24 Feature

Filtration+Separation March/April 2019

General processing

The danger that

lurks in the towers
any owners and operators of cooling towers and cooling
M systems believe that they are operating an effective and
safe water system. However, where biofilm has formed,
major problems with plant and equipment as well as the
stability of the cooling towers can occur.

Considerable levels of system contamina-
tion in cooling systems can be caused by
suspended solids in the make-up water,
the ‘scrubbing action’ of cooling towers, or
by process leaks encouraging microbial
activity. With operators wanting to employ
what they believe to be a ‘quick fix’, what
we regularly see are operators focussing
on just one aspect of the water treatment
regime. Little do they realise that this
could in fact make the situation worse as
is carefully pointed out by the Health &
Safety Executive’s (HSE) own advice:
“An appropriate cooling water treatment
programme must be capable of control-
ling not only legionella and other
microbial activity, but also corrosion,
scale formation and fouling, and include
appropriate measures, such as regular
physical cleaning and disinfection,
to maintain the system’s cleanliness.
This is very important since these
aspects are often interrelated and failure
to control one aspect will often lead to
other problems and will increase the
legionella risk.”
In reality, what we commonly see are
cooling system installations that have
focused upon compliance, with operators
throwing extensive chemical treatments
at the problem in the belief that this will
ensure they do not fail microbiological
tests. Rather than considering the effi-
ciency or indeed the implications of
running with a heavily contaminated
system, conventional chemical techniques
employed may involve adding inhibitors
to control corrosion and scale formation,
biocides to control microbial growth and
dispersants to control fouling.

Here lies the hidden and often ignored

issues of poor energy transfer, blockages
and system shutdowns that result from a
poor-quality cooling water being
circulated.

Side-stream filtration
To help combat these, many operators
feel safe having installed traditional tech-
nologies such as side-stream filtration,
where a volume of recirculating cooling
water is passed through a ‘side-stream’
loop to remove these contaminants from
the water and in so doing reduce overall
loading of solids. Typically, these are
kinetic or centrifugal separators, or other
technology such as self-cleaning screen
filters, disc filters or even conventional
media filters. As a standard practice such
systems are then combined with chemical
By nature of their action, cooling systems may suffer considerable levels of system contamination. treatment.

www.filtsep.com
 Feature 25
Filtration+Separation March/April 2019

Illustration of typical filtration solutions used in cooling towers.

Fitting a side stream filtration solution will
of course dramatically improve the overall
performance and allow the chemicals to
work more effectively. However, we need
to fully understand the implications of
what lies within the cooling water before
a correct side stream filtration solution
can be implemented.
Generally, when you look at
a cooling system you will “The best and most efficient side
find that 80 - 90% of the
particles are less than 10 stream filtration system is the one
micron in size and it is these
particles which lead to most
that provides the best possible return
of the problems. In most
systems the process cooling
on investment by improving plant
water is passed through a
system of pipework and
then if a cooling tower is
present, it is passed over the cooling area
of the tower, or through a chiller or
heater.
Now, even in the best of systems, and
most don’t fall into this category, the
pipework will be plastic, steel, stainless or,
as in many systems, a combination of all
three. All of these materials have a single
thing in common, their surfaces are not
completely smooth. Larger particles,
having a larger surface area, collect into a
mass which is swept along through the
system by the water flow.
Biofilm build-up
However, looking though a microscope
you will see surface inclusions and rough-
ness and it is into these very locations
where the smaller particles, typically less
than 5 - 6 micron, affix themselves. What
you now have are smaller particles
lodged in the pipework and system
cooling surfaces. Some may well be killed
off by chemicals but they still hold their
efficiency.”
position, often building up to give a
smooth internal pipe surface. This is what
we call biofilm, something with which
any operator will familiar.
And it gets worse. Underneath this now
smooth biofilm remains a rough surface
area which is now colonised with live
bacteria and it is this live bacteria where
the problem lies. Not only are they
protected from chemicals but the bacteria
happily colonises due to being kept warm
and fed on a continuous basis.
Where biofilm has formed you can expect
major problems with plant and equip-
ment as well as the stability of the
cooling and there is increased risk of
breaching present HSE laws.
The question is should we filter to less
than 5 micron? Well, not necessarily.
This is where you need to get some
meaningful water analysis done. It is quite
common for operators to
occasionally do a Total
Suspended Solids (TSS) test
which only tells you how
much solid particulate you
have in the water. What
you really need to under-
stand is the volume of
solids and the size of parti-
cles that are present. A
Particle Size Distribution
(PSD) will help you under-
stand what volume of solids you have
within the cooling water.
Particle problems
When you look at a PSD you will often
see that a considerable proportion of the
solid particles are very small and as low
as 1 micron in size. However, it is not just
particle size that matters but the volume
of the particles. For example, you may
find your particle count for <5 micron
particles is very high but this only repre-
sents a small fraction of the volume.
The following graphs illustrate that where
almost 95% of the particles are <10

www.filtsep.com
26 Feature
Filtration+Separation March/April 2019

Particle Counts (per mL)

Particle Counts, per mL 1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000

1<5 5 < 10 10 < 22 22 < 32 32 < 52 52 < 100

Size Range, um

Particle Volume Distribution (PPMv)

250

200
PPMv

150

100
The graphs illustrate
50
that where almost 95%
of the particles are
0
<10 micron in size this
1<5 5 < 10 10 < 22 22 < 32 32 < 52 52 < 100 actually only accounts
Size Range, um for less than 10% of the
particles volume.

micron in size this actually only accounts
for less than 10% of the particles volume.
Effective side stream filtration should be
based upon selecting the most appro-
priate technology for the application and
ensuring that it can effectively remove
the type of solids in the water.
Here is a short list to consider when
choosing a side stream filtration and the
options available:
• What is the nature of the particles?
Organic or inorganic?
• How good a level of filtration is really
needed?
• How much space is available?
• Is the site sensitive to water losses?
• Do you need uninterrupted filtration?
• What would be the cost of maintenance
and the impact to operation?
Like most types of equipment there is a
wide choice of technology from which to
choose with each type having its own
distinct pros and cons.
Better understanding
In conclusion, there needs to be a better
understanding of the implications of a
‘quick fix’ approach to cooling tower and
cooling water filtration. Operators may
feel they have achieved biological control,
but biofilm in the pipework, unless thor-
oughly treated, can suddenly appear and
cause major problems not just to a
process but more alarmingly to public
health.
The best and most efficient side stream
filtration system is the one that provides
the best possible return on investment by
improving plant efficiency, reducing both
operational and maintenance costs and
most importantly meeting HSE require-
ments.
•
www.amiad.com
Author:
John Wilson of Amiad Water Systems UK

Filtration Technology Size of particles Footprint OPEX Backwash Applications

removed / replacements
Traditional Sand Filters 20 micron High High Particles to 20 micron, organic &
inorganic
Automatic Screen Filters 10-800 micron Low Low Wide range of applications good for
non-deformable solids
Centrifugal Separators / >100 micron Low Low Removal of larger, heavy particles,
Hydrocyclones requires constant operation
Automatic Disc Filters 20-400 micron Medium Low Very good for organic particles
Consumables 7.34 38.54
Bag / Cartridge Filters Down to 0.1 micron High V. High Limited to smaller flow rates, good
for small or temporary installations
High efficiency media filters Down to 1 micron Medium Medium High filtration performance, low
backwash compared to sand filters
The table provides a guide on various filtration options available and how they perform in different applications.

www.filtsep.com