Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Sections
  • Topics
Know How
Sections
Explainers
HVAC

Keeping your cooling towers clean

Open-access content Friday 10th February 2017 — updated 2.38pm, Tuesday 5th May 2020
Cooling Towers

Cooling towers can accumulate a colossal 275 kilograms of suspended matter in a single year if left untreated. This can lead to a range of issues that can negatively impact everything from efficiency to productivity, says Simona Vasilescu of NCH Europe .



9 February 2017 | Simona Vasilescu


Cooling towers can harbour conditions favourable to pathogens, such as Legionella, so an adequate water treatment regime is essential to protect employees and people living nearby. Water treatment negligence can also lead to unnecessary electricity use. Here are five areas to consider when ensuring compliance.


A risk assessment (carried out by a competent person) can give you a clear picture of the hazards and risks your business and premises face and how to mitigate them and avoid court fines and probation/enforcement notices from a fire authority. Reputation damage should be considered along with insurance costs.

 
1. Identify the two types of cooling tower

Industrial evaporative condensers and draft cooling towers are easily confused, but there is a key difference between them. In draft cooling towers, the air outside of the tower is used to cool the water inside through an air inlet. In evaporative condensers, gas contained in a tube is cooled by a heat transfer process that requires water to flow over it, creating condensation.


2. Keep contaminants clear

Draft cooling towers are, in essence, massive air scrubbers, so the most problematic issues will arise from external contaminants entering the water supply. In such a large structure reliant on external cooling it is impossible to stop particles such as pollen or silt being drawn into the system. Once these insoluble particles are in, they form deposits on surfaces. This is known as fouling.


3. Dealing with silt

Don't confuse fouling with scaling. Both result in deposits forming on equipment, but there is a distinct difference between the two, and each requires a different water treatment solution. Silt in your system won't dissolve and will eventually form a sludge that will clog up your system and promote microbiological fouling. Scaling occurs when calcium ions exist in a body of water where carbonate is also present, the result of which is the formation of crystals on pipes, which will continue to grow until they are treated and removed, all the while affecting productivity and incurring financial expense. 


4. Sulphate-reducing bacteria can cause problems, too

Evaporative condensers face similar issues, but the impact is different. For example, if sulphate-reducing bacteria made their way into the water supply during a process of contamination in this type of cooling tower the effect on production would be felt very quickly. As water flows over iron pipes bacteria can easily latch onto the surface and form sulphide salt deposits. These deposits accelerate corrosion, leading to the system falling victim to microbiologically induced corrosion.


5. Sample the water

There's no secret when it comes to water treatment to stopping harmful contaminant build-ups - it's all in the chemistry. Understanding the cooling tower you're using and identifying the problems ahead means you're already halfway to solving them as you will be able to identify the correct dosage of the most appropriate chemicals, like inhibitors and biocides. 


Regular sampling and testing of the water circulating your cooling tower helps us keep you ahead of potential problems. Keeping everything clean, safe and functioning properly requires eternal vigilance.


HSE: Legionnaires' disease technical guidance

Also filed in
Topics
Know How
Content
Explainers
HVAC

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Head of Property & Facilities

London (Central)
Up to £54,000 + Generous Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
59383

Head of Building Performance & Environment

London (Central)
Up to £70,000 + Great opportunities
Reference
59382

Facilities Manager

London (Central)
Circa £50,000 per annum depending on experience
Reference
59380
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2023 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ