Clarity Water Technologies

What is a Water Management Program for Controlling Legionella?

The Clarity Team — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:50:27 +0000

With the rise of diseases related to water-borne pathogens over the past two decades, regulatory agencies on the local, state, and even federal level have placed increased onus on building owners and managers to protect against these pathogens in their facilities. In the past, having a proper Water Management Program (WMP) would have been considered a “good practice” for keeping water systems safe. Now, it has become a requirement for some facilities.

It is important for those who own or manage buildings to understand the requirements for operating the water systems in their buildings. It varies by city, state, industry, HVAC equipment, and size of building. Clarity Water Technologies strongly recommends you work with a qualified water treatment consultant to understand the requirements for your facility and ensure you have a comprehensive, compliant Water Management Program in place.

NOTE: This article provides some background on Legionella and related regulations, as well as a high-level overview of Water Management Programs. It is not meant to be a comprehensive guide. Consult with a qualified water treatment professional or refer to the CDC’s toolkit when creating a Water Management Program.

What is Legionella and Legionellosis?

Legionella bacteria lives and grows naturally outdoors in water and soil, but can also live in buildings. If not controlled, Legionella can thrive in warm water systems like cooling towers, decorative fountains, hot tubs, whirlpools, and hot potable water systems. Mist or vapor contaminated with the bacteria can travel through the air and enter the lungs.

Legionellosis is any illness, including Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, that is caused by exposure to Legionella. People with compromised, underdeveloped, or suppressed immune systems – the very young, the elderly and those who may already be ill – can be at extreme risk from legionellosis.

The first cases of Legionnaires’ disease date back to 1976 when a group attending an American Legion convention at a hotel in Philadelphia became ill with severe pneumonia. This puzzling outbreak made headlines as 29 people died from lung infections after contracting this disease. It was determined that the sickness, dubbed Legionnaires’ disease, was caused from breathing in Legionella bacteria from inside the hotel.

Regulations for Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease

The Center for Diseases Control (CDC) shows that the number of reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease have increased significantly since 2000.^# This has prompted various government agencies and professional organizations to issue guidance, and even put forth regulations, on controlling Legionella risk in water systems.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 188: This was passed in June 2015, outlining risk management steps to prevent Legionella contamination of building water systems and making them standard practice throughout the US.
New York City and New York State Cooling Tower Laws: During the summer of 2015, one of the largest Legionella outbreaks in US History happened in New York City with 138 cases and 16 deaths linked to a single cooling tower in the South Bronx. This prompted legislation and regulation on the monitoring, treatment, and testing of cooling towers throughout New York City and state.
CDC Toolkit: In 2016, the CDC issued a toolkit, Developing a Water Management Program to Reduce Legionella Growth & Spread in Buildings, as an easy to understand interpretation of Standard 188. It details the seven key elements of every Water Management Program.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Requirements for Healthcare Facilities: In 2017 the CMS issued requirements that healthcare facilities must complete risk assessments and implement Water Management Programs and testing protocols.
New Jersey Bill 2188: The state of New Jersey passed NJ Bill 2188 on September 12, 2024. It provides new requirements for public water systems and many facilities and buildings across the state, with the goal of preventing and controlling Legionnaires’ disease.

The common theme with these regulations and standards boils down to this: the best protection against Legionella growth in your water systems is a well-designed Water Management Program that is regularly verified and validated.

# Source: Center for Diseases Control and Prevention: Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Summary Report, United States 2018–2019

What is a Water Management Program?

So, what is a Water Management Program? Taken from the CDC Toolkit, it is a living document that:

Identifies building water systems for which Legionella control measures are needed
Assesses how much risk the hazardous conditions in those water systems pose
Applies control measures to reduce the hazardous conditions, whenever possible, to prevent Legionella growth and spread
Makes sure the program is running as designed and is effective

More specifically, effective and qualified Water Management Programs are continually updated physical and electronic files. At a minimum, every program should:

Establish a Water Management Program Team: Who is responsible and qualified to oversee and execute the program?

Diagram the Water Flow in All Buildings: An easily understood flow diagram for every water system in your building(s).

Identify the High-Risk Areas: Where is there risk for bacteria growth?

Determine Control Measures: What monitoring needs to take place at these risk areas?

Establish Actions When Outside Control Limits: What is the response/reaction when control falls out of range?

Ensure the Program is Effective: Verification (are we doing what we said we would do?) & Validation (is it working?)

Document Everything: Keep detailed, accurate records.

Who Needs a Water Management Program?

While it is good practice for all facilities to have a Water Management Program in place for its water systems, the current regulations that make it a requirement generally apply to three types of facilities:

Healthcare Facilities: CMS requires this of all their facilities, as per their 2017 memo. This applies to any healthcare location that accepts Medicare or Medicaid or has overnight stays, such as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living and rehab facilities.
Buildings with Cooling Towers: This is a requirement for some cities and states, such as New York City, New York state, and New Jersey.
Tall Buildings with Recirculating Hot Water Systems: In some cities and states (again, New York City, New York state, and New Jersey), this would include hotels, large commercial buildings, apartment complexes, etc. In New Jersey, the laws apply to buildings that are 6+ stories.

While the above is a general guide, you should work with a qualified water treatment consultant or refer to local, state, and federal legislation to determine if there are requirements for your facility.

Can You Create and Implement Your Own Water Management Program?

As mentioned earlier, the CDC has a toolkit on their website that details how building owners can create their own Water Management Program. However, whether or not you can do so on your own largely depends on two things: the complexity of your water systems and the expertise on your staff.

Depending on your facility, creating a Water Management Program can vary wildly in scope and complexity. For example, a two-story office building with a small cooling tower is very different from a 1,000-bed university hospital with multiple cooling towers and a 15-story patient tower. The office building could have a four-person WMP team while the hospital could have a 20-person team. The office building could have one small water flow diagram detailing the cooling tower loop with a few control measures, while the hospital could have a dozen diagrams with a myriad of control measures for each.

To create and implement your own Water Management Program, you will need to identify members of the team who have detailed knowledge of the facility’s water systems. They will need to know things like control locations and control limits, and will need the ability to monitor and document program performance, identify potential issues, and take corrective actions. This would often be maintenance or engineering employees or safety officers, but could also include contractors and consultants.

Need an Expert? Clarity Can Help!

Building owners and managers must understand the requirements, if any, for operating the water systems in their facilities. A qualified water treatment company like Clarity Water Technologies can help you understand any local, state, and federal regulations that may be applicable to your buildings.

If you feel your team has the expertise to create and run an effective and compliant Water Management Program for your facility, we recommend you use the CDC Toolkit as your guide.

If your team needs outside expertise, especially when creating a program for complex water systems, Clarity’s experienced team of water treatment consultants can provide the support you need! Clarity has worked with countless clients to guide, develop, and execute effective Water Management Programs for their facilities. Contact us today!

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Don’t Neglect Water Treatment in Your New Construction Plans!

The Clarity Team — Fri, 31 May 2024 16:41:32 +0000

When we meet a facility manager for the first time and discuss their water treatment systems, one question we frequently ask is “if you had a magic wand, what would you like to change here?” They always seem to have a “dream blueprint” of how they would like their mechanical rooms to look and operate, but oftentimes it is not possible due to space restrictions and time, cost, and logistical challenges.

However, a whole host of opportunities open up when there’s a facility upgrade, an expansion, or the construction of a brand new plant. The optimal CUP or mechanical room may become realistic. Everything you want in an ideal plant – automation, equipment backup and redundancy, remote monitoring, space, etc. – can now be explored.

Of course, a project like this can be expensive, time consuming, and sometimes utterly chaotic. It is easy to put off smaller-ticket items like a water treatment station or program for your new cooling tower and centrifugal chiller.

Get Your Water Treatment Right from the Start

We’re here to remind you that there’s no better time than during the planning phase of a new construction project to ensure that your water treatment station and program are set up by the book! Mistakes during this time can lead to problems that drive up project costs and impact deadlines. For the long term, setting up the treatment of your HVAC systems correctly from the beginning will greatly help in maintaining the efficiency and life of your capital cooling equipment.

Talk to a Water Treatment Professional

Getting direction from a qualified water treatment expert like Clarity Water Technologies during the planning phase of your project will be of great help to you. You can discuss what you want out of your water treatment program so that it can be designed accordingly. The fact that you will have a mostly blank slate to work with will make your goals easier to implement. Your water treatment partner can help you communicate your plans to the engineering firm designing your plant and the general contractor responsible for building it.

Ten Things to Consider for Your Water Treatment

So, what are some of the things that need to be addressed in terms of water treatment (well other than “the new tower and chiller need to be treated”)? What follows is by no means everything that needs to be discussed and planned with your water treatment partner for your new project, but it is a good starting point:

Start with the past. Discuss what has worked well in your existing water treatment program and what has not. What would you like to see continued in the new plant and what do you want eliminated?
What else is out there? Now may be the time to learn more about the advancements in water treatment chemistry and monitoring and how it could benefit your facility. Remote monitoring has come a long way the last few years and it may be time to scrap the 10 year old cooling tower conductivity controller for one that can give you a myriad of more options. And don’t forget about our game-changing EcoSAFE solid feed chemistry for cooling towers, which can reduce your cooling tower water treatment footprint by over 75% versus your existing chemistry!
Complete water analysis. Ensure that your makeup water composition has not drastically changed over the past few years, requiring a new approach, whether it be mechanically or chemically. For example, you may find that the water hardness of your makeup source has elevated to such an extent that installing a makeup water softener would be beneficial for conserving water for your new plant.
Metallurgy of new equipment and piping systems. Not all cooling towers and chillers are made equally and can be treated equally. If your company is thinking of installing a galvanized cooling tower for your new project and your makeup water does not play well with galvanized metal, you will need to show why spending the extra money now for a stainless steel tower basin would be cheaper than trying to chemically treat and passivate a galvanized one (or even replacing it quicker than intended).
Account for space. Depending on the size of your cooling system, you will want an adequate amount of space for delivering and possibly transferring chemical drums into storage basins at your chemical feed station. Of course, Clarity’s EcoSAFE solid feed chemistry is a highly-effective way to treat cooling towers without the need for heavy chemical drums, which is especially great for hard to reach towers.
Feed locations of chemistry. Ideally, neat liquid treatment chemistry should be fed directly into the condenser header going back to the cooling tower to promote better chemical mixing and avoid clogging. There are still quite a few facilities that feed tower chemistry neat into a sidestream piece of piping because they do not have the ability to shut down a system to install welded taps into the header for direct chemical feed. No excuse here not to do it right from the start during construction.
Drains. You will want to have a good amount of drainage convenient to where your chillers and chemical feed station are for taking down units for inspection/maintenance. This also helps for regular testing and sampling since you can expect some water to be spilled.
Cleaning and passivation of the piping and equipment. Ensure it is written into the job specification that a thorough flushout, cleaning and passivation of all new piping and equipment is performed before the equipment goes live. Chemical passivation of all wetted material is essential to ensuring long-term chemical protection. In addition, all the welding and construction debris can impede the heat transfer properties of your HVAC system and should be flushed and removed at the end of the construction process.
Think about the future. Advances in chemical treatment technology occur all the time and it will benefit your new plant to have certain items installed or in place that could take advantage of this down the road. An extra welded tap or two on the condenser line, data line outlets near the tower controller, extra power outlets, etc., may not be needed now but could come in quite handy should an emergency or opportunity arrive.
Chemical Testing Station. If space allows, having a designated location for the purposes of water treatment testing is highly beneficial. A well-lit area that has plenty of counter top space with a sink is a good place to start. Add room for cabinets to store testing equipment, reagents and glassware for verification of your water treatment program that is more conducive for proper and clean testing than standing over chemical drums and pumps and splashing water everywhere.

Start with the past. Discuss what has worked well in your existing water treatment program and what has not. What would you like to see continued in the new plant and what do you want eliminated?
What else is out there? Now may be the time to learn more about the advancements in water treatment chemistry and monitoring and how it could benefit your facility. Remote monitoring has come a long way the last few years and it may be time to scrap the 10 year old cooling tower conductivity controller for one that can give you a myriad of more options. And don’t forget about our game-changing EcoSAFE solid feed chemistry for cooling towers, which can reduce your cooling tower water treatment footprint by over 75% versus your existing chemistry!

Complete water analysis. Ensure that your makeup water composition has not drastically changed over the past few years, requiring a new approach, whether it be mechanically or chemically. For example, you may find that the water hardness of your makeup source has elevated to such an extent that installing a makeup water softener would be beneficial for conserving water for your new plant.

Metallurgy of new equipment and piping systems. Not all cooling towers and chillers are made equally and can be treated equally. If your company is thinking of installing a galvanized cooling tower for your new project and your makeup water does not play well with galvanized metal, you will need to show why spending the extra money now for a stainless steel tower basin would be cheaper than trying to chemically treat and passivate a galvanized one (or even replacing it quicker than intended).
Account for space. Depending on the size of your cooling system, you will want an adequate amount of space for delivering and possibly transferring chemical drums into storage basins at your chemical feed station. Of course, Clarity’s EcoSAFE solid feed chemistry is a highly-effective way to treat cooling towers without the need for heavy chemical drums, which is especially great for hard to reach towers.

Feed locations of chemistry. Ideally, neat liquid treatment chemistry should be fed directly into the condenser header going back to the cooling tower to promote better chemical mixing and avoid clogging. There are still quite a few facilities that feed tower chemistry neat into a sidestream piece of piping because they do not have the ability to shut down a system to install welded taps into the header for direct chemical feed. No excuse here not to do it right from the start during construction.

Drains. You will want to have a good amount of drainage convenient to where your chillers and chemical feed station are for taking down units for inspection/maintenance. This also helps for regular testing and sampling since you can expect some water to be spilled.
Cleaning and passivation of the piping and equipment. Ensure it is written into the job specification that a thorough flushout, cleaning and passivation of all new piping and equipment is performed before the equipment goes live. Chemical passivation of all wetted material is essential to ensuring long-term chemical protection. In addition, all the welding and construction debris can impede the heat transfer properties of your HVAC system and should be flushed and removed at the end of the construction process.
Think about the future. Advances in chemical treatment technology occur all the time and it will benefit your new plant to have certain items installed or in place that could take advantage of this down the road. An extra welded tap or two on the condenser line, data line outlets near the tower controller, extra power outlets, etc., may not be needed now but could come in quite handy should an emergency or opportunity arrive.
Chemical Testing Station. If space allows, having a designated location for the purposes of water treatment testing is highly beneficial. A well-lit area that has plenty of counter top space with a sink is a good place to start. Add room for cabinets to store testing equipment, reagents and glassware for verification of your water treatment program that is more conducive for proper and clean testing than standing over chemical drums and pumps and splashing water everywhere.

Partner With Clarity On Your Next Project

As we all know too well, a little planning now can save a lot of headaches – and costs – later on!

If you have any questions or need assistance with your project, just contact our team of water treatment experts and we’ll be happy to help! We have extensive experience partnering with chief estimators, project managers, and project teams on mechanical and new construction projects. Clarity also offers our proprietary technology, EcoSAFE, a cutting-edge solid feed water treatment for cooling towers that is simple, safe, effective, and eco-friendly.

Good luck!

The post Don’t Neglect Water Treatment in Your New Construction Plans! appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Water Treatment Tips for Your Springtime Cooling System Start-Up

The Clarity Team — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:59:48 +0000

For many, Spring cleaning means washing windows, scrubbing floors, and doing some extra dusting and vacuuming. If you’re a facility operator or maintenance professional, your Spring to do list is quite a bit more extensive. There are a lot of responsibilities that need to be addressed every Spring, especially in climates that transition from cold weather to warm weather.

For the parts of the country that welcome warmer weather in the Spring, this is the time when facilities start preparing their cooling towers and chillers for cooling season. Any major repair and maintenance work should be completed, or at least be in progress, by this point. This includes chiller tube cleaning and inspections and general repairs for the cooling towers and condenser piping.

For cooling towers, it’s first important to ensure you’re in compliance with local regulations, if they apply. For example, any cooling towers in New York City that fall under the purview of Local Law 77 must be registered and updates to the Maintenance Program and Plan (MPP) should be under way.

Additionally, before you are ready to embark on cooling season, a final check on the state of your cooling water treatment systems is also in order. You don’t want to experience untimely issues that you’d have to correct while your plant is firing full-blast in the dog days of summer.

Here are some checks to ensure safe and efficient operation of your cooling water treatment program.

IMPORTANT: Never attempt to fix a mechanical or chemical issue unless you are trained and certified to do so. Safety should always come first. Consult a specialist before starting any mechanical or chemical related projects if you are not trained and certified to perform the work.

Cooling Tower Cleaning and Disinfection

Below is the statement issued by OSHA on recommended cooling tower cleaning maintenance:

“Preventing Legionella growth through cleaning will reduce the likelihood for exposure. Considerations for cleaning water systems in the workplace include:

Cleaning and disinfecting cooling towers at least twice a year. Normally, this maintenance is performed before initial start-up when the cooling season begins and after shut-down in the fall.”

–OSHA Website – Legionellosis (Legionnaires’ Disease and Pontiac Fever)

The best way to ensure your cooling water treatment is effective for the season is to have it thoroughly cleaned and disinfected right before start-up. This includes the tower basin, fill, distribution deck and exterior surfaces. Even if you cleaned at the end of the Fall season, all the debris that collected over the winter months must be removed and any potential biological fouling that may have occurred must be eradicated before you fill the towers up for the season.

Inspect and Examine Chemical Feed Lines and Injection Points

If you see your chemical feed lines begin to experience calcification of chemistry at the injection points, now is a good time to remove, clean, and replace the tubing and injection fittings. In addition to the performance issues associated with leaking fittings and the waste of chemical, this is also a major safety issue for the personnel working around this equipment. This is highly concentrated residue from your chemical feed that, if dislodged and contacts skin or eyes, can cause serious damage. This is especially common with oxidizing biocides such as chlorine and bromine.

You do not want to interrupt chemical feed while the boiler is in operation to make these repairs, so do a visual inspection of all the chemical feed lines and stations before they go online. Correct any situation where you find this occurring right away.

Check Water Source Quality

You set your cycles of concentration for cooling water scale and inhibitor chemistry and your blowdown based on certain characteristics of your facility’s incoming water supply, including TDS, pH, Hardness and Alkalinity. Prior to cooling season, it is a good idea to check these parameters to see if any have changed dramatically, which will impact both the cycles (the amount of times we can reuse the water in the tower) and the inhibitor chemistry you are running to keep solids in solution while minimizing corrosivity potential. For example, we often see changes to the water supply characteristics where well water is used and the well is changed during the offseason. It is a good idea to do an annual lab test of your incoming water source so you can track variances in quality.

Clean and Calibrate Monitoring Probes and Valves

Proper cooling water treatment programs utilize several probes to ensure accurate monitoring and control of the chemical treatment within the condenser water system. At a MINIMUM, this includes conductivity and flow, and can also include pH, ORP and PTSA. Prior to start-up, remove these probes to perform a thorough cleaning and calibration to ensure proper performance down the road when it is needed the most. Cooling water pH and ORP probes usually have an 18-month to 2-year life, so it may be a good time to replace them if you cannot hold the calibration.

It is also important to test and, if need be, open up your tower blowdown valve to ensure that no debris will prevent if from operating properly. A surefire way to have your tower go from clean to dirty over a hot weekend is not having the high TDS water purged automatically due to a clogged blowdown valve.

For those who are using more advanced remote monitoring controllers, software updates happen frequently and should be performed to ensure proper operation of the “brains” of your chemical feed and control technology.

Review Testing Procedures and Examine Test Kits and Reagents

A big key to any successful cooling water treatment program is regular testing by the on-site personnel. And, the testing is only as good as the operators performing the tests and the equipment they are using to test the water. It may be a good idea for your onsite operators to have a refresher from your water treatment provider on the basics of the water treatment program, including how to test for the key parameters and what to do in case chemistry goes out of range.

Also, now is the opportunity to calibrate your conductivity and pH testers and to check the expiration dates for the reagents being used to ensure they have not expired. For accounts that test microbio growth onsite via aerobic dipslide cultures, ordering a fresh supply is essential since these tests only have a 6-month shelf-life and whatever you have on-site is likely near or already past expiration.

Inspect Existing Chemical Inventory

Much like testing reagents, your chemical products also have a shelf life. Over time and with exposure to temperature, the delicate chemistry in your corrosion and scale inhibitors and biocides can result in coagulated residue at the bottom of your chemical containers, rendering the chemistry less effective. If you have containment tanks that house your chemical products, inspect the bottom of the tanks to ensure they have not collected months or years of old chemical residue that can impact the performance of the replenished chemistry. If necessary, a tank cleaning may be in order.

These are just some “last minute checks” for your water treatment prior to start-up to ensure smoother operation during the warm weather.

Clarity Has the Solution:

Proper water treatment, along with regular inspections and maintenance, can ensure your entire cooling system operates efficiently. Additionally, it will reduce unplanned downtime and maintenance costs and will extend the life of your equipment.

Clarity Water Technology has extensive experience with cooling systems. If you have any water treatment questions or issues as you get your towers ready for the season, just contact our team of water treatment experts.

If you’re in need of water treatment services, Clarity offers our proprietary technology, EcoSAFE, a cutting-edge solid feed water treatment for cooling towers that is simple, safe, effective, and eco-friendly. A water treatment plan that incorporates EcoSAFE will protect your system and have your tower running at peak performance. We’ll be happy to conduct a FREE evaluation of your cooling system to see how a custom water treatment plan for your facility can save you money!

The post Water Treatment Tips for Your Springtime Cooling System Start-Up appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Environmentally-Friendly Water Treatment Chemicals for Cooling Towers

The Clarity Team — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 18:00:00 +0000

When it comes to cooling tower chemicals, there is no one size fits all solution; but for the right situation there is one option that is proving to have many significant advantages over the competition. Enter the EcoSAFE Solid Feed System, Clarity’s environmentally-friendly water treatment for cooling towers powered by Smart Release®. EcoSAFE is doing for cooling towers what rubber tires did for the automobile industry – making them safer, more efficient, and easier to maintain.

EcoSAFE is a full water treatment feed station for cooling towers that features specially designed feeders and chemicals that eliminate the need for liquid chemistry. The major differences between EcoSAFE and traditional solid feed water treatment options are that EcoSAFE’s scale and corrosion inhibitor tablets are truly dry (not a paste), they do not require mixing, and are engineered to offer many eco-friendly advantages over traditional liquid water treatment including reduced toxicity. In fact, while you may (and should) be hesitant to plunge your bare hand into a typical drum of liquid corrosion or scale inhibitor, you could easily hold a handful of EcoSAFE inhibitor in your hand. These tablets are less toxic than Asprin and they do not require pH altering additives to stabilize their chemistry.

EcoSAFE Feeder System Setup

The secret lies in the coating of the tablet. The tablet is polymer coated and acts in very much the same way as time-released medicine. When in use, EcoSAFE’s membrane coating allows water into the tablet, where it creates a concentrated chemical slurry which is then pushed out of the membrane via osmotic pressure. This happens slowly over time allowing for a very consistent release rate and virtually eliminates high chemical spikes which are often associated with other dry chemical feed applications. This coating also acts as a barrier between users and the active EcoSAFE chemistry inside. Therefore, EcoSAFE tablets are extremely safe to handle, and the potential for hazardous chemical spills is completely eliminated.

Here is a great video that shows how EcoSAFE and Smart Release technology work:

Is EcoSAFE Environmentally-Friendly?

Simply stated: yes. In its most common applications, it requires no energy to run. Properly installed EcoSAFE feeders are easily plumbed into your existing system and water flows through them. As the water flows through the feeders, the exact amount of chemical needed to treat the system is released into the flow. No measuring, no guessing, no calculating… all that extra work has already been done. And there’s no additional fuel consumption, which means lower CO2 footprint.

Requiring no electricity to operate is only the tip of the iceberg in reducing the overall carbon footprint of your cooling tower’s chemical feed station. No more liquids means no more heavy polyethylene drums lying around your mechanical room. And no water to ship means that, in many cases, total shipping weights can be reduced by over 600lbs during every 30-day period. That means reduced shipping costs with better shipping and storage options. EcoSAFE chemicals are generally shipped in cardboard boxes, which are lightweight and 100% recyclable. The elimination of the polyethylene drum and the huge decrease in shipping weight means less fossil fuels are being consumed to deliver the same amount of protection to your cooling towers. And while there is really no such thing as 100% eco-friendly water treatment chemicals that we know of, using an EcoSAFE Solid Feed System does reduce a typical liquid water treatment program’s carbon footprint by over 73%! That is a big deal, especially if your facility has made a commitment to the environment and sustainability.

This huge reduction in carbon footprint is one way in which EcoSAFE Solid Feed System for Cooling Towers is helping some buildings qualify for additional LEED points.

What About Biocides?

A widely accepted modality of cooling tower water treatment is running a dual (or alternating) biocide program. This means that the chemical program being administered calls for an oxidizing biocide and a non-oxidizing biocide. Oxidizing biocides kill microorganisms by destroying their cell walls and oxidizing protein within the organism. Typical examples of oxidizing biocides are chlorine and bromine. Non-oxidizing biocides are chemicals that kill by ways other than oxidation, including interference with cell metabolism and structure. DBNPA and isothiazoline are examples of non-oxidizing biocides. EcoSAFE allows for a dual biocide program. Biocide canisters are available in various forms and sizes depending on the application.

EcoSAFE biocides are delivered in much the same way as the corrosion inhibitors. Since they are also shipped dry, they are highly concentrated and are a very effective method to reduce biological organisms in cooling water. In fact, if you have been trying to figure out how to kill legionella in a cooling tower or trying to develop a long-term strategy for keeping bio-organisms like legionella in your cooling tower at bay, look no further than EcoSAFE.

The New SRG-2 System

While EcoSAFE is a potential solution for many (if not most) cooling tower water treatment applications, it is not for every system. Most of the limitations regarding EcoSAFE have to do with the overall size of the operation; however, we have seen success with Smart Release water treatment on many very large cooling tower systems.

To that extent, we have recently introduced the SRG-2 system that provides real-time monitoring and control release like a liquid with all be benefits of the solid technology:

Controls feed of scale and corrosion products based on configured ppm set point
Controls oxidizing biocide feed based on configured ORP set point or timer
Controls non-oxidizing biocide feed based on configured timer

TIMER CONTROL

Use timer control functions for your feed of BCDMH and Bio-Clear (DBNPA) products
The graph below depicts a timer control BCDMH feed scheme. You can see excellent ORP spike correlations with your BCDMH relay timer.
Another option for BCDMH feed is utilizing the ORP setpoint functionality built into your control.

Clarity Has the Solution:

If you would like more information on how the EcoSAFE technology can benefit your facility, please contact us for a free survey!

The post Environmentally-Friendly Water Treatment Chemicals for Cooling Towers appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Water Treatment Tips for Fall Boiler Start-Up

The Clarity Team — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:11:54 +0000

As the leaves turn colors and sweater weather becomes the norm, many facilities that use steam for facility heating have already started getting their boilers ready for the season. Mechanical aspects of the boiler’s operations should already have been completed by this point, including state inspections, physical cleanings of the tubes and shell, and general repairs by your facility’s boiler maintenance company.

Before you are ready to embark on the long, cold winter, a final check on the state of your boiler water treatment systems is also in order. You don’t want to experience untimely issues that you’d have to correct while your plant is firing full-blast.

Here are some checks to ensure safe and efficient operation of your steam boiler water treatment.

Inspect and Examine Chemical Feed Lines and Injection Points

If you see your chemical feed lines begin to experience calcification of chemistry at the injection points, now is a good time to remove, clean, and replace the tubing and injection fittings. In addition to the performance issues associated with leaking fittings and the waste of chemical, this is also a major safety issue for the personnel working around this equipment. This is highly concentrated residue from your chemical feed that, if it gets dislodged and contacts skin or eyes, can cause serious damage.

Check Pre-Treatment Systems

For the vast majority of steam systems, a water softener is (or at least should be) installed to remove calcium and magnesium ions from your facility’s makeup source prior to being introduced into the feedwater for your boiler. If the softener has not been used since last season, run it through a regeneration cycle prior to introducing makeup water to your steam boiler to verify proper operation. If you experience high iron in your makeup source, running a citric acid-based cleaner through the resin may also be a good idea to keep the resin operating at maximum efficiency.

This is also a good time to run a quick check on the incoming water hardness to see if it has changed at all since the last time the unit was in operation. Softeners are programmed to go into regeneration mode based on incoming hardness levels (usually in grains per gallon). If the water source quality has worsened, it can quickly exhaust the softener’s ability to function before it’s programmed to regenerate. This can leave the boiler susceptible to periods of hard water bypassing the softeners, increasing the chances for scaling conditions in the boiler.

Clean and Calibrate Monitoring Probes

If your steam boiler utilizes an automated surface blowdown controller to regulate the conductivity inside the vessel, it is often best practice to clean the probes and remove any built-up debris now to ensure proper operation down the road. Muriatic acid is often employed in this case. Boiler conductivity probes usually have an 18-month to 2-year life, so it may be a good time to replace them if you cannot hold the calibration.

Review Testing Procedures and Examine Test Kits and Reagents

A big key to any successful boiler water treatment program is regular testing by the on-site personnel. And, the testing is only as good as the operators performing the tests and the equipment they are using to test the water. It may be a good idea for your onsite boiler operators to have a refresher from your water treatment provider on the basics of the water treatment program, including how to test for the key parameters and what to do in case chemistry goes out of range. Also, now is the opportunity to calibrate your conductivity and pH testers and to check the expiration dates for the reagents being used to ensure they have not expired.

Inspect Existing Chemical Inventory

Much like testing reagents, your boiler chemical products also have a shelf life. Over time and with exposure to temperature, the delicate chemistry in your corrosion and scale inhibitors can result in coagulated residue at the bottom of your chemical containers, rendering the chemistry less effective. If you have containment tanks that house your boiler products, inspect the bottom of the tanks to ensure they have not collected months or years of old chemical residue that can impact the performance of the replenished chemistry. If necessary, a tank cleaning may be in order.

These are just some “last minute checks” for your water treatment prior to start-up to ensure a smoother operation when operating your plant. Save a link to our blog, “Water Treatment Tips You Should Consider During Spring Boiler Maintenance”, which details water treatment items for the off-season and provides a handy checklist.

Clarity Has the Solution:

Proper water treatment, along with regular inspections and maintenance, can ensure your entire steam system operates efficiently. Additionally, it will reduce unplanned downtime and maintenance costs and will extend the life of your equipment.

Clarity Water Technology has extensive experience with steam boilers. If you have any water treatment questions or issues as you get your boiler ready for the cold weather, just contact our team of water treatment experts.

If you’re in need of water treatment services, Clarity offers our proprietary technology, EcoSHIELD, a cutting-edge treatment for steam boilers that is more effective, economical and eco-friendly than traditional chemical solutions. A water treatment plan that incorporates EcoSHIELD will protect your system and have your boiler running at peak performance. We’ll be happy to conduct a FREE evaluation of your steam system to see how a custom water treatment plan for your facility can save you money!

Download Our FREE eBook Today:

Ten Huge Mistakes Facilities Make in Boiler Operation and How to Avoid Them

Have a question about water treatment and steam boilers?

Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

The post Water Treatment Tips for Fall Boiler Start-Up appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Boiler Water “Clarity” Can Tell You a Lot About the Health of Your Steam Boiler

The Clarity Team — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 22:17:56 +0000

Your steam boiler is a huge investment that is critical to your facility, so you want to you maximize its performance and longevity. And with the rising costs of the utilities to power your boiler, it is vital to ensure it is operating as efficiently as possible. An effective water treatment program, along with inspections and routine maintenance, can ensure your boiler system operates at peak performance and serves your facility for many years.

How can you tell if your water treatment is working?

There are many ways to directly and indirectly determine the effectiveness of your steam boiler treatment program. Fuel usage, water usage, boiler efficiency, chemical tests, and stack temperatures are important indicators that must be monitored, but they mostly require trending of data over a period of time. Of course, when you take the boiler offline for your yearly inspection, you can see the condition of the boiler tubes for yourself. However, shutting down the boiler to perform visual inspections generally happens on a specified date.

It is also critical that daily water tests are performed to determine that the treatment program is working as intended. Dissolved solids levels, pH, alkalinity, iron, hardness, chemical treatment actives are just some of the basic water tests that diligent operators should be performing daily. But before a single drop of water gets placed in a conductivity meter or 25mL vial, there’s a simpler place to start.

How does the water look?

It’s that simple. The first and easiest place to start is by examining the color and clarity of your boiler water.

Did you know that the water in your steam boiler system should be crystal clear? You may have grown accustomed to seeing discolored or rusty boiler water, to the point where it may seem normal. And whether your water is slightly discolored or is a rusty sludge, this can be a sign that the metal surfaces of your steam system have scaling and corrosion. Once that happens, many problems can occur.

Mechanically, corrosion causes your steam system to become susceptible to failure. This means unscheduled downtime and costly repairs. It also can greatly shorten the lifespan of your boiler, requiring you to replace the system much sooner than necessary.

Scaling and corrosion also negatively affect the performance of your steam boiler. It can lead to issues like steam boiler carryover, where liquid water and impurities are carried in with the steam and affect the steam quality and performance of your system. It often means that you use much more energy and water, driving up your operational costs and wasting these precious resources.

Proper water treatment is the key to stopping scaling and corrosion in your steam system

The right chemical treatment will ensure crystal clear boiler water and a clean boiler that will allow optimal heat transfer rates and a longer operating life. For too long it has been accepted that boiler water is always dirty, cloudy, muddy looking because that is all traditional chemistries could provide. Times have changed for the better with boiler treatment technology. Simply put, if the boiler water is not crystal clear, then your boiler water treatment program is not as effective as it needs to be and it is costing your facility money!

Assessing Your Boiler Water and the Potential Related Issues

The specific color or clarity of your boiler water can give you insight into the types of issues that may be happening inside your steam system. Unfortunately, none are good. Let’s examine some of the things you might see when inspecting your boiler water and what it could mean about your system.

Milky, Foamy Water

The milky color and foam could be an indicator of an excess of chemical feed contributing to high alkalinity in the boiler water. High alkaline water will lead to foaming conditions and is also a waste of chemical. Foaming can cause surging in the boiler and eventually to boiler water carryover.

As noted above, carryover means the system is creating steam that is no longer pure. This low-energy, low quality steam accelerates corrosion in heat exchanger coils, steam lines, and other equipment downstream of the boilers. It can cause a sharp drop in boiler efficiency, lead to water hammering and erratic boiler behavior, and make it difficult to manage any chemical program. In summary, carryover can seriously affect the operation and health of your entire steam system and greatly increase costs due to higher fuel use.

Dirty, Black Water, Possibly with Deposits

When you see a black color to the water, and possibly even black deposits in the water sample, it is a strong indicator of active corrosion of the metal throughout the entirety of the steam system. The tiny black particles and larger deposits could be transported from the condensate return lines and/or the feedwater tank itself.

The most common cause of pitting corrosion in boiler tubes is from dissolved oxygen entering the boiler. Makeup water to any steam system contains dissolved gases that become highly corrosive when heated inside the boiler. The first line of defense (at least in the past) is a properly operating deaerator and feedwater tank to liberate the dissolved gases mechanically before being introduced into the boiler.

Oxygen scavengers, such as sulfite, are then added to remove any remaining ppb of O2 before it can be liberated and attack boiler tubes. Traditional chemistries, however, have limited efficacy if you have a poorly functioning feedwater/DA tank. The amount of sulfite needed to combat high oxygen levels contributes to the dissolved solids of the feedwater, thus increasing the blowdown rate. More blowdown costs a facility in excess water and fuel usage.

In addition, any leaks in coils and steam/condensate piping will draw in air (oxygen and CO2) whenever a vacuum is created and accelerate the corrosion process. Due to this, flash and oxygen corrosion is of particular concern for equipment and, when left unchecked, results in costly failures and untimely maintenance.

Slightly or Extremely Rusty Water

Depending on how deep the color is, you could have a LOT of problems with your current program! Corrosion, high hardness, improper blowdowns, wrong chemistry…you name it! The contaminants in boiler water that looks like this are destroying your boiler tubes and condensate systems. This is akin to purchasing an expensive sports car and running it with old, used dirty motor oil!

The contamination is increasing your fuel costs by causing scale deposits that are reducing the efficiency of your operation. How much? According to Johnston Boiler Company, a layer of scale even 1/16^th of an inch thick can cause a facility to spend an extra 12% on its yearly fuel cost to run that boiler!

Clarity Has the Solution:

If your boiler water is not crystal clear, your facility is losing money running your boiler. As we said, the cleaner the boiler water, the cleaner the boiler and thus…the more efficient it will operate.

So if your boiler water isn’t crystal clear, what can be done about it?

A water treatment plan from Clarity will protect your system and have your boiler running at peak performance. Our proprietary technology, EcoSHIELD, is a cutting-edge treatment for steam boilers that is more effective, economical and eco-friendly than traditional chemical solutions. EcoSHIELD bonds to the metal surfaces of your steam system, protecting it from scaling and corrosion and extending the life of your equipment.

EcoSHIELD was designed to replace conventional water treatment methods and eliminate the use of chemicals that add dissolved solids to the boiler water. This greatly lowers the carryover potential of the water and significantly reduces blowdown, thus conserving energy and water and saving you money!

Just check the color of your boiler water and it will be clear that EcoSHIELD works!

If your boiler water isn’t crystal clear or you are experiencing other symptoms of boiler issues, give us a call. We’ll do a FREE evaluation of your boiler water and your entire steam system to see how a custom water treatment plan for your facility can save you money!

Download Our FREE eBook Today:

Ten Huge Mistakes Facilities Make in Boiler Operation and How to Avoid Them

Have a question about water treatment and steam boilers?

Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

The post Boiler Water “Clarity” Can Tell You a Lot About the Health of Your Steam Boiler appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Improve Kiln-Dried Lumber Production with Proper Boiler Water Treatment

The Clarity Team — Thu, 05 May 2022 15:20:37 +0000

The lumber industry is challenged with meeting high demand while simultaneously controlling costs – especially when labor and parts/equipment are in short supply. This makes it extremely important that the production process is optimized to be fast and efficient with minimal downtime while creating quality lumber with little waste.

One of the most important aspects of kiln dried lumber production is controlling the moisture content in the wood. Drying the wood effectively until it reaches the proper moisture level is critical for producing quality lumber. Improper moisture content can affect the appearance, dimensions, and strength of the wood, and potentially yield lumber that cannot be used.

Kilns are often used to dry wood during the lumber production process. Since wood takes on the moisture content of its surroundings, it is imperative to precisely regulate the environment during kiln drying. Kilns use air flow, steam injections, and temperature to control the humidification of the wood and reach desired moisture levels.

Steam boilers are used to supply steam during this lumber kiln-drying process. High-quality, pure steam is essential for properly controlling the humidity in the kiln.

Issues from Steam Boiler Carryover
A common issue that can occur with steam boilers during lumber production is carryover. Carryover is a phenomenon where liquid water and impurities get carried out with the steam from the cycled-up boiler water due to poor steam-water separation. This means that the steam is no longer pure and can become very problematic for kiln drying operations.

If boiler water is carried into the steam line and injected into the kiln, it can cause damage to both the lumber and the kiln structure itself. Because carryover produces low-energy, low quality steam, the results are inconsistent drying and conditioning times which can cause variations in lumber quality, negatively affecting its value. Carryover also accelerates corrosion in kiln coils, steam lines, and equipment downstream of the boilers.

Additionally, carryover can cause a sharp drop in boiler efficiency, lead to water hammering and erratic boiler behavior, and make it difficult to manage any chemical program. In summary, carryover can seriously affect the operation and health of your entire steam system and greatly increase costs by increasing boiler fuel use. These semi-hidden costs must be eliminated in today’s business environment.

What Causes Carryover?
Carryover can occur in your steam system for a number of reasons. Fluctuating steam demand (often seen in kiln-drying yards), low operating pressure, poor water chemistry and control, and improper plant design can all promote boiler carryover.

Many kiln drying lumber producers may not be aware that issues with their equipment, delays in production, or damaged lumber are the direct result of boiler carryover. Once identified as a problem, the challenge becomes how to effectively correct it.

One common approach to curb carryover in systems that struggle to maintain good steam-water separation is to increase boiler blowdown. However, increasing the blowdown rate is a costly method and a waste of energy, water, and treatment chemicals.

Boiler water chemistry is another way companies attempt to thwart carryover. However, many of the conventional chemical treatment programs that are often used are problematic because they add more and more dissolved solids to the water. These solids, along with other impurities, contribute to the carryover-potential of the boiler water, which can only be removed via boiler blowdowns. Again, increasing blowdown results in greater utility and chemicals consumption and higher costs.

Corrosion from Standard Operation of Kilns
Even without boiler carryover, other aspects of standard kiln operation can lead to corrosion of the metal inside the kiln. Lumber yards rotate their kilns to keep an efficient production schedule. Kilns are often cycling between drying, conditioning, and remaining idle. The continual wet/dry operation of equipment causes metal surfaces to become susceptible to oxygen, carbonic acid attack and flash corrosion. Any leaks in coils and steam/condensate piping will draw in air (oxygen and CO2) whenever a vacuum is pulled and accelerate the corrosion process.

“Oxygen and carbon dioxide can also be drawn directly into the coil through leaks of various kinds. This commonly occurs after the steam supply valve closes and the residual steam condenses, drawing a slight vacuum”.¹

Due to the nature of kiln operation, flash and oxygen corrosion is of particular concern for equipment and, when left unchecked, results in costly failures and untimely maintenance.

Clarity Has the Solution:
A water treatment program from Clarity Water Technologies featuring our proprietary technology, EcoSHIELD™, has proven to be extremely effective in preventing boiler carryover during lumber production. This state-of-the-art technology is more effective, economical and eco-friendly than traditional chemical solutions.

EcoSHIELD™ was designed to replace conventional water treatment methods and eliminate the use of chemicals that add dissolved solids to the boiler water. This greatly lowers the carryover potential of the water and significantly reduces blowdown, thus conserving energy, water, chemical, and sewage costs.

Additionally, EcoSHIELD™ is the perfect solution to combat the types of corrosion and scale deposition typically observed in kiln drying yards. It forms a molecular protective bond with the metal surfaces of the boiler and inside the kilns, extending the life of these assets while reducing the chances of unscheduled shutdowns due to corrosion-related issues. The film created by EcoSHIELD™ on metal surfaces lasts at least 2 weeks, which has been proven to greatly reduce/stop flash corrosion inside the steam supply and return piping (and heat exchangers) between run cycles.

Controlling Iron Levels Limits Corrosion:
The graph below displays dissolved iron trends for a current Clarity customer in the kiln drying lumber industry. Active corrosion rates correlate to the level of dissolved iron in the water. Before beginning the EcoSHIELD™ program, this customer was experiencing high rates of corrosion and dissolved iron in their feedwater supply to the boilers, as iron concentration was nearly 1 ppm in the boiler feed water prior to starting. Since moving to Clarity’s EcoSHIELD™, iron levels have dropped and remained consistently below ASME’s water chemistry guidelines for boiler feed water (<0.1 PPM for low pressure boiler systems).

There are additional benefits of achieving low feed water iron levels. There is less iron cycled up in the boiler, which greatly reduces the potential for boiler scale that contains this iron. Just 1/16th inch thick of scale in a steam boiler results in 12.4% increase in fuel use. Also, dirty boiler water polluted with insoluble iron further increases risk of boiler carryover. Boiler water, at full cycles, should be crystal clear.

How Clarity Can Help:
Clarity’s technical consultants have extensive expertise in a variety of water treatment applications, including kiln dried lumber production. A custom water treatment plan from Clarity that incorporates EcoSHIELD™ will help lumber mills prevent steam boiler carryover. Our proprietary technology will have your boilers running at peak performance while protecting your equipment from corrosion and reducing the need for blowdown. Clarity’s EcoSHIELD™ will limit production issues related to carryover, conserve energy and water, and lower your total cost of operation!

If you are experiencing symptoms of carryover or have issues with corrosion, give us a call. We’ll do a FREE evaluation of your entire system to assess your process and help customize a water treatment plan for your facility!

¹Carroll, Steven W, Western Dry Kiln Association, and Nev.) Western Dry Kiln Association. Meeting (48th : 1997 : Reno. Steam-side Coil Corrosion In Dry Kilns. : Corvallis, Or. : Western Dry Kiln Association, 1997.

Download Our FREE eBook Today:

Ten Huge Mistakes Facilities Make in Boiler Operation and How to Avoid Them

Have a question about water treatment and steam boilers?

Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

The post Improve Kiln-Dried Lumber Production with Proper Boiler Water Treatment appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

Water Treatment Tips You Should Consider During Spring Boiler Maintenance

The Clarity Team — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 13:56:42 +0000

Steam boilers normally work their hardest during the cold winter months supplying comfort heat to buildings. As the snow melts away and the warmer weather approaches, the loads on steam boilers are often greatly reduced. Facilities that use boilers exclusively for heat begin to ramp down their boilers in the Springtime and, in some cases, shut them down until the Fall. This presents the ideal opportunity for facilities to start the yearly maintenance required to keep these vital systems operational and running efficiently.

So, where do you start? As a water treatment company that has treated and serviced thousands of steam boilers, we wanted to share some tips to help as you put together a Spring maintenance plan for your boiler.

Shutting Down Your Boiler Before Performing Your Spring Boiler Maintenance

For some, taking the boiler offline for maintenance may only be for a few days. However, if your facility takes your steam boiler offline for the entire warm weather season, you’ll need to consider laying up the boiler. There are two primary methods of laying up a boiler: wet lay-up and dry lay-up.

We have informative articles that provide tips on both methods, including how to decide which one is appropriate for your facility:

Perform the Necessary Mechanical Steps Specific to Your Boiler and Location

Oftentimes, when facility engineers begin to think about their annual boiler maintenance and inspection, the mechanical operations of the boiler are top of mind. This is a great way to start. Along with standard maintenance and required inspections, there are a number of checks that should be done to identify potential issues and areas that require attention.

While boilers must be inspected each year, each state’s requirements vary so we will not cover that here. Make sure you are familiar with your state’s boiler inspection requirements.

When performing routine checks, cleanings, and repairs on your boiler, keep in mind that every boiler is different. Refer to recommendations from the manufacturer of your specific boiler. You should incorporate these recommendations into your Spring boiler maintenance plan so that you have your own specific checklist of mechanical tasks. Here are some general steps to consider. Keep in mind that this is NOT a comprehensive list.

Perform routine checks, cleanings, and repairs: Check safeties and general controls. Check the refractory for any cracks. Clean the internal fireside and water side tubes and shell (if your tubes don’t look this, THEN CALL US!). Repair and replace seals, gaskets and valves.

Include Water Treatment in Your Spring Plan

Spring is also an ideal time for you to investigate the performance of the chemical treatment program for your boiler. Some people defer to the approach of “if it aint broke, don’t fix it” with regards to their boiler chemistry. However, with rising utility costs and major advancements in the science of treating steam boilers, it would be wise to give some thought to your boiler water treatment. Plus, with steam loads and requirements at their lowest, it provides the opportunity to make the necessary improvements/enhancements without an interruption to your facility’s needs. If possible, involve your water treatment consultant in this assessment, as they will have the expertise to properly assess your program.

6 Areas to Address During Spring Boiler Maintenance

We highly recommend including a host of checks during your Spring boiler maintenance to determine if your steam system is running as efficiently as it can be. Since we are water treatment experts, we will focus on aspects of your steam system related to boiler water. So, what are some of these items that should be examined during this time? Let’s take a look at 6 areas you should address every Spring.

Analyze the makeup water source for the boiler. Has anything changed from last year (dissolved solids level, water quality, hardness, alkalinity)? Does the municipality utilize monochloromine as its disinfection technology?
Investigate the performance of your pretreatment systems. Has the throughput changed? Has the hardness of your makeup source changed? How old is the resin in your softener or dealkalizer vessels? Is this the time to send your resin out for analysis to see how much life is left? Are other pretreatment technologies now required due to changes in steam usage or makeup quality? Do you have a water meter on your softener?
Assess your feedwater tank or deaerator. When was the last time you conducted a dissolved oxygen study on it? When was the last time it was opened for inspection? Is it operating at designed temperatures and pressures?
Inspect the condensate system. Do you have a steam trap maintenance program? Have you had to (or do you need to) replace return piping? If so, why? Are you tabulating your condensate return percentage? Note: you should. Now is the time to examine and make repairs to return to optimal efficiency.
Evaluate the boilers. Are automated surface blowdown controls savings (water, fuel and chemistry) worth the investment? What does the deposit look like on the boiler? What is the site glass condition? Have loads on the boiler gone up or down? What was your fuel consumption this year compared to previous years
Consider your overall water treatment process. Are you still using day tanks (is it still 1973?)? Are operators still hand mixing chemistry? Are you feeding chemistry into the proper locations? Are you still using 30-40 year-old technology? What would the benefits be for new technology?

If you cannot safely and effectively perform the steps above, or you cannot answer the questions posed, you should contact a boiler and/or water treatment specialist. They will be able to perform the required maintenance and help you determine if your boiler system may have issues that need to be addressed.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the checkpoints one should go through when maintaining their steam system and examining their boiler water treatment. However, being able to positively determine the answers to these questions can help you make the proper adjustments to get your steam systems running at peak efficiency. Rest assured that the money you can save will make it well worth it!

Download Our Handy Spring Boiler Treatment Checklist

To help you with your Spring maintenance, we’ve pulled information from this article into a printable Spring Boiler Treatment Checklist. The checklist focuses on the aspects of your steam system that are related to boiler water treatment. It does not include the required inspections and routine maintenance checks, cleanings, and repairs since those tasks will differ based on your specific boiler system and the state where you’re located.

You can fill out this handy checklist as you plan for and perform your Spring boiler tasks. Plus, you can record notes to help when you do it all again next Spring.

Click here to download the PDF.

How Clarity Can Help

Proper water treatment, along with regular inspections and maintenance, can ensure your entire steam system operates at peak efficiency. Additionally, it will reduce unplanned downtime and maintenance costs and will extend the life of your equipment.

Clarity’s water treatment experts have extensive experience with steam boilers. If you have any questions as you plan and perform your Springtime boiler maintenance, or if you need any help, please contact us! We’ll be happy to come out and conduct a free evaluation of your facility and look for ways to save you money!

Save a link to our blog, “Water Treatment Tips for Fall Boiler Start-Up”, which outlines water treatment checks to perform before starting the boiler back up for cold-weather season.

Download Our FREE eBook Today:

Ten Huge Mistakes Facilities Make in Boiler Operation and How to Avoid Them

Have a question about water treatment and steam boilers?

Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

The post Water Treatment Tips You Should Consider During Spring Boiler Maintenance appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

How Canning Facilities Can Prevent Rusty Cans

The Clarity Team — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:02:10 +0000

When consumers pop open a can of their product of choice, it’s pretty simple. If they enjoy what’s inside, they’ll most likely stock their shelves with that product again. Their satisfaction with the product will drive that future decision. They’re certainly not saying “wow, that can looks great, so I’m going to buy more!” And, they’re most likely not thinking about what it takes to get that product into the cans so they can buy more from their favorite brick-and-mortar or online store. But behind the scenes lies a very complex process to get high quality product into clean, rust-free cans.

A Major Challenge for Canning Facilities

The canning process is very involved. It requires precise engineering and careful execution to run a safe, efficient process that preserves the quality of the contents. With the rising costs of raw materials, energy and labor, it’s more challenging than ever to maintain an efficient process. There’s no room for waste.

A common issue for canning facilities that severely impacts efficiency is tainted cans from ineffective water treatment during the canning process. There aren’t many options once you have a batch of cans that are rusted and contaminated. Manually cleaning the cans is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and costly. When cans are beyond salvaging, it leads to a great deal of wasted material and product, and replacing the production means more energy use and labor hours. In the end, this inefficiency and loss of production hurts the bottom line.

Good News: There’s a Technology to Eliminate This

In the past, food companies just accepted that a certain percentage of cans will be lost in the process due to can quality. They’d have to account for it in their planning and budget. Clarity has seen companies with up to 22% can rejection rates, which is a significant hit to the bottom line. Luckily, things have changed for the better.

There is now advanced water treatment technology that will properly treat the water used in the canning process and will eliminate the issue of tainted cans altogether. No more loss in production due to this issue. No more wasted time, energy, and money to compensate for the lost cans. In addition, this technology will prevent your retorts from corroding, so no more production issues from corrosion.

Clarity Has the Solution

The solution is a retort treatment program from Clarity Water Technologies featuring our proprietary EcoSHIELD™, a state-of-the-art technology that has proven to be extremely effective in the metallurgical protection of cans and retorts from the heating process. EcoSHIELD™ is a more economical and eco-friendly way to protect your cans and reduce the number that deteriorate. This technology is changing the entire industry.

EcoSHIELD™ forms a molecular protective bond barrier to the can’s surface that protects it from corrosive properties of the heated washwater. Unlike conventional treatment programs, it yields wastewater that is both eco-friendly and free from metals. And, it provides food-grade protection, so it’s safe for your canning process.

This technology also prevents stainless steel and mild steel retorts from corroding thanks to this molecular bond. It extends the life of these assets while reducing the chances of unscheduled shutdowns due to corrosion related issues.

The Proof is in the Pictures

Ugly, rusty cans may be an unwelcome but familiar sight at canning facilities. Unfortunately, cans like the ones below are all too common. These come from one of Clarity’s customers BEFORE their canning system was treated with EcoSHIELD™.

Once Clarity implemented a water treatment plan using EcoSHIELD™, that same facility saw drastic improvements almost immediately. The batch of immaculate cans below was treated with EcoSHIELD™. Any canning facility can achieve these results with a plan from Clarity.

EcoSHIELD™ Can Also Protect the Steam Boilers at Canning Facilities

The same benefits described above for retorts also apply to the steam boilers at canning facilities. A customized water treatment plan from Clarity implementing EcoSHIELD™ technology will improve steam boiler efficiency, extend the life of the system, reduce fuel and water consumption, and lower the cost of operating your steam system.

EcoSHIELD™ is different from traditional chemical treatments because it protects the metal surfaces of the entire steam system. It creates a tenacious barrier between water and metal that inhibits scale formation and corrosion, ultimately improving heat transfer and boiler efficiency.

It facilitates the reduction of feedwater conductivity, which enables your boiler to run at higher cycles of concentration. This yields an increase in efficiency by reducing boiler blowdowns, thus decreasing both the amount of makeup water taken on, salt used to soften the makeup water, and the fuel used to heat the makeup water. Not only are blowdowns decreased, but EcoSHIELD™ is also a much more environmentally friendly product to send down the drain than the traditional boiler treatments that contain heavy metals, phosphates, and sulfites.

EcoSHIELD™ works with a feedwater tank and does not require a functioning deaerator. Broken or poor-performing deaerators don’t need to be fixed to use this chemistry.

How Clarity Can Help

Tainted cans can be a huge problem at canning facilities. However, a water treatment plan from Clarity that incorporates EcoSHIELD™ can eliminate rusty, contaminated cans while simultaneously protecting your retorts. Our expertise with the technology will help you protect your steam boilers so they are running at peak performance and saving you money.

Clarity’s technical consultants have extensive expertise in a variety of water treatment applications, including the canning process. We will do a FREE evaluation of your entire system to assess your process and help customize a water treatment plan for your facility. To schedule an evaluation, or if you are experiencing any problems or have questions, please contact Clarity Water Technologies today!

Download Our FREE eBook Today:

Ten Huge Mistakes Facilities Make in Boiler Operation and How to Avoid Them

Have a question about water treatment and steam boilers?

Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

The post How Canning Facilities Can Prevent Rusty Cans appeared first on Clarity Water Technologies.

How Breweries Can Save Energy and Money with Proper Water Treatment

The Clarity Team — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:18:17 +0000

One of the most important issues craft brewers are trying to resolve is how to become more sustainable. While things like packaging and shipping pose environmental challenges, the brewing process itself generally consumes a great deal of energy and water. One of the main culprits is an inefficient steam boiler.

Ready for the good news? There is a quick and easy way to improve the efficiency of your steam boiler operation. A proper water treatment program can make huge gains in energy and water conservation during the brewing process. Not only does this help you become greener, it will also greatly reduce your operating costs!

An Eco-Friendly Solution for Steam Boilers

When it comes to running an efficient steam system, EcoSHIELD™ is the perfect fit for breweries. This is because most breweries use steam to heat brewing vessels with steam jackets, and thus, return most of their condensate, which we call ‘liquid gold’ in the water treatment industry. The ability to return condensate is the most significant factor affecting steam boiler efficiency for several reasons.

Returning condensate means you have to take on less water from the city tap, saving on your water bill.
Any city water taken on must first be softened. Taking on less water means you’ll use softener salt at a lower rate.
Significant fuel savings occur as most returned condensate is relatively hot (130°F to 225°F) reducing the amount of cold makeup water (50°F to 60°F) that must be heated. Energy in condensate can be more than 10% of the total steam energy content of a typical system.
Condensate is as pure as the water gets, essentially distilled water containing low levels of dissolved solids. The fewer solids you add to your boiler, the less often you have to blow it down, saving water and sewer costs.

Why EcoSHIELD™?

EcoSHIELD™ is an example of Clarity’s ability to develop unique blends tailored to a customer’s specific water treatment needs. It is an enhanced chemistry that protects the metallurgy of the entire steam system and allows greater conservation of water and fuel than traditional chemical programs. It is one of the most effective, state-of-the-art, and environmentally-advanced water treatments on the market.

Why is EcoSHIELD™ an ideal fit to use in systems that return the majority of its condensate like Craft Breweries?

EcoSHIELD™ can be recycled through the condensate return, requiring you to feed less chemical into the feedwater tank.
EcoSHIELD™ keeps heat transfer surfaces (inside the kettle and hot liquor tank steam jackets) clean and has even been shown to assist heat transfer better than a bare metallic surface.
EcoSHIELD™ doesn’t contain any solids, further reducing boiler blowdown frequency.

Protecting Your Equipment from Corrosion and Scale

In addition to what EcoSHIELD™ does differently to boost boiler efficiency, all boiler treatments aim to limit the corrosion of the system and prevent scale from forming on the boiler tubes. There not a more effective way to treat a steam system than with EcoSHIELD™ due to the protective passivation formed on all metallic surfaces it touches. Lengthening the lifespan of your steam system and the steam side of brewing equipment saves lots of money in the long run. Preventing scale formation on boiler tubes is manageable with a water softener and an effective boiler treatment like EcoSHIELD™, but it can become very costly if left unchecked. By insulating the boiler tubes, scaled boilers have to use more fuel to achieve the same level of heat transfer. A mere 1/8^th inch of scale requires a fuel increase of 25%!

See the Results: A Brewery Case Study

A great example of a brewery taking advantage of the efficiency gains afforded by using EcoSHIELD™ is Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Clarity has been a fantastic partner in maintaining our boiler chemistry and I recommend Clarity to everyone I know installing a steam system.

Cole Hackbarth, Rhinegeist Brewery

An analysis of the water testing data gathered at Rhinegeist demonstrates just how efficiently their boiler operates. Below is a chart showing the conductivity of water collected at different points of interest in their system. Conductivity is a measure of how easily the water can carry an electrical current and is a good measure of the number of solids present in the water sample.

As mentioned previously, the condensate is the purest water in the system. The feedwater is a blend of condensate return and city water, but it is still very pure since Rhinegeist consistently returns over 90% of their condensate. The day this data was gathered, their feedwater consisted of 92.02% condensate and 7.98% city water.

Cycles of Concentration (COC) is another good way to gauge boiler efficiency. It is calculated by dividing the conductivity of the boiler water by the conductivity of the feedwater. This essentially tells you how many cycles the feedwater can be reused before the boiler needs to be blown down to remove solids that have accumulated as steam is driven off. By calculating COC, you can also do a quick calculation for blowdown percentage.

We aim for 50 COC in the boiler because there are diminishing returns on efficiency once you start getting higher than 50 COC, making running higher cycles not worth it unless local sewer costs are expensive.

In addition to the energy savings Rhinegeist has made, their steam system and brewing vessels are being protected against corrosion exceptionally effectively. Iron oxide corrosion can never be completely stopped, only slowed; thus, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) sets the guideline for effective corrosion control at an iron concentration of 0.10 ppm in the boiler feedwater. Our goal is to be below this number, and with EcoSHIELD™ and proper boiler operation, that is the norm. The feedwater iron level upon the most recent data at Rhinegeist was 0.02 ppm, which is the lowest the iron measuring device can read before hitting zero. Iron was also tested in the condensate, which is the most corrosive water in the steam system (because it’s so pure and wants to dissolve anything it touches), and the result was also 0.02 ppm iron.

How Clarity Can Help

In addition to the advantages EcoSHIELD™ affords in returning condensate and protecting against corrosion, it is unmatched in its ability to increase energy efficiency and save money. For an industry that cares deeply about green initiatives, EcoSHIELD™ is a straightforward way to reduce water, fuel, and effluent loading costs.

Clarity has extensive experience with boiler operation in brewing applications. We will do a FREE evaluation of your entire system to ensure your water is properly treated and you are operating at peak efficiency. To schedule an evaluation, or if you are experiencing any problems or have questions, please contact Clarity Water Technologies today!

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Check out our steam boiler resource page to find links to helpful articles and case studies that address commonly asked questions.

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