If you’re running an industrial facility or a large commercial building in India, you probably know very well the “chemical drum” culture. Hundreds of thousands of liters of anti-scalants, biocides, and corrosion inhibitors are, month after month, being thrown into the cooling systems of the country. This is the industry standard, a necessary evil to keep the heart of your HVAC or process cooling system alive.
However, with the increasing demand for sustainability and the tightening of operational budgets, numerous engineers are raising a very important question: Is the solution causing more harm than the problem?
Chemical treatment in cooling towers is meant to be a protective measure for your equipment, but the reality over a long period of time is usually a dependence on chemicals, which gradually wear down the hardware, harm the staff, and make a big contribution to pollution. At Tower Tech, our philosophy is to think beyond the superficial fixes and find out the truth inside your pipes.
The Chemistry of Decay: How Treatment Causes Corrosion
The primary function of cooling tower maintenance chemicals is to impede the formation of calcium carbonate scale on heat exchanger tubing. Vendors tend to rely on the use of aggressive acids and/or sequestering agents to accomplish this task.
The difficulty lies in a narrow margin of error. Chemical doses in cooling towers that are off by just a few parts per million may shift the water chemistry from scaling to being extremely corrosive, called a Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) imbalance. When the water becomes “hungry,” it begins to consume minerals from the metallic surfaces of your chillers and cooling tower internals.
This will cause cooling tower corrosion, particularly “pitting corrosion” on the copper tubing of the chiller, whereby small holes develop. Often, when you notice a reduction in refrigerant pressure, the damage has already occurred, and in most cases, this necessitates complete retubing of the chiller at an expense that is much greater than any perceived savings from inexpensive chemical programs.
The Human Factor: Health Risks and Safety Hazards
The safety standards in the Indian industry are directly related to the training of those who handle chemicals, especially in cooling towers. The health risks associated with these chemicals should be an important issue in all annual reports.
- Most of the biocides that are utilized for the treatment of cooling tower water (algae and bacteria) are also the main sources of pollution to the air and the skin of the workers via the emission of the toxic gases of the oxidizers (chlorine and bromine) and non-oxidizer toxins. It means that if the technologists keep handling such materials, then in the long run, they can be diagnosed with some chronic respiratory illnesses and dermal burning.
- The Question of Legionella: We use chemicals to kill Legionella bacteria (the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease). However, the chemicals that we use to kill Legionella are typically not strong enough to penetrate the biofilm that develops on the inside of the piping in the cooling tower system. There is a false sense of security among many technicians that if the water appears to be clear, it is safe; this is false because the hazardous pathogens will be lying below the biofilm and can be aerosolized when the fan of the cooling tower operates.
- Chemical Handling in Chiller Water Treatment Facilities: Concentrated drums of chemicals stored in a small mechanical room are extremely dangerous to technicians who must handle these containers. If the floor is damaged by an acid spill and the building’s infrastructure is compromised, then the technician is at an increased risk of exposure to fumes created by the acid spill, which can then be circulated throughout the building’s ventilation system.
The Environmental “Blowdown” Crisis
Each cooling tower has to “bleed” or “blowdown” some of its water to maintain the concentration of solids in the water at a reasonable level. In a chemical-heavy system, this blowdown water is like a toxic cocktail.
The environmental impact of the chemical treatment is turning into a significant legal obstacle in India. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is tightening the norms for industrial effluent, so that discharging phosphorus, heavy or metal rich water into the local drainage system is no longer just “frowned upon”, it is a liability.
By dumping chemically treated water, you are definitely adding to the following problems:
- Soil Salinity: Which is deteriorating the quality of the groundwater around industrial areas.
- Eutrophication: Excess phosphates in the blowdown water can lead to the development of “dead zones” in the local water bodies where life literally disappears.
- Toxicity to Aquatic Life: The same biocides that are used to control the algae in your tower eventually become the biocides that kill the beneficial organisms in the ecosystem.
Financial Leakage: The Hidden Costs of Chemicals
Most facility managers only consider the monthly bill that the chemical vendor sends them. But the risks of chemical use in chillers lead to “hidden” financial drains that are not apparent:
- Energy Inefficiency: A tiny layer of scale 0.1mm can reduce heat transfer efficiency by almost 10%. So if your chemical program is not fully effective all the time, your electricity bill will go up drastically.
- Water Wastage: To keep chemical levels at the right values, towers have to be blown down more frequently than a clean, physically treated system would, thousands of liters of water are wasted every day.
- Equipment Lifespan: The lifespan of a cooling tower that is properly maintained is 15 to 20 years. The life expectancy of the cooling tower, however, can be cut in half due to constant exposure to harsh descalers.
Exploring Alternative Cooling Tower Treatment Methods
Could someone sustain a system, i. e., a laboratory, without having to use a ton of toxins? The short answer is yes.
The industry is shifting to “Physical Water Treatment” alongside sophisticated filtration. With such methods as electromagnetic scale control, UV sterilization, or high, efficiency side, stream filtration, a company can almost eliminate the use of chemicals. These alternative cooling tower treatment methods take the approach of altering the physical characteristics of the minerals in the water so that they do not attach to the surfaces, instead of attempting to break them down with acid.
Conclusion: A Smarter Approach to Maintenance
At Tower Tech, we’ve seen that the most efficient systems in India are those that treat water as a vital resource, not as a basin for the disposal of chemicals. Solving the cooling tower water quality problems calls for a comprehensive view, which, first of all, extends the life of the equipment and ensures the safety of the environment.
Regardless of whether you want to optimize an existing installation or install a new, ultra-efficient unit, it is definitely the moment to see your cooling tower services through the long-term sustainability perspective.
Decreasing the use of chemicals is not only a matter of “going green,” it is a matter of saving your money, your equipment, and your staff.