Most companies in the business of treating boilers and cooling towers offer chemical treatment alone. The possibility of removing dissolved minerals as part of the treatment program may not be presented to their customers since it often drastically reduces chemical consumption. However, removing dissolved minerals such as calcium (hardness) feeding a boiler will not only decrease chemical consumption (in the form of scale inhibitors) but will save energy by reducing blow down. Specifically, boilers evaporate water into steam, leaving dissolved minerals behind in the boiler where they will form damaging scale if allowed to accumulate beyond a certain concentration. Chemical scale inhibitors minimize scaling to a point. However, as the mineral concentration increases, scaling will occur even with proper chemical treatment so water from the boiler is periodically dumped to sewer (blown down) to allow feed water with lower mineral concentration to enter (make-up water). Blown down water is typically 212° to 250° F, so in addition to the cost for water and sewer fees, the energy cost can be very high. When scaling minerals are removed, the need for blowing down the boiler is greatly reduced, significantly saving energy as well as water and sewer costs.
Treating boiler make-up water with reverse osmosis can reduce blow down significantly more since 98% or more of all dissolved minerals are removed. Depending on the size of boiler and operating pressure, amount of condensate returned and mineral content of the feed water, savings can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. View Reverse Osmosis Savings Article.
Utilization of side stream filters on cooling tower recirculation loops frequently remove many pounds of suspended particles daily. Since suspended solids react with chemicals such as corrosion inhibitors and biocides, filtration sharply reduces the use of these chemicals. Towers also require blow down to keep the dissolved mineral concentration within certain limits or scaling will occur (as water evaporates from the tower, the minerals are concentrated in the sump). Mineral reduction upstream of the tower can often lower the blow down as well as the chemicals required. Recovery and reuse of tower blow down water using treatment equipment is another option.
By offering water treatment equipment as well as chemicals, the WaterProfessionals® are well positioned to thoroughly assess your water treatment requirements. Equipment technologies offered include reverse osmosis, delakalization, softening, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, sand and multimedia filtration. Many customers opt to have the WaterProfessionals own and operate the equipment 24/7 and administer chemical treatment on their premises. Learn more.
