Fouling of cooling tower film fill: Causes, cleanup techniques and operating guidelines
- Puckorius & Associates, Inc., Evergreen, CO (United States)
The high thermal performance of film-type cooling tower fill has made this type of fill increasingly popular for new towers and for retrofit applications in existing towers. However, the physical designs of the different film fills increase the potential for fouling, so that cooling water quality and chemical treatment become an important element in the selection of fill and in the subsequent trouble-free operation of the cooling towers. This paper presents several case histories of film fouling in power plant cooling towers. Each case history describes the cooling tower design and operation, the cooling water treatment program, analyses of deposits removed from the fill and the probable causes of fouling. Fill cleaning approaches are discussed, including the success of in-place, on-line fill cleaning techniques. In conclusion, the paper identifies the important considerations in selecting film fill and offers guidelines for operating a tower with film fill.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Yankee Scientific, Inc., Medfield, MA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 48144
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR-104867; CONF-9408224-; TRN: 95:003577-0013
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Cooling tower and advanced cooling systems conference, St. Petersburg, FL (United States), 30 Aug - 1 Sep 1994; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings: Cooling tower and advanced cooling systems conference; PB: 323 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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