How The Cooling Tower Water Conservation Program Works

Automatic Controller

The Terlyn Program utilizes a Megatron SS automatic controller that constantly monitors cycles of concentration in the cooling tower system water, as well as how much fresh water is being added to the system. Most traditional treatment system controllers only can read to a maximum of 8000 to 10000 mhos which is not high enough to read the level of mineral concentrations that the Terlyn Program achieves. The Megatron SS was chosen because of it’s ability to read up to 30,000 mhos., which is more than enough for the Terlyn Conservation Program. This controller is equipped with remote monitoring which sends an alert to the service contractor when any parameters drop below or increase above the desired range. This allows for quick correction of any mechanical problems within the system that might potentially cause a problem if left uncorrected for a long period of time. The controller is standardly set for 50 cycles of concentration. For example, if the incoming water TDS is 300ppm, the controller would be set for 15,000 TDS. When the TDS of the system reaches this threshold, the bleed valve is opened, and a small amount of blowdown occurs.

Treatment Feed Pumps

The Terlyn Program utilizes Stenner MHP2 Peristaltic Feed Pumps to feed all three treatments into the system water. These pumps are very accurate, low feed pumps that can accommodate the lower doses of treatment injection required by the Terlyn Program. Our program requires much less treatment injection because the treatment stays in the system much longer due to the reduction of water waste by 90%.

Water Softener

In areas where the levels of hardness in the potable water are high, a water softener is used to pre-soften the incoming make-up water. This removes the hardness from the water before it enters the cooling tower which significantly reduces the potential for scale formation. The desired hardness range of the incoming make-up water is 0 to 50ppm. In areas of the country like Denver Colorado, the water hardness is low, and no water softeners are necessary.

Impulse Water Meter

An impulse water meter sends an electrical impulse to the controller for every 100 gallons of water that flow through it. This allows the controller to monitor how much fresh water the cooling tower is using and inject the proper treatments on an as needed basis.

Scale Control

The CWT3 scale inhibitor component of the Terlyn Conservation Program is the sole reason that cooling tower water blowdown can be reduced by 90% over the standard 3 cycles of concentration. CWT3 has a molecular bonding strength that is 30X higher than traditional scale inhibitors. This increased bonding strength significantly increases the saturation point of the system water. A higher saturation point means that a higher concentration of minerals can be present in the cooling tower system’s water without mineral scale formation. This is why systems running the Terlyn Cooling Tower Water Conservation Program standardly operate at 50 cycles of concentration, or 50x the concentration of minerals in the incoming potable water. Cycling the concentration of minerals in the system higher also naturally raises the pH of the system which significantly helps to prevent corrosion. The automatic controller monitors how much potable water is used and injects the correct amount of CWT3 into the system for every 100 gallons of fresh water that enters the cooling tower. Since the amount of cooling tower wastewater is reduced by 90%, the volume of treatment needed to protect the system is much less. The amount of residual treatment also concentrates to higher levels in the system because of the drastically reduces water loss. Currently, no other scale inhibitor treatment in the industry has a high enough molecular bonding strength to maintain a cooling tower at 50 cycles of concentration.

Corrosion Control

The 9.0 to 9.5 standard pH range of the Terlyn Conservation Program also serves to naturally pacify the metals in the system and protect from corrosion. The controller also injects the commonly used corrosion inhibitor Tolytriazole into the system based on how much water is added via the impulse water meter. These two factors combined allow the Terlyn Conservation Program to maintain excellent corrosion rates on both copper and mild steel.

Biological Control

The 9.0 to 9.5 pH optimal range for the Terlyn Conservation Program naturally creates an alkaline environment that is prohibitive to the growth of biological organisms within the system. In addition to our high operating pH, The Terlyn Conservation Program uses industry standard biocides to further protect against biological fouling. This biocide is also added by the controller based on the amount of water that enters the cooling tower.

Monthly Professional Service

In addition to constant remote monitoring, a monthly service visit is performed on all cooling tower systems running the Terlyn Cooling Tower Water Conservation program. We conduct the following on each visit:
TDS/mhos test of system water
TDS/mhos test of potable water
pH test of system water
Hardness test of incoming make-up water
exercising of all valves related to treatment
Check chiller head pressures/approach temperatures
Visual inspection of cooling tower fill
Refilling of all treatment containers
Check treatment pumps to make sure properly running
Make note of all controller readings
Discuss operation/suggest improvements with onsite maintenance staff
Check salt level on water softener (fill salt to top of brine tank)
Detailed service report submitted via email to all appropriate parties