83-12: Test Method For Biocide Evaluations in Cooling Towers

Actual cooling tower water is used as the test medium to establish proper biocide treatment in recirculating systems. The method is effective not only for aerobes and facultative anaerobes, but also includes test for sulfate-reducing anaerobes plus molds and yeasts through the use of slides. Results accurately show the effect of biocides on microbial growth in the water and are more sensitive and superior to the "all or none" response of broth tube tests. The test procedure, examples and comparisons with some standard methods are the subject of this paper.