Cooling Towers Love The Environment Too
As you are probably already aware, we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. are experts on industrial cooling towers. Our knowledge and experience has given us valuable insight into the world of cooling towers, and today we’re going to talk about a subject that many people find concerning: The environment. In a world that seems to be going through some pretty heavy environmental changes, we want to help clear the air in regard to industrial cooling towers. While it may seem like these towers are releasing a lot of harmful stuff to the average person, cooling towers are actually designed to reduce pollution as much as possible. To learn more about the steps taken to reduce pollution in industrial cooling applications continue reading below.
Drift Is Bad, That’s Why We Eliminate It
As we discussed in our previous post, drift is an unavoidable side effect of industrial cooling tower performance. Drift occurs when water droplets that are caught in the rising steam escape the tower. Drift is an environmental concern, because it allows potentially harmful chemicals to unintentionally escape the cooling tower. While most chemicals are too heavy to be carried by steam alone, water droplets serve as a convenient vessel for these chemicals to latch onto. While this sounds like quite an environmental issue, drift can be effectively mitigated through the use of drift eliminators in cooling towers. By forcing the rising steam to pass through a drift eliminator, the water droplets in the steam collect along the surface, merge together, and fall back into the cooling tower’s water basin. So, the next time you see steam escaping a cooling tower, remember that steps have been taken to ensure that the steam is as clean as possible.
Blowdown is Necessary, But Not Necessarily Bad
Most industrial cooling towers these days use water to eliminate heat. As water naturally evaporates from the cooling process and escapes the tower, the remaining water becomes saturated with chemicals, dissolved minerals, and other undesirable elements. Over time, this dirty water must be flushed from the cooling tower to ensure proper performance is maintained. This process, known as blowdown, has raised concerns in the past from environmental groups because of the potential release of these chemicals into the surrounding environment. However, these concerns are largely unfounded. As any industry knows, running afoul of the Environmental Protection Agency is a sure fire way to gain negative publicity and potential fines. As a result, industries use water treatment and removal services that are well-versed in EPA regulations, and take the necessary steps to treat and dispose of the blowdown in a way that is not detrimental to the environment.
Eliminate Cross-Contamination With Proper Maintenance
One of the biggest environmental concerns in regard to industrial cooling towers is cross-contamination. Cross-contamination occurs when leaks from process equipment attached to a cooling tower introduce chemicals to the system that would otherwise not be present. In layman’s terms, cross-contamination happens when something leaks into a tower that shouldn’t. Most often, cross-contamination occurs when a faulty heat exchanger starts to leak chemicals into a tower, causing the water medium to become saturated with chemicals that it was never intended to handle. While this is always a concern, cross-contamination can be effectively eliminated by routinely checking tower components for faults or leaks. Again, because no industry wants to get on the EPA’s bad side, redundant maintenance checks are put in place to ensure that all components of the tower are doing their job without leaking unwanted substances into the tower itself.
We hope that this post has helped to alleviate any concerns you may have had in regard to industrial cooling towers. While no tower will be 100 percent environmentally friendly, multiple steps are taken to ensure that the least amount of pollution possible is released from these towers. The next time you see a cooling tower releasing steam, just remember that steam is almost 100 percent of what it is releasing. At Industrial Cooling Solutions In., we are dedicated to responsible environmental maintenance, and we take every step necessary in our cooling tower production to ensure that pollution is reduced. Contact us today or visit our website, and see why Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. is a trusted provider of cooling tower solutions around the world.