Cooling Water De-Ionisation Control for Blowdown and Scale Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Recirculating evaporative cooling facilities face challenges in efficiently reducing make-up water consumption and blowdown water production while effectively suppressing biological growth, scale formation, and corrosion, as existing systems fail to achieve desired water savings and efficiently manage reverse osmosis cycles.
Innovation Solution
A control system that monitors ion concentration in the cooling liquid and adjusts the hydraulic operation of de-ionising units to achieve adaptive target water savings, optimizing the frequency and intensity of de-ionising processes to minimize water usage while maintaining effective suppression of biological growth, scale formation, and corrosion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If reverse osmosis recycling is used to reduce contaminated wastewater, then blowdown water reduction is achieved, but make-up water saving target is not met and membrane cleaning frequency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the hydraulic operation parameters of the de-ionising unit based on real-time ion concentration monitoring. The control system modifies flow rates, pressure, and operational intensity adaptively to maintain optimal de-ionisation performance while preventing membrane fouling, thereby reducing cleaning frequency while achieving water savings targets.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously monitors ion concentration in the cooling liquid and uses this feedback to regulate the hydraulic operation of the de-ionising unit. This closed-loop control ensures that de-ionisation is performed only when necessary and at the appropriate intensity, optimizing water savings while maintaining membrane performance and minimizing cleaning requirements.
2Loss of substance
If de-ionising unit operates at high intensity to maximize water saving, then make-up water reduction is achieved, but ion concentration control becomes difficult and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically regulates the de-ionising unit's hydraulic operation based on ion concentration feedback without requiring manual intervention. The system self-adjusts operational parameters to achieve optimal water savings while maintaining ion concentration within acceptable limits, simplifying operation despite the sophisticated control logic.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional blowdown method is used to control salt concentration, then scaling and corrosion are suppressed, but significant water is wasted and environmental pollution increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using conventional blowdown to control salt concentration, the system changes the approach by using de-ionisation to actively remove ions from the cooling liquid. This parameter change from passive discharge to active removal allows water conservation while maintaining effective suppression of scaling and corrosion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The control system maximizes water savings while ensuring sufficient suppression of biological growth, scale formation, and corrosion by dynamically regulating de-ionising unit operations based on ion concentration thresholds, reducing the need for make-up water and blowdown water.
Implementation Method 1
US 2015/0330725 A1 describes a reverse osmosis recycling circuit for reducing the amount of contaminated wastewater by de-ionising the cooling water
Implementation Method 2
The at least one sensor may be configured and arranged to measure an ion concentration and/or an electrical conductivity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a control system for suppressing biological growth, scale formation and/or corrosion in a recirculating evaporative cooling facility (1), wherein the control system is configured to: - monitor a value (C) from at least one sensor (19a-l), wherein the value is indicative of an ion concentration in a cooling liquid of the recirculating evaporative cooling facility (1), and - control at least one flow regulation device (21, 23) for regulating the hydraulic operation of at least one de-ionising unit (13) of the recirculating evaporative cooling facility (1), wherein the control system is configured to control at least one parameter of hydraulic operation of the at least one de-ionising unit (13) based on an adaptive target water saving as long as the monitored value (C) does not pass a pre-determined threshold.