2022 Technical Forum on Control and Practice of Fresh Water

Cooling Towers and Buildings Energy Efficiency

On-line and Real Time Monitoring Chemical Water Treatment

System for Fresh Water Cooling Towers
By Kayson LI

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd

天成化工有限公司
Content
1. Introduction
2. Fundamental Cooling System Triangle
– Corrosion and control
– Microbiological fouling and control
– Scaling and control
3. Consequences of cooling water system fouling
4. Application of On-line and Real Time Monitoring System
- Hardware - controller, sensor & NB-IoT Module
- Software - cloud platform for real-time online monitoring
5. Application of Sensors

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 2

天成化工有限公司
Introduction
Fresh Water Cooling Tower System:

Warm water • A heat rejection device

• Use fresh water as heat transfer

medium

Common Type:
• Open evaporative
Cool water

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 3

天成化工有限公司
Evaporation over a Cooling Tower
• Only the Pure Water is Lost: Salts and Suspended Particles are Concentrated

What is Cycle of Concentration (COC)?

1L

1. Precipitation of Sparingly Soluble Salts

2. Corrosivity Increase With Dissolved Salts

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 4

天成化工有限公司
Fundamental Cooling System Triangle

Corrosion

Control

Deposition All are interconnected Biofouling

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 5

天成化工有限公司
Corrosion is an Electrochemical Reaction
Water O2
(Electrolyte) Corrosion
Fe2+ OH-
Fe(OH)3 H2O
Control
e
Fe(OH)2 -
Deposition Biofouling
Electron Flow
Anode
Cathode
(Metal Loss)
Anodic Reaction Cathodic Reaction
(Oxidation) (Reduction)

Fe → Fe2+ + 2e 1/2O2 + H2O + 2e → 2OH-

Low pH only:
4Fe(OH)2 + O2 + 2H2O → 4Fe(OH)3
2H+ + 2e → H2
Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 6
天成化工有限公司
Corrosion Inhibitor

• Mix blended Corrosion Inhibitor

➢ Forms at protection barrier at both anode and cathode
➢ Multi-metal protection
➢ Tailored to provide anti-scaling ability

Cathodic Anodic
Protection Film Protection Film

Cathode No Electron Migration Anode

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 7

天成化工有限公司
Types of Deposition
• Scaling
Corrosion
- Mineral scale
- Dissolved minerals exceed solubility when concentrated Control

• Fouling Deposition Biofouling

- Suspended matter
⚫ Enter with makeup water
⚫ Enter as dust particles in air
- Transient corrosion product

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 8

天成化工有限公司
Chemically Controlling of Scaling
• Organic phosphorus compound
➢ e.g. phosphonates, Organic Phosphonic Acid
➢ Sequestering the ions to reduce rate of precipitation

• Polymers
➢ Modifying the morphology and size of the particles

Without Inhibitor With Inhibitor

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 9

天成化工有限公司
Microbiological Fouling
Why Should We All Care?
Corrosion

• Rapid performance degradation Control

➢ Explosive log growth capability
Deposition Biofouling

• Microbiological induced corrosion(MIC)

• Source of airborne pathogens

➢ Legionella

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 10

天成化工有限公司
How to Control Microbes?
• Apply antimicrobial chemicals to cooling tower system

- Oxidizing
⚫ Chlorine based, bromine based, etc.
⚫ Mostly non-specific across organism types

- Non-Oxidizing
⚫ Isothiazolines, Quaternary ammonium salts, etc.

Oxidizing biocide are usually primary for cooling tower

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 11

天成化工有限公司
Consequences of cooling water system fouling
Fouling: Organic growth or other deposit on heat transfer surfaces causing loss in efficiency
Fouling: Organic growth or other deposit on heat transfer surfaces causing loss in efficiency.

• Scale & biofilm act as a insulator

• Required more energy to reduce the

temperature of water

Scale thickness:0.025 inches

➢ Increase energy costs $$$
% Energy increase: ~25%

Figure 1: Effect of CaCO3 on Efficiency (Association of Water Technologies (AWT) 2014)

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 12

天成化工有限公司
Consequences of cooling water system fouling

• Higher Energy Consumption

➢ Reduced heat exchanger efficiency due to scaling and biofilms

• Higher Operation & Maintenance Cost

➢ Faster metals deterioration due to increased corrosion rate
Corrosion
Inhibitor

Biocide Scaling
Inhibitor

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 13

天成化工有限公司
Challenges of Implement a Comprehensive Chemical Water Treatment Program

• Cooling towers are dynamic systems

➢ Change in water chemistry and bleed off rate

• Cooling towers are open system

➢ Susceptible to dirt, debris & organic

• Unwanted water loss

➢ Windage, leakage, overflow

Water Treatment - Need frequent checked and adjusted

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 14

天成化工有限公司
On-line and Real Time Monitoring System
Corrosion

Control

Deposition Biofouling

Hardware Software Automation

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 15

天成化工有限公司
Multi-Parameters Controller

• Ready for Multiple Sensors

➢ pH, Conductivity
➢ ORP, Free Chlorine (Biocide control)
➢ PTSA, etc. (Corrosion & Scaling Inhibitor tracker)

• Programable Control
➢ Real-time monitoring & Instantaneous
feed back control

A range of controllers and sensors to suits the specified needs

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 16
天成化工有限公司
NB-IoT Communication Module

• NB-IoT Communication Module

➢ Connect water treatment system via NB-IoT Network
➢ With cloud service to provide real-time monitoring &
control
➢ Fault notification

• Why NB-IoT?
➢ Low Cost (Initial Cost, Data Transmission)
➢ Long Range (Works well indoors)
➢ Low power consumption

• Suitable for the old buildings, where No BMS /

expensive to incorporate into existing BMS

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 17

天成化工有限公司
Real time & Online Monitoring Platform

➢ 24/7 remote access via web browser / mobile phone ➢ Alarm notification via email / SMS
➢ Historical data presentation ( in graph) ➢ Data logging, support big data analysis

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 18

天成化工有限公司
Common Type of Sensors Application

Conductivity • Used for bleed-off system for the

Sensor control of cycle of concentration

ORP/Free
Corrosion
• Used for continuously monitoring
Chlorine and control of oxidizing biocide Control

Sensor program Deposition Biofouling

• Used for continuously monitoring Corrosion

PTSA Sensor and control of corrosion and scaling

inhibitor program
Control

Deposition Biofouling

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 19

天成化工有限公司
Conductivity for Automatic Bleed-Off Control

• Cycles of concentration are also estimated by the ratio of the specific

conductance of the cooling water and the makeup water:

Cycles of concentration (C) = MU / B

⚫ Keep at desired cycle of concentration

automatically
➢ Precise and automatic control of bleed off

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 20

天成化工有限公司
Maximize the COC
Table 1. Water savings achievable at increasing COC
• Treated the Cooling Tower with proper treatment Chemicals
New COC
& adopted real-time online control:
➢ Corrosion
3 & Scale
4 Inhibitor 5 6 7 8 9 10 15
➢ Non-Oxidizing Biocide
➢ 2 25% Biocide
Oxidizing 33% 38% 40% 42% 43% 44% 45% 46%
Initial CCO

Allows the
3
towers
-
to
11%
operate
17%
safely
20%
at higher
22%
concentration
24% 25%
ratios29%
26%

• The volume of water saved by increasing the COC can be estimated by the equation
4 - - 6% 10% 13% 14% 16% 17% 20%
• V = M × ((C2 - C1)/ − (C1 x (C2 – 1))
• Where
5 - - - 4% 7% 9% 10% 11% 14%
V = Volume of water saved
M = Initial makeup water volume C1 = Initial COC number
C2 = Final6 COC- number - - - 3% 5% 6% 7% 11%

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 21

天成化工有限公司
Example- Water & Money Saving on Higher COC

Table 2. Water savings achievable at increasing COC

Heat Rejection 1000 RT

Operating Hours 16 Hours

COC Increase from 6 to 10

Water Saving ~207 m3/month (~7%)

$ Saving ~HK$1,552.5/ month (Water Charge:HK$4.58/m3 ; Sewage Charge:HK$2.92/m3)

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 22

天成化工有限公司
On-line and Real Time Monitoring- Fast response
Auto Bleed off
malfunction

Excessive water loss

Figure 2: Conductivity level against time Figure 3: Conductivity level against time
(Auto Bleed off malfunction occurred) (Excessive water loss)

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 23

天成化工有限公司
Free Chlorine for Automatic Oxidizing Biocide Monitoring & Control

• Free Chlorine , ORP Sensor- Monitoring & Auto Control

➢ Maintain the oxidizing biocide at desired range ;

• Neglect the change in cooling tower system ;

➢ Continuously maintain the treated water with disinfection power

• Free Chlorine Sensor

➢ Direct measure the residual biocide- (Chlorine based)

➢ Keep the chlorine level of drainage water meet the regulation

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 24
天成化工有限公司
ORP for Automatic Oxidizing Biocide Monitoring & Control

➢ ORP: an electronic measurement–in millivolts (mV)–of the ability of

a chemical substance to oxidize or reduce another chemical
substance

➢ Oxidizing Biocide: Kill the bacteria through oxidation

➢ ORP : used in the operational monitoring of disinfection efficacy.

➢ Advantage:
-Direct measure the disinfection power
-Capable of monitoring a range of oxidizing biocide program (e.g. Cl, Br)
-Less maintenance
Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 25
天成化工有限公司
Automatic Control of Corrosion & Scale Inhibitor

• Conventional Dosage

➢ Feed rate – based on estimated value: Water Blowdown Rate

• Changeable

➢ Monitoring- Testing of “active ingredient”,

for example, Total-phosphate, ortho-phosphate
• May decomposition or interferences from within the water
systems themselves

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 26

天成化工有限公司
PTSA-Automatic Control of Corrosion & Scale Inhibitor

Corrosion &
Scaling
Inhibitor

Detectable PTSA
(non-toxic and chemically stable)

fluorescent
Indicator

• Apply PTSA sensor:

➢ Direct measure the Inhibitor level using fluorometry
Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 27
天成化工有限公司
PTSA- Reduction in detection and reduction of response times

Maintain the Corrosion & Scale

Inhibitor at Desired Level

Reduce Corrosion & Scaling Risk

Save Energy
Lower maintenance cost
Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 28
天成化工有限公司
Total Solution-On-line and Real Time Monitoring System

Sensors Tanks Level

Controllers

CCMS/BMS
Interface

Tin Sing Support

Web Dashboard

Alarms
Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 29
天成化工有限公司
 Thank You

Tin Sing Chemical Engineers Ltd Page 30

天成化工有限公司