Cooling tower biocide reduction at a hospital cooling plant
Cooling tower biocide reduction was needed at a California hospital that held conductivity low to limit fouling and relied on heavy biocide and antiscalant dosing to control biofilm and scale. That approach is expensive, and for a hospital the biocide question also carries a Legionella dimension. HydroFLOW® Custom units were fitted to the condenser return lines and chillers, alongside side stream and glass bead media filtration, and the system was monitored for seven months. Because the system could now run at higher conductivity without fouling, biocide dosing fell by 75% and blowdown by 65%, and the condensers and chillers were clean at the end of monitoring.
The Challenges
- Cooling tower biocide reduction was needed alongside lower antiscalant dosing
- Conductivity was kept low to limit fouling, wasting water
- High chemical dosing was required for control
- Biofilm and scale were a constant risk on condenser surfaces
- Deposits were limiting cooling efficiency
The Solution
- Units installed: HydroFLOW® Custom units
- Installation point: condenser return lines and chillers
- Monitoring period: seven months
- Previous treatment: heavy biocide and antiscalant dosing at low conductivity
The units were fitted to the condenser return lines and chillers, with side stream and glass bead media filtration running alongside for the full seven months. The signal disrupts the conditions that bond scale and biofilm to surfaces, so conductivity could be raised without fouling. Cooling tower biocide reduction reached 75%, blowdown fell 65%, and the condensers and chillers stayed clean.
