending on the quality of this water, you may or may not need treatment here. If a water treatment system is needed at this part of the cooling tower water process, it is usually technology that removes hardness and silica or stabilizes and adjusts the pH.
Why do cooling towers need water treatment?
Water treatment systems that work on cooling towers are effective because they are versatile. Regardless of what style or material your water tower is made out of, you will be able to find a water treatment option that works in your system.
How to soften water in a cooling tower?
You can soften your water by inserting lime, or you can opt for a resin. This resin will be charged with sodium ions; as the hard water comes through, the resin will release the sodium and grab the minerals in the water, because the resin is built to have a stronger affinity for elements like calcium and magnesium. This will improve the quality of your water without introducing harmful byproducts.
What is filtration in cooling towers?
Filtration & Ultrafiltration. Filtration systems are some most common water treatment options for cooling towers. Filters may look like bags or a series of mesh screens. How many and what size you will need depends on your specific situation. Filtration works by passing water through progressively smaller spaces.
Why is it important to get in touch with a water treatment expert?
This is why it is important to get in touch with a skilled water treatment expert who can review your cooling tower and make recommendations that are personalized to your situation.
Where does makeup water come from?
It can be drawn from many sources, including city water, well water, or even surface water. Where you get this water from and how clean it already is will determine whether you need water treatment at this stage.
Is it necessary to clean a cooling tower before running it?
Thus, it is essential to ensure the cooling tower is properly cleaned and maintained before running the system.
Can cooling towers be reused?
Some cooling towers will choose to reuse or recycle water through reverse osmosis or other options. This opens reused water to new contaminants, even if it was cleaned before. Demineralization treatment may be useful here to remove the most common contaminants that reenter the water as part of this process.
What is SUEZ cooling water?
SUEZ offers the most advanced cooling water treatment solutions on the market, designed specifically to enhance and maximize your production output and heat transfer efficiency. Our well-trained, seasoned engineering and technical service representatives are devoted to helping identify the best solution for your operational issues.
What is E.C.O.Film cooling water?
An industrial chemical facility employed E.C.O.Film non-phosphorus cooling water technology to meet new discharge requirements and phosphorus restrictions, and avoid a $1.5 million capital cost associated with a mechanical solution.
Why do you need to treat water in a cooling tower?
Why Cooling Water Treatment Is Done? Proper water treatment in your cooling tower system is required to minimize the risk of corrosion, scaling, and microbiological buildup. These issues can reduce plant productivity, cause unplanned downtime, and require costly equipment replacements if conditions get out of control.
What is the purpose of running water through a cooling tower?
By running your cooling tower water through a filtration system, you can remove suspended particles and certain types of organic matter that can contribute to scaling, corrosion, and foaming.
Why do cooling towers need a side stream?
If you plan on recirculating your cooling tower water throughout your system, side-stream filtration units can help to remove any pollutants that may have entered your tower through drift contamination or process leaks. Side-stream units continuously filter your cooling tower water in small increments to remove suspended solids, organic deposits, and silt particles. As a result, the likelihood of any fouling or biological growth reduces, resulting in both water and energy efficiency gains from less water having to be discharged and less scale formation on any heat transfer surfaces.
Why does my cooling tower blow foam?
Foam. Though not as common as other cooling tower issues, foam can occur in some systems from the cascading water in the cooling tower. As a result, this can overflow the cooling tower sump or cause the fans to blow foam out of the top of the tower. Foam also concentrates deposit-forming materials, thus increasing system fouling.
What causes cooling tower fouling?
Microbiological Deposits and Mud/Grime. A large source of cooling tower fouling, microbiological deposits like fungi and algae can form slimes on the heat transfer surfaces of the tower, leading to significant cooling inefficiencies. These deposits can become so abundant in cooling systems that they obstruct the free flow of water and air, ...
What is chemready water treatment?
With significant experience across every major cooling application, ChemREADY is your go-to partner for cooling tower water treatment. More than just a supplier, we offer the best chemicals available along with our industry-proven expertise to make sure that your water is treated the right way.
Why do we need cooling towers?
Cooling towers are integral pieces of equipment to many businesses today, allowing companies to remove heat from their environments to cool down their buildings and processes. These specialized heat exchangers run on the principles of water-cooling methods. As a result, they need proper water treatment in order to keep costs low ...
Why is fresh water added to cooling towers?
Fresh water is being added to cooling water towers to replace water lost through leaks or evaporation. But this makeup water contains minerals, dirt, debris and other impurities that build up and insulate the metal surfaces. Our forgiving polymers help prevent scale and deposits from forming over a wide operating range, are halogen stable, and can handle iron or aluminum contamination.
What is Nalco water?
Nalco Water offers a variety of chlorine dioxide offerings suited for applications from traditional cooling water microbial control to secondary disinfection. Purate™ technology was developed with for large industrial systems while AccuPro™ is suited for medium to small cooling water systems.
What is the Nalco Water Handbook?
This industry-standard resource offers practical guidance on the use and treatment of water and wastewater in industrial and institutional facilities. Revised to align with the latest regulations and technologies, The Nalco Water Handbook, Fourth Edition, explains water management fundamentals and clearly shows how to improve water quality, minimize usage, and optimize treatment processes. Throughout, new emphasis is placed on today’s prevailing issues, including water scarcity, stressors, and business risk.#N#Covers all essential water treatment topics, including: 1 Water management fundamentals 2 The business case for managing water 3 Water sources, stressors, and quality 4 Basic water chemistry 5 Impurity removal 6 Steam generation 7 Cooling water systems 8 Safety for building water systems 9 Post-treatment 10 Energy in water systems 11 Water applications across various industries
What sets Water Tower apart from our competitors?
What sets Water Tower apart from our competitors is our ability to take on new construction and renovation projects. During construction, your piping and equipment are at their most vulnerable. We can help extend the life of your cooling tower and minimize the risk of corrosion by delivering full-service water treatment services and chemical cleanings. This will help your system run as efficiently as possible and save you money in replacement costs.
What is process water?
Process water is used by these industries to produce a product or service other than a portable or HVAC application. Unlike more familiar systems, process water often has unique mixed metallurgy.
Is Tower Water safe?
When you work with Tower Water for your cooling tower needs, you can rest assured knowing your building’s water systems are safe for its inhavitants. Not only will you remain in compliance with state and local laws but you will also ensure your systems is free from harmful bacteria such as Legionella. Your building will exceed the DOH water treatment requirements as well as pass any inspections regularly. If your cooling tower meets the DOH standards, you will eliminate the risk of receiving a warning and potentially appearing in court.
How does a cooling tower work?
Water is typically the heat transfer medium used to dissipate the heat. A cooling tower uses a combination of heat and mass transfer (evaporation) to cool the water flowing through the tower. Conductive heat transfer accounts for 20 to 30% of the total heat dissipated. The remaining 70 to 80% of total cooling is the result of evaporative cooling of about 1 to 2% of the recirculating water, depending on the decrease in temperature across the tower. It takes approximately 2,326,000 joules to evaporate 1 kilogram of water (1000 BTU per 1 pound of water). If this amount of heat is extracted from 454 kilograms (1000 pounds) of water, approximately 0.45 kilogram (1 pound) of water will be evaporated and the temperature will drop 0.55 °C (1 °F). If 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of water are evaporated, the water temperature will drop 5.5 °C (10 °F). The water lost by evaporation is replaced with makeup water. Water is also added to replace water lost through tower drift (loss of water from the tower as a fine mist), leaks in the system (unintentional blowdown), and water discharged as intentional blowdown. Water that is added to the cooling tower to replace all of these losses is known as cooling tower makeup water.
What is a cooling water system?
Cooling water systems remove heat generated from a variety of industrial processes. There are three basic types of cooling water systems: once-through, open recirculating, and closed recirculating cooling water systems. This publication describes once-through and open recirculating systems.
Why is a recirculating cooling tower bad?
An open recirculating cooling tower system has a greater potential for these problems than does a once-through cooling water system, due to the air- and water-mixing design of the open recirculating system. These problems are associated with water-caused deposits, corrosion, or microbiological organisms, and occur for various reasons:
How does a recirculating water system work?
Open recirculating cooling water systems are open to the atmosphere and continuously recycle and reuse the cooling water. These systems are composed of an evaporator unit, a cooling tower, or an evaporative condenser. These units mix air and water and allow some of the water to evaporate, cooling the balance of the water volume. The cooled water is then circulated to heat exchangers or chillers, where heat is added to the cooling water thereby removing heat from the process flow stream. The warmed water is then circulated to the cooling tower, where the cycle is repeated. Water is lost from the system primarily through evaporation; however, a portion of the cooling water must be discharged as waste (i.e., blowdown) to maintain a suitable water quality within the system. All water lost from the system is replaced by makeup water. Recirculating cooling water systems are found in most air conditioning chiller operations, as well as many heat exchange operations.
What is an evaporative cooler?
Evaporative fluid coolers and evaporative condensers are terms defining open recirculating cooling water systems that use evaporators, which are slightly different than a cooling tower and do not send the cooled water out of the evaporative unit itself. An evaporative cooler cools a circulating fluid that does not change phase (e.g., does not condense from a gas to a liquid). An evaporative condenser cools a circulating fluid from a gas into a liquid, such as a refrigerant. The hot fluid that is to be cooled is brought to the unit. Figure 2 shows a typical evaporative cooler and evaporative condenser diagram; Figure 3 shows a typical open recirculating cooling water system; and Figure 4 shows a typical cooling tower system.
What is forced draft in a cooling tower?
The term “forced draft” denotes that air is forced or blown by fans into the cooling tower and up through the flow of falling water in the cooling tower. Drift eliminators are installed to prevent water entrained in the air from leaving the system.
How does a natural draft tower work?
In natural-draft towers, airflow through the tower is achieved naturally (i.e., without any mechanical means such as fans). Air flows across the falling water and up through the cooling tower as a result of the differential density between the lighter (heated and humidified) air within the tower and the cooler and dryer outside air. Fitting the tower with spray nozzles, which create more mixing of air and water droplets and improve the evaporation efficiency, produces increased water-cooling rates. Large utility
