Cooling tower

Cooling tower
treatment
summary
  In this presentation, we will have a basic
Cooling tower
understanding of the different types of
cooling water systems now used

 the problems associated with cooling

water.

 Methods for control of these problems

(scale, corrosion and fouling).

 Introduction
Cooling tower  Most industrial production processes like
Refineries, petrochemical manufacturing plants,
electric utilities …. need cooling water to operate
efficiently and safely.

 Cooling water systems control the temperatures

by transferring heat from hot process fluids into
cooling water.

 This water contains dissolved minerals, suspended

solids, debris, bacteria and other impurities. As
the water continues to circulate throughout the
system, other contaminants begin to concentrate.
As the temperature rises, cooling equipment
efficiency is threatened and a total plant shutdown
can result.

 Effective cooling water operation and treatment

can prevent such an occurrence
 Cooling waters are widely used in industry,
especially in conventional or nuclear power plants
Cooling tower
for condensation of vapors; in the chemical and
petrochemical industries for condensing
distillates and for cooling products undergoing
exothermic reactions; in the metallurgical
industry for cooling turbines, motors,
compressors, blast furnaces; etc

Many types of towers, including both fresh and

seawater, are used for cooling purposes.
Depending on the raw water quality and the type
of cooling system, most waters will require a
certain degree of treatment before they can be
used. Adequate cooling water treatment is often
the bottleneck of successful plant operation.
 Why water is used in cooling
Cooling tower
tower
 water is cheap and available in abundance.
 Water is simply put.
 water has a high heat acceptance capacity (specific
heat) more than any other practically available
cooling fluid.
 (N.B) specific heat is the temperature of one pound
(weight) of substance one degree Fahrenheit.
 Water has another property that makes it useful as
a coolant That is called its "heat of vaporization as
colder waters have higher heats of vaporization than
warmer waters.
 N.B. Heat of vaporization is the amount of heat that
must be added to water to convert it from a liquid to
a gas.
 Types of cooling water
Cooling tower
systems.
There are two types of cooling systems.

A- Non evaporative cooling systems.

B- Evaporative cooling systems.

 A. Non evaporative cooling
Cooling tower
systems.
1. Once-Through Cooling.
Once-through cooling water is used to cool processes or equipment
and then is discharged to waste.
Once- through cooling is used in utilities, steel mills, and paper mills.
a- Advantages:
 There is no evaporation so there is no increase on suspended
or dissolved solids

b- Disadvantages:
1. Involves large amounts of water.
2. Small increase in temperature.
3. Water is wasted as it is discharged into wastes.
4. Only can be used when water is available in large volumes and
low costs. i.e. water from rivers, lakes, and wells
5. Causes many problems such as scales, corrosion, and fouling
because it depends on natural source of water.
Cooling tower

Once through cooling

 Closed Cooling system
Cooling tower A closed cooling water system is a recirculating water system
that does not cool by evaporation.
a- Advantages:

1. Has very little water loss from leakage which range from 0.5%
to 5% of system volume. Fresh makeup water is needed only
to replace these uncontrollable losses.

2.Temperature control, which is critical in many process

applications,

3. Low treatment cost.

4.Operated at very high temperatures (200º F [93 º C] and 200

psig) and under sub-freezing conditions using ethylene glycol,
alcohol or brines.
b- Disadvantages:

1Higher capital and operating costs because a secondary cooling

system and heat exchanger's are needed to cool the closed
system.
2. Cooling unit is very large.
Cooling tower

Closed cooling
 Classification Of Evaporative Cooling
Systems
Cooling tower

1- Natural draft 2- Mechanical draft

A- Forced draft B- Induced draft

• Cross flow • Counter flow

 B- Evaporative cooling
Cooling tower
systems
1- Open Recirculating Cooling Towers
 A cooling tower is a heat exchanger: it
transfers heat from circulating water to the
atmosphere.

 It accomplishes this by providing intimate

mixing of water and air, which results in
cooling primarily by evaporating approximately
1 % of the flow for each 10 º F drop in
temperature.
 Natural draft cooling tower
Cooling tower
 As the name implies, natural draft systems
rely on natural air currents for air flow
across the tower.

 Initially, it was necessary that natural draft

towers be built to great height and placed
at right angles to the prevailing wind to
provide sufficient cooling.

 The packed atmospheric tower represents

an improvement in this design because water
is sprayed downward over fill or packing,
which increases cooling efficiency by
further breaking up water flow and exposing
more wetted surface.
  Natural Draft Cooling Towers again,
open louvers let outside air pass
Cooling tower
through the tower over full height.

 In both the atmospheric spray-filled

and packed atmospheric towers,
relatively high water losses occur, as
water droplets are lost through the
louvers.

 This water loss is called windage, and

the water losses total between 0.3%
and 1.0% of the recirculation rate of
the system.
Cooling tower
Cooling tower
 Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers
Cooling tower
 Mechanical draft cooling towers use fans to
move air instead of depending on natural
draft or wind.
 This speeds the cooling process and
improves efficiency by increasing the
velocity of the air contacting the water
droplets.
 Mechanical draft towers, therefore, are
more efficient than natural draft towers of
the same size.
 In mechanical draft towers, air is
introduced into the tower by either of two
methods: forced or induced draft
 Forced Draft Towers
Cooling tower
 Forced draft towers utilize a blower,
located at the base or side of the tower,
to force air into the tower horizontally
and then up to meet the falling water
droplets.

 Drift eliminators at the tower top

minimize the amount of water lost, called
drift, with the existing air stream.

 As the fans are not within the air water

contact zone in this design, they are
sheltered from corrosion or deposition.
Cooling tower
  One of the main disadvantages associated
with the forced draft tower is that the hot,
Cooling tower
humid exhaust vapors coming out of the top
of the tower tend to recirculate back to the
low pressure air intake region.
 If winds are unfavorable, recirculation can
cut back efficiency by as much as 20%.
 During cold weather, this condition often
forms ice on nearby equipment, buildings, or in
the fan
housing itself.
 Induced Draft Towers
Cooling tower

 Induced draft towers pull air into the

tower with a fan located at its top.

•Cross flow
•Counter flow.
Cooling tower Cross flow
 a cross flow tower draws the air across the
falling water droplets and out the stack.
They are identifiable by their open decks
and the louvers that go all the way from top
to bottom of each tower cell.
Cooling tower
 Counter flow
Cooling tower
 Counter flow mechanical , draft towers
are identified by their perpendicular
side walls and closed decks.

 Regardless of whether the air is pushed

or pulled through the tower, and
whether or not the air is fan-assisted,
the principle, the problems, and the
solutions are the same.
Cooling tower
 Cooling Tower Theory
Cooling tower
The refrigerant is atmospheric air. The water to
be cooled enters in contact with ambient air by
running through stacks of screens or plates
(dispersion zone). These stacks are enclosed heat
is transferred from water drops to the
surrounding air by the transfer of sensible and
latent heat.
 The heated water is cooled by intimate
contact with the air by two processes
Cooling tower

1. Conduction:
Heat from water is transferred to
the cooler air by contact.

This represents about15 to 20% of

the total heat exchange.
 2. Evaporation:

Cooling tower The rate of water evaporating into vapor per

unit and per unit surface is proportional to the
difference between the partial pressure of water
vapor in the atmospheric air and the saturation vapor
pressure of water in this air at the temperature.

This difference in partial pressure is itself

proportional to the difference between the weights of vapor
Per kg of saturated air at the same temperature

In practice, evaporation is 1 to 3% of the water

circulating for a 10°Ctemperature difference.

This difference varies with the relative humidity of the air, the
Temperature of entering water and the construction
characteristics of the tower.
 Working Characteristics of a Circuit
Cooling tower
 M = Make-up water in m3/hr
Cooling tower C = Circulating water in m3/hr

D =Blow down water in m3/hr

E = Evaporated water in m3/hr

W = Windage loss of water in m3/hr

= Concentration in ppm (of any completely
X
soluble salts … usually chlorides)
= Concentration of chlorides in make-up water
XM
(M), in ppm
= Concentration of chlorides in circulating
XC
water (C), in ppm
K = Cycles of concentration = XC / XM
  A water balance around the entire system is
Cooling tower

M=E+D+W

 Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts, a

chloride balance around the system is:

M (XM) = D (XC) + W (XC) = XC (D + W)

 And, therefore:

XC / Xm = K = M / (D + W)
= M / (M – E)
= 1 + {E / (D + W)}
 HV = latent heat of vaporization of water.
= 1,000 Btu/pound or 539 cal/gm.
Cooling tower

T = temperature difference from tower top to tower

bottom, in C

cp = specific heat of water = 1 cal/gm C

Calculation Elements
Evaporation E

E= C X ΔT
539

Evaporation blow down: pure water, carrying no

dissolved salt, evaporated in the tower to cool the
circuit water
 Windage W
W= 0.3 to 0.01 % of C for a natural draft cooling towers
Cooling tower (W=3 X C / 1000).
W= 0.3 to .01 % of C for a an induced cooling towers.
W=0.01 % of C if the cooling tower has windage eliminators.

Blow down (D)

D= E -W
K-1
Blow down of de-concentration draining being necessary to
limit the increase in concentration of dissolved salts
resulting from evaporative water loss.
Concentration rate K

E+D+W
K=
D+W
It can also defined by the ratio Salinity of circuit water C l -
Salinity of make-up water Cl-
 Make-up water M
Cooling tower
M= E x K
K-1
M = E + W+ D

Blowdown compensating the total loss in water in

circuit
 Problems affecting cooling
Cooling tower
towers.

 Fouling and biological growth .

 Scale formation.
 Corrosion.
 1.Fouling and biological
Cooling tower growth.
 Water contaminants enter cooling
system even though the make up water
is filtered and clarified. These
contaminants includes the following:
 a. Suspended solids.
 b. Colloidal matter.
 c. Organic matter.
 d. Algae.
 e. Bacteria.
 a. Suspended solids.
Cooling tower
 Suspended solids are dust, clay and
sand.

 Suspended solids can form deposits in

zones where the flow slows down or
where the cross-sectional area is
small.
 b. Colloidal matter.
Cooling tower
 Colloids coagulate as temperature rises, so they
tend to form a layer on heat exchanger surface
and affect proper heat transfer.

 They are often the cause of system fouling,

where they come from the make up water or
from the air in the cooling tower.

 These colloids have large un stable molecules

and a little increase in temperature is sufficient
for them to coagulate in a viscous gelatinous
mass .

 The color may vary from gray to black or

reddish brown, depending on the nature of the
absorbed matter.
 c. Organic matter.
Cooling tower

 This serves as nutrients for algae and micro-

organisms.
 d. Algae
Cooling tower  They find a favorable conditions for growth in
the basins under the cooling towers
(O2,CO2,temprature and sunshine).

 Their presence can be noted by greenish,

filamentous, masses attached to the walls of
basins.

 They can plug up the system when they are

carried off by circulating water.

 There many types of algae which are:

1.Green algae. (chlorophaceae)
2.Brown algae. ( cyanophyceae)
3.Diatoms, which often produce silica deposit.
Cooling tower
e. Bacteria
 These are living organisms which depend
on the species develop in:
 1. Aerobiosis.
 2. Anaerobiosis.
 3.Mixed environment.
 Under the influence of nutrients, they
can often multiply at a great rate.
 Problems created by biological
Cooling tower
growth.
 Algae will trap SS and colloids causing coloring, deposits,
plugging, clogging and corrosion.
 Fungi causes gelatinous deposits which attack wood.
 Bacteria causes corrosion under deposits.

 Sulphur bacteria causes acidification by forming H2SO4

which cause bad odor and acidification corrosion.

 Sulphate reducing bacteria (anaerobic) promote

Fe2+ +S2- → FeS causing electrochemical deposits as
Nitroso-bacteria promote NH4 → NO2 → HNO2 which
cause acidification corrosion.

 Nitro-bacteria promote NO2 → NO3 → HNO3 which

degrade nitrite-base inhibitor.
Cooling tower
2-Scale formation
 Scale :
 Is the name given to sufficiently dense
deposit appearing on heating or cooling
surfaces and capable of disturbing normal
operation of a boiler unit.

 Also it can form a sludge in the boiler that

can form deposits.
Cooling tower
Scale formation mechanism

Based on 3 steps
1. Clustering
2. Ordering
3. Crystallization (growth)
Cooling tower Stage of mechanism
 Factor affecting on scale
Cooling tower
formation
 Temperature
 pH
 Concentration of materials present
to form scale
 TDS
 Common scales found in
Cooling tower
cooling tower
 Calcium carbonate

 Calcium sulfate

 silica
 Calcium carbonate scales.
Cooling tower

 This is the first salt tends to precipitate in

out in water.
Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3+CO2+H2O

 The shift in equilibrium to the right with

formation and crystallization of calcium
carbonate is influenced by:

1. A rise in temperature which has dual action.

2. The elimination of CO2 in the cooling tower
due to the low CO2 partial pressure in air.
3. The concentration of the dissolved salts.
Cooling tower Calcium sulphate

 The solubility of this salt increases as

the temperature rises reaches
maximum at 40 0C
 silica
Cooling tower
 Silica is found in water in several forms:
1. Ionized SIO2.
2. Colloidal SIO2.
3. Calcium or magnesium silico -aluminates.
 At low pH values and high temperature silica
solubility is very low.
 Silica scale is very hard, strongly bonded and
insulating.
 In cooling systems operating at low pH (6.4 –
7) the total SiO2 concentration is kept down
to 150mg/L
 The presence of alumina also promotes the
formation of highly insulating calcium and
magnesium silico- aluminate based scale.
 Problems caused by scales
Cooling tower

 Scales form insulating film which reduce

heat exchange.
 Scales narrowed-down cross section and
so reduce flow rate.
 There is possibility of occurrence of
corrosion under scales.
 Since scale layers act as insulation ,their
presence Reduce cooling tower’s
efficiency & waste energy.
 3-corrosion
Cooling tower

 Corrosion is the deterioration of a

substance or its properties
because of a reaction with its
environment.
The reduction or elimination of
corrosion is important in
 Avoiding high maintenance costs.
 Preventing the loss of water.
 Types of corrosion
Cooling tower 1. Uniform corrosion
Cooling tower Pitting corrosion
Cooling tower
Corrosion due to deposition
Cooling tower Erosion corrosion
 Corrosion in cooling tower
Cooling tower
system.
 Iron is thermodynamically unstable in water and is only too
ready to dissolve in it.
 The slightest heterogeneity enough to induce iron to go from
the Fe state to the Fe+2 state, so initiating electrochemical
process.

 When iron is in contact with an aerated solutions as in cooling

tower micro-batteries are created giving rise to oxidation
reduction reaction.
 At anode: Fe → Fe 2+ +2e
 At cathode: 2e+1/2O2+H2O2 → 2OH-
 The corroded metal functions as an electron supplier and serves
as an anode.
 The oxygen captures the electron and serves as cathode.
 The metal dissolved at the anode while the cathode is protected
 Main influencing parameters.
Cooling tower

1- Oxygen.
2- pH and CO2.
3-Salinity.
4- Temperature.
5- Circulation rate.
6- State of surfaces.
7- Contact between difference metals.
8- Surrounding environment.
 1. oxygen.
Cooling tower
 Oxygen can serve as cathode in
receiving electrons .

 It can be an important factor in the

electrochemical process.
 2. pH and CO2
Cooling tower
 In cooling systems the pH one of the bases of
calcium carbonate stability.

 In the presence of oxygen ,it doesn’t control

corrosion directly, especially since the water
has a PH close to neutral in the system.

 For acidic water with PH < 4.5 approximately the

risk of corrosion is much higher .

 In the absence of oxygen, the concentration of

H+ ions and so the PH becomes determining
factor.
 3. Salinity
Cooling tower

 The presence of dissolved salts in the

water promotes corrosion as
conductivity of the water is enhanced.

 The type of ions affects this process.

 Anions which have great influences on

water are sulphates, nitrates, and often
chlorides.
Cooling tower
4-temperature
 Any increase in temperature will
accelerate the corrosion process mainly
by increasing ion mobility and so
corrosion current.

 The temperature also affects the

calcium carbonate equilibrium.

 Temperature
Cooling tower
5-circulation rate
 Excess water velocity can accelerate
corrosion in different ways:
a-Disturb protective layers.
b-Erosion-abrasion if there are suspended
solids.
c-Cavitations.
 Too slow velocity can make fouling and
corrosion under deposits easier by
differential aeration.
 6- state of surfaces
Cooling tower

 The corrosion process need anode and

cathode to be occurred.

 The following influences should be pointed

out.

a- thermal treatments and mechanical stresses

when the metal is worked (strain, hardening,
oxide formation, and modification in
crystalline texture).

b- the start up phase of a cooling system when

cleaning and detergent treatments must be
scheduled to prevent the un wanted deposits.
 7-Contact between different metals
Cooling tower

 When electro-chemical couples are form, the

least noble metal will be the anode and will be
liable to be corroded (i.e. copper-iron couple)
this is called galvanic corrosion.

 galvanic corrosion is significant in high salinity

( > 1gm/L of NaCl) which is more conductive
environment.

 The greater the more noble/ the less noble

contact surface , the more resulting corrosion.
 8-Surrounding environment.
Cooling tower

 The understanding of the environment

of an open recirculating system is very
important as the cooling tower act as an
air scrubber.

 Pollutants from the air can be:

a-Inorganic and organic fouling.
b-Micro-organisms.
c-Gases such as H2S, SO2, and NH3.
Cooling tower

Treatment

1-Protection against fouling and

biological growth.
Cooling tower
Action taken on make up water

If the make up water is the source of fouling,

corrective action will depend on the degree
of pollution:
 Clarification with coagulation + filtration.

 Filtration with in line coagulation.

 Possibly oxidation (chlorination, etc).

Action on the system
 side-stream filtration possibly with
Cooling tower in-line coagulation
 Filtration of a fraction of the circulating flow is highly
recommended because it allows part of the suspended
solids (SS) to be retained and eliminated from the
system.

 The (SS) ratio in the system can thus be held to below 5

to 25 mg 1-1 ,depending on the system. Generally speaking,
the flow rate for side-stream filtration is set at 5 to 10%
of the total flow of the recirculated water .it
corresponds to one-tenth of the volume of the system. Of
course, if the system is prone to specific pollution (sand
storms, processes, etc.), the percentage must be much
higher.

 If the water has a tendency to clog, then cationic organic

coagulants should be used up stream from the filter. The
aim is to coagulate the colloidal matter in the water,
retain it on the filter and thereby eliminate it from the
system.
 Using organic dispersing agents
Cooling tower  These products are used to maintain the
particles in suspension so as to prevent the
formation of deposits in areas of low
circulation rates and on the heat exchange
surfaces.

 They can also regulate the formation of

protective layers by corrosion inhibitors. They
are, in fact, often included in inhibitor
formulation.

Among the products that are used, the following

can be listed:
 Sulfonated compounds (lignosulfonates,
arylsulfonates).
 Acrylic polymers and their derivatives.
 Using surfactant
Cooling tower
These product modify the surfactant tension of
the water
The aim is to lower the surface tension this
enable biocides to penetrate fouling, thereby,
enhancing their effectiveness
Surfactant can be cationic , anionic, amphoteric,
or nonionic, the length of the carbon chain
affect the different wetting , foaming,
emulsifying , or detergent properties
 Their use is particularly sought in the following
cases:
 Preparation of the system
 Disinfection associated with biocides
 Cleaning pollution removal (oils, greases,
hydrocarbon)
 Using chlorination and prominated
compounds
Cooling tower
 Using biocides
Cooling tower

Based on:
 biocide action
 Choosing a biocide
 Implementation
 Biocide action
Cooling tower  This product act on living cells and their growth in
different ways, in particular:
 They impair the permeability of the cell and
thereforehinder its exchange
 They deteriorate the cell wall and may cause the cell to
burst
 They impair the colloidal nature of the protoplasm and
destroy the cell
 Effect on the membrane of the cell wall
Where the biocide in this category are surfactant and
include
 Quaternary ammonia
 Substitute guanidine salts
 Certain amine derivative
 Phenol and chlorophenols
 Certain aldehydic compounds
Effect on the cells metabolism (enzymatic inhibitors)
In this category the following can be mentionated
 Organosulfur compound
 Certain amine derivative
 Choosing a biocide
Cooling tower
The following factor must be taken into
Account:
 The type of pollution (algae, bacteria)
 pH of the water , factor that often important
in preserving the biocide and achieving
maximum effectiveness
 Compatibility with treatment additives (ionic
nature, chemical affinities)
 Residence time
 Tolerance phenomena
 implementation
Cooling tower Biocide implementation must also take into account
 Optimization of cost effectiveness
 Minimize of toxicity in discharges
 This means acting on cooling system operation with
in particular
 Limited blow down during biocide treatment
 Frequent pollution removal from the sand to
safeguard filter beds

Associating biocides with side-steam filtration help

optimize the processes to control the growth of
microorganisms , the first steps are to:
 Find out the direct or indirect causes of their
presence
 Define the preventive means that could be used
 Monitor microorganisms growth rigorously and
objectively through reliable analysis
 Special case of hydrocarbon
Cooling tower
pollution
When there is significant pollution by
hydrocarbon , the main steps to be taken are
as follows:
 Isolate side –steam filtration.
 Get rid of the hydrocarbon by overflow in the
basin under the cooling tower and by increased
deconcentration blow down.
 Spot and stop the leakage.
 Close blow down.
 Carry out a dispersing agent and surfactant
treatment.
 Renew then water in the system.
 Proceed to apply biocide.
 Remove pollution from filter beds before and
after putting operations back on steam.
 Protection against scale and
Cooling tower
corrosion
 Calcium carbonate equilibrium
 The ryznar index
Cooling tower Give the scale forming or corrosive tendency of one given
type of water toward steel at a given temperature:

 If r1<6, the water has a scale forming tendency

 If r>6.5, the water has a corrosive tendency
 If 6 <r1<6.5, the water is roughly at an equilibrium
between scale and corrosion.

The pHs is saturation ph calculated by means of the chart

based on the values of:
 Ca.
 M alk.
 Total salinity.
 Temperature.

The PH is that of the water measured at a temperature of

about 20oc
 Natural equilibrium process
Cooling tower
This consist in adjusting the pH and m alk of the circulating
water according to the Ryznar index, so that it is at a
scale-corrosion equilibrium.
The simplicity of this process makes it very attractive, but
it does have the following important limits:
 The water is in a state of unstable equilibrium. the pH
can change dramatically if the water simply flows
through the cooling tower(CO2 equilibrium between the
air and the water).
 There is an equilibrium for each temperature , where as
in a cooling system , the water temperature varies
continuously. according to the adjustment made, either
corrosion is seen at cool spots or too much scale is
formed at hot spots.
The process is still used for power plant condensers that
operate as virtual open systems (very low
concentrations) with low ∆t at and taprogge-type
cleaning system.
 Scale –inhibitor or stabilization
Cooling tower process
It is used for water that has a scale forming
tendency . It consists In injection chemicals
into the system which delay the precipitation
of calcium carbonate , specially at the hot
spots.
The chemicals can broaden the equilibrium
range by making it possible to operate with
ryznar indices as low as 4 , and in some cases
even lower.
 There are three main basic categories of scale
inhibitor:
 Poly phosphate.
 Organic phosphorus.
 Organic polymers (acrylics).
 Advantage and limitations of
processes to delay precipitation
Cooling tower
 Corrosion inhibitor processes
(with controlled pH)
Cooling tower principle
These consist in :
 First, situating the water on the corrosive side of its
calcium carbonate equilibrium with a pH of about 6.5 to 7
as result no caco3 scale can be formed
 Second ,introducing an inhibitor act by forming a bonded
, homogenous, nonporous, protective, film that does not
hinder heat exchange
 Most of these inhibitor have a binary compound base
that enable them to block the corrosion anodes and
cathodes at the same time. They act directly on
electrochemical corrosion phenomena.
 The presence of at least a minimum of calcium hardness
(10 to 20 mg.l-1) is generally advisable to promote the
formation of the protective film
 Additionally ,one of the most common binary elements is
zinc. In order to remain available in the vicinity of the
walls, it required a pH close to neutral or just slightly
acid in the system water, depending on the formulation
 Reagent doses of several dozen mg.l-1 are sufficient
because both the cathodic and anodic processes are
under control
 Main categories of corrosion
Cooling tower
inhibitors

There are three basic types :

 Zinc- chromate
 Zinc- poly phosphates
 Zinc- organophosphonate
 Obtaining the optimum pH
Cooling tower

 The alkalinity (and as a result the M alk ) of

make up water should be reduced so that the
pH of the water in the system remains with in
the right range.

 Three method use to achieve this :

 1. Adding acid
Cooling tower
 Sulfuric acid is the most commonly used in
Europe as it is less expensive and easier to
implement :
Ca(HCO3) + H2SO4 → CaSO4 + 2CO2 + 2H2O
 The acid is injected in the system itself
The main drawback is the resulting additional
sulfates with their effect on precipitating
calcium sulfate and increasing water corrosivity

 When hydrochloric acid is used:

Ca(HCO3)2 + 2HCL → CaCL2+ 2CO2 + 2H2O
 Adding of chlorides is not very advisable as they
accelerate the corrosion of steel, stainless steel
in particular
 2. Softening (carbonate removal) on
Cooling tower
carboxylic resin
 For all or part Of the make up as shown in the
principal reactions below:

R-COOH+NaHCO3→R-COONA+CO2+H2O

2R-COOH+CA(HCO3)2→RCOONA Ca+2CO2+2H2O
RCOONA
 This is a selective exchange involving the
bicarbonate part of the water.
 Afterwards, the liberated co2 just need to be
flushed out.
When the resin is saturated it is regenerated with
acid
This method can reduce both the M-alk and the
hardness and thereby decrease the waters salinity
without introducing any new salt
 3. Lime softening
Cooling tower  This is a the preferred method if the quality of
the make up water is such that it must be
clarified before it is introduced into the system.

The main reactions are expressed as followed:

Ca(HCO3)2+Ca(OH)2→2CaCO3+2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2+2Ca(OH)2→2CaCO3+Mg(OH)2+2H2O

 With this method , carbonate removal plus partial

softening (with a reduction in M-alk and the TH ),
can be associated with clarification plus
coagulation (with elimination of suspended ,
organic and colloidal matter) in the same settler.