Cooling tower blowdown reduction at a Fortune 100 headquarters
Cooling tower blowdown reduction was a priority at the headquarters campus of a Fortune 100 company, where scale and biofouling in a large cooling plant meant high chemical dosing, frequent maintenance, heavy blowdown and the energy penalty of fouled heat transfer surfaces. In April 2016 HydroFLOW® Custom units were installed across the cooling towers and chillers as part of a Total Water Management programme, treating towers and chillers together rather than one at a time. Blowdown fell by 85%, and combined savings on water, chemicals, maintenance and energy came to $73,000 a year, with a measured carbon reduction alongside.
The Challenges
- Cooling tower blowdown reduction was a priority as scale and biofouling built up across the plant
- High chemical dosing was required to keep the system under control
- Maintenance and blowdown were both frequent
- Maintenance and energy costs were rising together
- The site wanted a whole-system approach rather than a single fix
The Solution
- Units installed: HydroFLOW® Custom units
- Installation point: across the cooling towers and chillers
- Installed: April 2016
- System: treated under a Total Water Management programme
The units went in across the towers and chillers together, so the whole plant was treated as one system. The signal disrupts the conditions that bond scale and biofilm to surfaces, letting the towers run at higher cycles without fouling. Cooling tower blowdown reduction reached 85%, chemical dosing and maintenance dropped with it, and heat transfer surfaces stayed clean.
