Case Study from Hydropath Asia
The Challenge
- Plate heat exchanger macrofouling kept blocking the seawater channels despite screening and chlorination
- Mussels and barnacles restricted the seawater channels
- Biofilm impaired heat rejection across the PHE plates
- Higher differential pressure increased pumping demand
- Discharge limits restricted how much residual chlorine could be used
The Solution
A HydroFLOW® unit was first fitted at the PHE02 inlet. After upstream fouling was identified, a HydroFLOW® custom 24 inch unit was repositioned to the header-pipe outlet to PHE02 to extend treatment across the affected pipework, with untreated PHE01 as the comparator from 22 February to 30 August 2023. After six months the treated PHE02 water channel remained largely open while untreated PHE01 was blocked to a depth of 3 ft. Biofilm on PHE02 was visibly thinner, differential pressure was lower, and it maintained 14–18% higher seawater flow.
