Industrial Cooling Towers are Changing

As with any other piece of technology, industrial cooling towers are changing with the times. Where once these towers were made from wood, advancements in design and materials have led to more efficient cooling towers. One of these advancements, FRP, has a had a large impact on the industrial cooling tower world and in today’s blog we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. want to go briefly go over this amazing material.

What is FRP?

FRP is the abbreviated form of fibre-reinforced plastic. FRP was developed in 1909 by doctor Leo Baekeland as he was trying to find a replacement for shellac. The resulting compound, known as Bakelite was a strong, lightweight plastic that helped to pave the way for the development of a wide range of plastics and polymers. FRPs are best suited for any design that requires little weight, precision engineering, finite tolerances, and the simplification of production and operation parts. Fibre-reinforced plastic is cheaper, faster, and easier to manufacture than cast aluminum or steel parts, and maintains similar and sometimes better tolerances and material strengths than these materials.

How is FRP Used in Industrial Cooling Towers?

FRP cooling towers are quickly becoming the preferred cooling tower worldwide. With an increase in demand, the supply rate of FRP cooling towers has also seen immense growth. FRP cooling towers have become so popular for the following reasons:

• FRP cooling towers are light in weight
• FRP cooling towers are chemical resistant and stand up to a wider range of pH levels
• FRP cooling towers are naturally fire resistance and limit the amount of fire protection devices needed on a site
• FRP cooling towers are quick to assemble and are a cost effective alternative to traditional tower materials
• FRP cooling towers help to inhibit UV penetration and are naturally corrosion resistant.

While all of these benefits make an FRP cooling tower an attractive choice for industrial cooling applications, the biggest benefit is their durability. FRP cooling towers, because of their natural resistance to corrosive chemicals and environmental corrosion, can be placed in areas that normally would not be suitable for an industrial cooling tower. While FRP towers have seen a major popularity boom in developing countries such as India, China, and Indonesia, they are also becoming an increasingly popular option for domestic use as well.

FRP and the Future

Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we are always looking toward the future in regard to industrial cooling towers. Our business depends on the fact that we keep up with the latest advancements in technology and building techniques in the industrial cooling tower world. With that being said, we feel the fibre-reinforced plastics are going to continue to play a vital role in the development of lighter, more efficient, and more cost-effective industrial cooling towers.
To learn more about our industrial cooling tower services, or to get a quote on building or retrofitting a current cooling tower, visit our website today. We have the knowledge, skills, and experience you deserve when upgrading your industrial cooling tower.

Improve Cooling Tower Efficiency Through Proper Water Management

Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we are all about efficiency. Industrial Cooling towers require a lot of energy to work and most industries that utilize them are always looking for ways to improve energy efficiency. While many techniques can be implemented to improve tower efficiency, proper water management is perhaps one of the most vital components. Because industrial cooling towers rely so much on the effective mitigation of heat through the evaporation of water, it should come as no surprise that improving water recycling and quality can have a drastic impact on the overall efficiency of the tower itself. In today’s post, we are going to focus specifically on how improving the water supply of a cooling tower can lead to major energy savings.

Save Water, Save Money, Improve Efficiency

At their core, industrial cooling towers are all designed to conserve as much water as possible. Because a cooling tower relies heavily on convective and evaporative heat transfer, it makes sense that water would be at a premium. The small amount of water this is evaporated from the tower is clean, meaning that it does not contain any of the mineral or chemical concentrations found in most of the recycled water. However, it is important to realize that this recycled water needs to be as clean as possible in order to ensure that it is being utilized as effectively as possible. In the industry, this is known as increasing the cycles of concentration. Below we have listed a few ways to improve the water quality of industrial cooling towers.

• pH Adjustment: One of the first things that need to be considered when trying to improve the water quality of an industrial cooling tower si the pH level of the water itself. If the pH balance of the water becomes too low (acidic) it can damage the components of the tower and cause a wide range of issues that require expensive repair work. Because of this, water used in cooling tower applications should be kept at around 8.5 on the pH scale. This will ensure that the water does not corrode any of the parts of the cooling tower.

• Scale Inhibitors: As we have stated in previous blogs, scale buildup is one of the leading causes of tower inefficiency.  As scale buildup coats the surfaces of the cooling tower, it reduces the effectiveness of the fill media and heat transfer surfaces to effectively mitigate heat. To address this issue, we suggest the use of chemical scale inhibitors. These chemicals are added to water used in the cooling tower and typically contain phosphonates, polymers, and organic corrosion inhibitors that help to inhibit scale build up.

• Pretreating Water: The main reason water used in cooling tower applications causes scale build up is because of an increased concentration of calcium in the water. The calcium hardness of industrial cooling tower water should be kept within a range of 350 to 400 ppm. However reducing the calcium hardness even further typically yields a higher tower efficiency. Reducing the amount of calcium in the water can be achieved by sodium ion exchange, reverse osmosis, or lime softening. Reducing the calcium, hardness of industrial cooling tower water to 50 ppm allows the tower to run at seven or eight cycles instead of the typical 2 to 3. This amount of cycles allows the tower to run at over 96 percent water efficiency.

By following the simple tips, an industry can greatly increase the concentration of cycles that the cooling tower goes through. This is beneficial because it reduces the amount of water that the cooling tower consumes, minimizes waste generation, reduces chemical treatment requirements, and reduces the overall operational costs associated with the tower. Potential savings will vary from plant to plant due to the cost of water, waste disposal services, and energy costs. However, the return on investment for improving the cycle efficiency of a cooling tower typically takes than a year.
We hope that this blog has helped to convey the importance of proper water management. Water is the lifeblood of industrial cooling towers and, by simply making a few adjustments, an industry can greatly improve the efficiency of and energy consumption of a cooling tower. Visit us today at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., and let our experts help with your next cooling tower project. We have the knowledge, skills, and expertise you need to get

Improve Industrial Cooling Tower Energy Efficiency With These Tips

Hello, and welcome back to our blog! Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we often have clients inquire about ways to improve the energy efficiency of their industrial cooling towers. For many industries, their cooling towers are running at a nearly constant rate which requires quite a bit of energy. Because every business is interested in saving money, finding a few ways to cut down on the energy consumption of a cooling tower, in the long run, can save a large chunk of change. To help address this issue, we have decided to dedicate today’s post to explaining a few tips in regard to cooling tower energy efficiency. We hope by the end of this blog post our clients, future clients, and all of those individuals who are interested in energy efficiency as it relates to industrial cooling towers come away with some valuable knowledge.

Cut Down on Energy, not Efficiency

Cooling towers are most often used in manufacturing processes and air-conditioning by utilizing the evaporation of water to transfer heat from the industrial process or building to the surrounding atmosphere. Because of this, industrial cooling towers consume massive amounts of water and are often one of the largest aspects of energy consumption for a given industry or building. To maximize the efficiency of any cooling tower, one must first evaluate each individual component of the cooling tower in order to determine that everything is functioning properly. Once this is done, certain steps may be taken to ensure that a cooling tower is consuming as little energy as possible. To help cut down on the amount of energy that cooling towers consume, we have listed a few energy efficiency tips below.

• Blowdown: the vast majority of cooling towers recycle the water used in the cooling process in order to be more energy efficient. This recycled water, often referred to as blowdown, is typically 10 degrees warmer than the water that is supplied to the tower from the basin. This can become an issue because the warmer the water is, the less efficient it is at mitigating heat. If a cooling tower is discharging warm water from the cooling tower basin, simply diverting the discharge blowdown water away from the cooling tower basin can provide a 1 to 2 percent improvement in energy efficiency. While this may seem like a small percentage, over the course of the cooling towers operations cycle, it can lead to a large amount of energy savings.

• Sun Shades: As anyone who deals with industrial cooling towers knows, algae growth is an issue that plagues every tower. In most instances, this algae growth occurs at the top of the tower which, in turn, prevents water from properly flowing over the cooling tower fill media. The solution to this issue is actually quite simple. Simply installing a sunshade over the top of the cooling tower will greatly reduce the amount of algae that is able to grow. This is due to the fact that algae, obviously, needs sunlight to grow. By limiting the amount of sunlight, one can limit the amount of algae growth which leads to higher energy efficiency and tower performance.

• Proper Cleaning and Filtration: Although we have mentioned it time and time again, cooling towers should be inspected periodically to ensure that the tower walls and fill media are free from scale buildup, corrosion, debris, and biological growth. All of these issues can greatly reduce the efficiency of the cooling tower which will lead to higher levels of energy being consumed. Additionally, it is important to make sure that the water being used in the tower is as clean as possible. Clean water will lead to fewer issues cropping up, less maintenance, and less wasted energy. If you find that your tower is constantly plagued by these issues, it may be time to consider an alternate water source or an upgraded filtration system.

We hope that this blog has given our readers a better understanding of the steps that are necessary to increase the energy efficiency of their industrial cooling tower. And, as always, if your cooling tower is in need of a maintenance check or upgrade, please do not hesitate to contact the experts at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. We are the cooling tower experts and will make sure that your industrial cooling tower is running as efficiently as possible.

The Cooling Tower Industry is Driven by Innovation

If you have read our previous blogs, then you are aware that industrial cooling towers can sometimes become a little dirty. This is due largely to the fact that particulates captured in the water can cause scale deposits and microorganisms to develop on the sides of a cooling tower and the fill material. While this is an aspect of cooling towers that has been dealt with for decades through chemical treatments, we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., wanted to take some time to talk about a piece of technology that takes chemical treatment processes out of the industrial cooling tower equation.

Industrial Cooling Towers Must be Clean to be Efficient

The VRTX system is a mechanically induced treatment system that helps to prevent the formations of scale buildup, microorganisms, slime, and also helps to prevent corrosion to an industrial cooling tower from repeated exposure to harsh chemicals. Through the use of the VRTX system, no extra chemicals are used to clean the cooling tower which not only saves industries money but also cuts down on the labor that typically is associated with maintaining the structural integrity and functionality of an industrial cooling tower. The VRTX system is a mechanical device that uses hydrodynamic cavitation (the formation, growth, and implosive collapse of small gas bubbles within a liquid) to remove unwanted substances from the water used in industrial cooling tower applications, which are typically solid particulates and carbon dioxide.

The VRTX System is Like a Water Filter for Industrial Cooling Towers

The VRTX system connects to the basin water reservoir located at the bottom of most industrial cooling towers. In most cases, a side stream of water is routed from the cooling tower basin, pumped through the system, and returned back to the basin of the cooling tower. As the water from the industrial cooling tower exits the VRTX system nozzles and enters the cavitation chamber, the water’s chemistry equilibrium is shifted, which results in the off-gassing of carbon dioxide and the precipitation of solid calcium carbonate, the substance that causes scale deposits to form in industrial cooling towers. After this process, the water discharged by the VRTX system is returned to the cooling tower basin and another side stream of water is taken from the basin. This second stream passes through a filtration system or cyclonic separator that separates any solids from the water collected in the basin. Once everything has been separated, the water is flushed right back through the cooling tower and the whole process continues. All solids that are collected in the separator are usually flushed at the end of every day.
The Benefits of the VRTX System in Industrial Cooling Applications
The most obvious benefit of using the VRTX system in industrial cooling tower applications is that it eliminates the need to use harsh treatment chemicals to control scale buildup and biological growth in the cooling tower. Additionally, the VRTX system helps to conserve water through the reduction of blowdown volume which is both an environmental and economic benefit to the entire cooling tower system. It has been reported by several industries that make use of the VRTX system that they have been able to reduce their blowdown water consumption by 60 to 90 percent. Lastly, the VRTX system improves cooling tower performance through the elimination of scale build up on the surface walls of towers. Reducing the amount of scale build up allows an industrial cooling tower to more efficiently transfer heat while using less energy.
The reduction of water consumption has always been a major focus in the world of industrial cooling towers and the VRTX system has allowed multiple industries to decrease their ecological footprint while also reducing the amount of money that is spent on water each year.
If you would like to learn more about the VRTX system and the applications it has in the world of industrial cooling towers, visit our website today. At Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we are dedicated to providing the best service and support for customers looking to construct, refurbish, or maintain their industrial cooling towers. Don’t settle for second best, contact us today and let’s get started on your next project.