20-10: Sustainable Water Treatment Technology for Cooling Towers Using Next

Cooling tower water faces challenges of bacteria growth, biofouling, and mineral scaling on the heat transfer surface, which aggravates additional issues such as corrosion and transfer efficiency loss. Although conventional chemical treatments address these issues, they offer only a temporarily solution, which increases the effluent salt concentration over time. Furthermore, periodic blowdown becomes necessary with increase in total dissolved solids (TDS) after continuous use of chemicals. Electro-oxidation technology can be a viable option to address current shortcoming in the cooling water treatment. A combined electro-oxidation and precipitation process can significantly improve water treatment quality and performance, improve safety, and enable dramatic cost reductions in water treatment. Technology and field results are presented demonstrating in-situ generation of multiple oxidants using merely electricity and cooling tower water, without the addition of hazardous reagents or chemicals. Produced oxidants are effective biocides while precipitation reduces scale buildup on the heat exchanger surface.