Side-stream filtration is being recognized by an increasing number of facilities managers and HVAC managers as a powerful means of boosting chemical water treatment -- increasing energy efficiency while reducing maintenance costs and downtime for cooling tower systems.
The Age-Old Fouling Problem
Because the fill and sump of the cooling tower are open to the atmosphere, particles are scrubbed from the air on a continuous basis and delivered to the sump. As a result, water in the cooling loop always contains particles and other airborne contaminants that get washed into the system. "A typical 200 ton cooling tower, in a season, may assimilate upwards of 600 lb of particulate matter from airborne dust and makeup water supply." (ASHRAE Handbook, 1996) Ongoing evaporation also increases the concentration of calcium carbonate and other minerals such that they form particles in the bulk water.
Using Filtration To Boost Water Treatment
Scale inhibitors are one effective set of tools used by water treaters and facilities managers to prevent fouling from getting out of hand. Side-stream filtration should not be seen as a substitute for chemical water treatment, but rather as the best complementary technology for boosting performance and reducing costs. A simple, cost-effective solution for most cooling systems, side-stream filtration is the single most underutilized water treatment technology available in the marketplace today. On one hand, facilities managers can design their chemical water treatment programs around total dissolved solids, pH, alkalinity, hardness, and other easily measurable parameters. Filtration, on the other hand, addresses the less predictable variations in water quality that occur during normal operation, such as dust, soil, soot, and organic debris scrubbed from the air, which are in the end a major source of fouling.
Electric H20 Media Filtration
Among all of the relevant kinds of filtration technologies (centrifugal, bag, cartridge, etc.), granular or sand media filtration currently has the best balance of performance and price. This class of filtration products can provide reliability, automatic backwash, and 5 micron filtration at a low cost. Furthermore, Electric H20''s filters are the first standardized line of media filters designed and priced specifically for end users of cooling water systems. Electric H20 sells filters direct to the end user to lower prices while providing high quality of products. In conjunction with a sump sweeping system, side-stream filtration can make an immediate impact on energy consumption, maintenance, and performance of cooling systems.