Soo-Soft® in Cooling Tower Systems

Reduced surface tension of water, dissolves scale and prevents its return Creates large-scale reduction of algae, fungal, and bacterial colonization Extends the life of piping, evaporators, condensers, pumps, and filters Eliminates chemical de-scaling agents and maintenance down-times Increases Equipment Life Reduced energy usage from increased heat transfer and water flow

Cooling tower maintenance is an expensive and time-consuming challenge for any engineer. Aside from continual operational maintenance, considerable effort must be invested in controlling dangerous bacterial accumulation in order to comply with federal and local regulations. Bacteria such as legionnaires and other dangerous bacterium represent a serious and risk to the occupants of the building. In addition, through the rooftop exhaust, buildings in the surrounding area can become contaminated.

Calcium deposits in the system are the building block for bacteria. Calcium will precipitate from the water whenever changes in pressure or temperature occur. Due to the electrical charge present on calcium ions, it is attracted to all of the parts of the system and will form scale. This scale becomes the surface on which bio-films will form and acts as the ideal breeding ground for bacteria. In addition, these deposits foul pumps, pipes, filters, and reduce the heat transfer potential of the system. This increases the energy required for operation.

Traditional methods of maintenance use acid washes on a regular basis to remove these calcium deposits. This is expensive in terms of the procedures, the production lost, and the required repetition of the procedure. These methods offer no permanent on-going solution for calcium accumulation. They are used after significant accumulation has occurred and will not prevent the formation of new deposits.

The Soo-Soft® system treats the water as it is circulated in the system altering the physical and electrical characteristics of  calcium ions. It keeps deposits from forming and keeps the system operating at its maximum potential. A completer treatment system with UV treatment, advanced filtration, and Soo-Soft® scale control will create a healthy return on investment from increased energy savings, reduced equipment failures, and lowered operational costs.

Physical Water Chemistry

Water transformed by digital treatment is a better solvent, due to the increased space created between molecular structures. The treated water also has a reduced surface tension and is "wetter" creating a better solvent. This gives the treated water the ability to dissolve existing hard calcite deposits in the system and prevent them from reforming.

The physical changes created by the Soo-Soft® system can effect a permanent change to all cooling tower applications that use water at temperatures up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The changes in crystallization of calcium from the Soo-Soft® treatment forms a stable suspension of smaller (2-4-Micron) particles and prevents their return to hard calcite at all temperatures lower than 700 degrees. The hard calcite form is no longer precipitated from the water. A softer aragonite form will precipitate in its place. The aragonite form will not adhere to surfaces, will remain in suspension, and flush from the system.

Bacterial Killing

Millions of times a second, the Soo-Soft® computer shapes a repeating waveform that changes in both polarity and frequency. This has a powerful effect on many forms of bacteria, protozoa, algae, and viruses in the water passing through the Soo-Soft®inductor coil. Cell walls are ripped from positive to negative polarities at frequencies from 1 to12 thousand times a second at a 6000 milliamps of induced current. This acts to rupture cell walls and traumatize genetic material. Even circular bacterial colonies that are highly resistant to traditional chemical treatments have shown a greatly reduced reproductive capacity after treatment. At the same time, this process breaks down the hard calcite structures in the water, which reduces the overall surface tension of the water.

Bio-Films

Bacteria and algae require suitable places to grow and colonize. Hard calcite scale offers the perfect breeding ground to grow bio-films, which support bacterial life. As the hard lime scale is dissolved by the Soo-Soft® system, bacteria are left without a surface to feed on and bio-films cannot form on surfaces. In addition, algae, viruses, and bacteria must obtain nourishment through their cell walls. Water can easily penetrate, but cells are prevented from absorbing mineral nourishment. The altered form of crystallized mineral shapes created by the Soo-Soft® system cannot easily penetrate cell walls of bacteria. The end result is nutritional starvation.

Process Valves & Sensors

Temperature sensors with calcium deposits are prone to malfunction. The sensor is thermally insulated from the water, masking the actual water temperature. This causes the control system to demand more heat from the immersion element. Many sensors have a heating element included with a sensor. Calcium deposits will cause these elements and the heating elements they control to fail quickly. The Soo-Soft® treatment breaks down the calcium deposits on these sensors, increasing their reliability and life span.

Corrosion

Calcium deposits are also a major factor in corrosion. The corrosive contaminates become trapped by the calcium and allow them to dissolve the walls of pipes, tanks, valves, heat exchangers, boilers and water jackets of equipment. This corrosion further reduces the life expectancy of all components and vessels that use water. As the Soo-Soft® system dissolves these deposits, the corrosive elements remain in solution and are picked up by filters or wash away with flushing.

Plumbing & Pumps

Lime scale also collects inside of pipes, pumps and vessels, causing a greater resistance to the flow of water through the system. This added resistance forces the pump to work harder in order to maintain water flow. The end result is higher consumption of energy and a shortened life span for the pump.

References:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA. Kuivinen, David E., "Comparing Corrosion Rates of Steel Corrosion Inhibitors". Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, 1975.

"A study of the influence of magnetics on corrosion control showed that magnetic treatment inhibits the rate of corrosion . . ."Reimers, R.S., de Ker-nior, P.S., Culieipier, V.C.. Tulane University.

American Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C., API Publication 960, September, 1985.

Atkins W., Physical Chemistry, Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 1978, p. 761.

Schmutzer, M. A., and Hull, G. W., "Examination to Determine the Physical or Chemical Differences Between Untreated and Magnetically Treated Water," United States Testing Center, Inc., Hoboken, 1969.

Hibben, Stuart G., "Magnetic Treatment of Water,' Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, 1973.

Kuivenen, David E., 'Comparing Corrosion Rates of Steel Corrosion Coupons in Magnetically Treated Water and in a Water System Utilizing Corrosion Inhibitors," National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, 1975.

Klassen, V. E., "Magnetic Water: Between Scylla and Charybdis," "Institute of Mineral Fuels of the USSR Academy of Sciences," Moscow, 1969,25-27.

Rubin, Alan J., "To Determine if Magnetic Water Treatment is Effective in Preventing Scale," Ohio State University, 1973.

Reimers, Robert S., deKernion, P.S. and Leftwich, D. B., 'Sonics and electrostatics- An innovative Approach to Water and Waste Treatment,' Proceedings of Water Reuse Svmposium, Vol. 2 AWWA Research Evaluation, Denver, Colorado, March 1979, pp 1350-1416.

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