Here we see the results of a cooling tower left without any water treatment for one year. Solid sediment had built up so thick that it completely covered the hatch opening!!! The tower had become incredibly inefficient, and corrosion had begun to take place throughout the structure.
As you may know, the main function of a Cooling Tower is to help release heat from a building’s HVAC system, a process that can eventually release 75% of the system water to the atmosphere via evaporation, which is replaced with new fresh water. It’s important to recognize that as water evaporates from the cooling tower, dissolved solids and impurities remain behind. These solids will concentrate and increase the scaling, corrosion and biologic growth found in the system. The end result of this process, when left unchecked, is reduced energy efficiency of the HVAC system, as well as damaging corrosion taking place.
An effective water treatment program will focus on regular bleed off of the water rich with accumulating solids, chemical treatment to inhibit corrosion and biologic growth, and regularly scheduled cleaning of the cooling tower itself. These steps will help improve both the efficiency and lifespan of this equipment!
Tower Hatch completely covered by sediment after not having water treatment for 1 year!
Sediment being removed from Tower.
