Global aircraft manufacturer achieves water
reduction and system performance goals
with 3D TRASAR™ Water Saver Technology
CASE STUDY – MANUFACTURING
CH-1505
SITUATION
In all regions of the world, there
has been a rapidly increasing focus
placed upon the minimization of
water consumption. This has been
especially true in the manufacturing
sector where most global corporations
have been working to brand their
products and processes as being
more sustainable in response to the
expectations of consumers as well as
the reality of growing water scarcity.
Recently, an innovative global
manufacturer of commercial aircraft
developed an initiative to reduce their
water and chemical consumption by
25% over the next 5 years. Since
2007, they had been able to document
a decrease in water consumption of
9%, but were now challenged to find
additional opportunities for savings in
order to meet their goal. In addition,
unprecedented production demands
were driving increased water usage.
In their manufacturing plants, the
largest consumers of water were
cooling tower systems. These systems
were studied, and they determined
that the current level of treatment
and automation had minimized water
usage to the greatest extent possible.
In order to achieve any additional
reductions, new innovation would
have to be integrated into the system.
BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGES
A 1,500 ton (5,000 gallon) HVAC loop
with three independent cells was
selected to be a trial site for any new
technology that could offer additional
water reduction capabilities. The
concern for the plant was that
additional water reduction could only
be achieved through higher cycling
of the tower. At these unprecedented
higher cycles of concentration there
was fear that the system integrity or
performance would be compromised.
As with most cooling systems, there
are several key operational results
to manage effectively. These include
prevention of:
eROI
SM
Customer Impact
Water savings of 1,161,795 gallons
per year
Economic Results
$12,174 per year
WATER
eROI is our exponential value: the combined outcomes of improved performance, operational efficiency and sustainable impact
delivered through our services and programs.
• SCALE FORMATION, which acts
as an insulator that prevents
efficient heat transfer resulting in
higher energy usage and under
deposit corrosion.
• CORROSION, which creates a loss
of system integrity that ultimately
leads to higher maintenance costs.
In addition, corrosion byproducts
can foul system heat exchangers,
driving up energy consumption
Nalco chose to offer a more comprehensive and innovative solution to the
challenge.
SI
RO
Nalco
Performance
Program
PROGRAM
Nalco provided a more reliable,
efficient, and environmentally
sustainable alternative for the
water reduction challenge. The new
3D TRASAR Water Saver program
has been developed by combining
3D TRASAR technology and
electrochemical precipitation (EP),
a combination that adds a “scale
removal” dimension to the existing
3D TRASAR scale prevention plat-
Water Saver Program
ON
SC
AL
HEAD TO HEAD TRIAL
The plant wanted to evaluate the
Nalco solution against one of the
leading technologies available in the
market. The competitive solution
aimed to increase cooling tower
cycles by reducing scale-forming
ions in the water makeup to the
tower through an advanced softening
approach. Additionally, the competitor
offered the softening approach as a
“chemical-free” system and stopped
the feed of all scale and corrosion
inhibitors as well as any biocides.
R
CO
E
• MICROBIAL ACTIVITY, which
presents both potential health
risk and operational concerns
associated with uncontrolled
bacteria growth. Excessive MB
growth will lead to fouled heat
exchangers and accelerated
corrosion rates which ultimately
force higher energy costs and a
loss of asset reliability.
The challenge was to achieve water
reduction through cycles increase
without creating an increase in
scale, corrosion, or microbial activity
beyond established limits.
Nalco
Performance
Nalco
3DWebsite
WebsiteMonitoring
Monitoring
Performance
MICROBIO
Data to Web
The system was currently optimized
with Nalco's 3D TRASAR Technology
and each of these performance
criteria were being met at the
following levels:
• Cycles of Concentration 12
3D TRASAR for Scale Removal
• Monitor - voltage, current, flow (pressure)
• Control - current, flow (pump), regeneration
DCS
2"
3"
3"
• Blowdown Water (gpd) 1,853
• Mild Steel Corrosion (mpy) 0.8 - 1.8
• Yellow Metal Corrosion (mpy)
0.0 – 0.2
• Microbial Activity (cfu/mL) <104
3D TRASAR for Cooling Tower
• Monitor – key performance indicators
• Control - chemical feed, blow down
• Document - water usage, chemical usage
P
2"
ECB
elec .
water out
com. air
water in
2"
1
Nalco’s 3D TRASAR Water Saver program uses 3D TRASAR Technology to ensure
that performance is maintained while water savings are achieved. Key Performance
Indicator Data is collected and trended to ensure results are achieved and high stress
operation is managed quickly and effectively
• No mechanism for microbial control
• Excessive operating costs estimated
at more than $50,000 annually for
consumables, utilities, manpower
and royalties
Scale is selectively removed from the
system and deposited in the reactors
form. 3D TRASAR Water Saver
technology gradually cycles up the
cooling tower while the EP component
removes saturating scale and stores
it in reactors. As the tower cycles
increase, water loss is minimized from
the reduction in blowdown, which
achieves water savings. At the same
time, the 3D TRASAR technology
works effectively to monitor and
control all critical system operating
parameters to ensure system
reliability and the achievement of key
performance metrics.
HEAD TO HEAD TRIAL RESULTS
Competitive Solution Results
The competitive solution developed
around a softening strategy was able
to achieve higher cycles in the cooling
tower, which reduced blowdown loss.
However, it failed to achieve the water
reduction goals anticipated due to
the need to frequently regenerate
the softener. This required additional
water consumption that had not been
previously accounted for. Additional
concerns included:
• Significantly elevated corrosion –
Mild Steel corrosion accelerated to
20 mpy
• Lack of protection during an
equipment failure, or softener
breakthrough, which would leave
the cooling system in a “high scale
environment”
• No monitoring, control, or alarming
capabilities to notify operators of
problematic operation
• No failsafe capability provided during
high stress operating conditions
RESULTS
During the first four months of
operation the cooling tower was
gradually cycled up until “zero
discharge” was achieved. This
effectively allowed the plant
to operate the tower with zero
blowdown, thereby maximizing
the water reduction capability
of the system. After 6 months of
Parameter
Cycles of Concentration
Blowdown Water (gpd)
operation, the system was drained
and inspected. There was no evidence
of scale formation or microbiological
growth deposition in the tower basins.
After 1 year of operation, Chiller #1
was taken off line and inspected.
Again, there was no evidence of scale
or microbiological deposition found on
the chiller tubes or on the tube sheet.
This confirmed the effectiveness of
the Water Saver program as a water
reduction strategy that still provides
scale prevention and microbiological
control, both ensuring system
operating efficiency.
In addition to this outstanding
performance in scale prevention,
Nalco monitored all key performance
indicators in the system throughout
the trial and documented the
following results.
The net achievement was a blowdown
reduction of 100%, allowing the
plant to achieve zero liquid discharge
from the cooling tower system. This
translates into a water savings of
1,161,795 gallons per year or $12,174.
Before
After
12
40+
1,853
0
Mild Steel Corrosion (mpy)
0.8 – 1.8
1.0 – 1.8
Yellow Metal Corrosion (mpy)
0.0 – 0.2
0.0 – 0.1
< 104
< 104
Microbial Activity (cfu/mL)
20
3500
18
16
2500
14
2000
12
1500
8
10
6
1000
Corrosion Rate
Conductivity
3000
Conductivity (µS/cm)
Mild Steel Corrosion Rate
(mpy)
4
500
• The water reduction goal was not
only met, but exceeded
2
0
• Scale formation was prevented
1
1014
2027
3040
4053
5066
6079
7092
8105
9118
10131
11144
12157
13170
14183
15196
0
4500
18
4000
16
3500
14
3000
12
2500
10
2000
8
1500
6
1000
4
500
2
0
0
• Corrosion levels were maintained
below industry standards
• Microbial activity was maintained
below industry standards
• Reliability and peace of mind were
provided through 3D TRASAR
advanced monitoring, control and
communications
Corrosion Rate
20
Conductivity (µS/cm)
Mild Steel Corrosion Rate
(mpy)
1
255
509
763
1017
1271
1525
1779
2033
2287
2541
2795
3049
3303
3557
3811
4065
Conductivity
3D TRASAR Water Saver technology pushed cooling tower cycles to zero blowdown while
maintaining excellent corrosion control in the system
5000
CONCLUSION
3D TRASAR Water Saver Technology
significantly out-performed the
competitive offering while also
achieving the water reduction goals
and performance expectations of the
manufacturing plant at an improved
overall total cost of operation.
The competitive technology achieved high cycles in the cooling tower, but created an
excessive amount of corrosion in the process
Nalco, an Ecolab Company
North America: Headquarters – 1601 West Diehl Road • Naperville, Illinois 60563 • USA
Nalco Champion – 7705 Highway 90-A • Sugar Land, Texas 77487 • USA
Europe: Richtistrasse 7 • 8304 Wallisellen • Switzerland
Asia Pacific: 2 International Business Park • #02-20 The Strategy Tower 2 • Singapore 609930
Latin America: Av. das Nações Unidas 17.891 • 6° Andar 04795-100 • São Paulo • SP • Brazil
www.nalco.com
3D TRASAR, eROI, Ecolab, NALCO and the logos are Trademarks of Ecolab USA Inc.
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