Water Treatment

Boiler Feed Water

Boiler water treatment is a type of Industrial Water Treatment focused on removal or chemical modification of substances potentially damaging to the boiler. Varying types of treatment are used at different locations to avoid scale, corrosion or foaming. External treatment of raw water supplies intended for use within a boiler is focused on removal of impurities before they reach the boiler. Internal treatment within the boiler is focused on limiting the tendency of water to dissolve the boiler and maintaining impurities in forms least likely to cause trouble before they can be removed from the boiler in boiler blowdown

The treatment and conditioning of boiler feed water must satisfy three main objectives:

  • Continuous heat exchange
  • Corrosion protection
  • Production of high quality steam

External Treatment is the reduction or removal of impurities from water outside the boiler. In general, external treatment is used when the amount of one or more of the feed water impurities is too high to be tolerated by the boiler system in question. There are many types of external treatment (Softening, Evaporation, Deaeration, Membrane Contractors etc.) which can be used to tailor make feed-water for a particular system.

Internal Treatment is the conditioning of impurities within the boiler system. The reactions occur either in the feed lines or in the boiler proper. Internal treatment may be used alone or in conjunction with external treatment. Its purpose is to properly react with feed water hardness, condition sludge, scavenge oxygen and prevent boiler water foaming.

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Cooling Tower

A good Cooling Tower Water Treatment Program helps overcome challenges including deposition, corrosion and microbial growth in industrial cooling systems. These programs often use a variety of specialized chemicals to reduce or prevent these major water cooling system issues.

Deposition in water cooling systems is caused by sludge and mineral scales, among other contaminants. These deposits reduce production and efficiency, restrict water flow, and increase corrosion rates. A good and consistent treatment program helps make the system less vulnerable to contaminants. Surface-active agents may be used to ensure that deposits do not adhere to the system, while polymers may reverse or prevent the occurrence of mineral deposits in the first place.

Corrosion insulates metals in heat transfer devices, causing major losses in efficiency. Corrosion can also lead to critical system failures in processes-cooling equipment, re-circulating water piping and heat exchangers. Organic or inorganic chemicals may be used to reduce the occurrence of corrosion in various parts of the cooling system.

Lastly, water cooling systems without treatment programs in place are vulnerable to the growth of fungi, protozoa, bacteria and algae. These biological organisms cause fouling if not properly controlled. A field engineer assesses cooling systems and recommends the optimal combination of biocides to kill organisms based on severity and specific type of organisms

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Closed Loop

Closed loop systems are used to heat and cool HVAC, commercial and industrial systems by re-circulating the same water over and over again. There are a wide variety of system types, but the operational configuration that they typically have in common is isolation from the source of heating or cooling through a secondary heat exchanger (typically a boiler, cooling tower or chiller on the other side of the heat exchanger).

Closed loop systems are best tightly sealed with minimal water losses and makeup, and are often pressurized. But, systems with open-sumps or with high water losses, are very common in certain industries, such as plastic injection molding. Specialized products are needed to control corrosion, scaling and biological fouling within the diversity of closed loop systems and makeup water qualities.