The use of surface water, groundwater and drinking water in production facilities may give rise to corrosion, salt formation, (lime) deposits, algae growth and slime formation.
This leads to:

• leakages in lines, heat exchanger tubes, etc.
• clogging of equipment
• reduced heat transfer and production capacity
• higher maintenance costs
• a higher environmental load
• health risks.

Adequate pretreatment of piping and equipment in cooling water systems and conditioning of the cooling water are indispensable for continued optimum performance of production facilities. Intertek-Polychemlab has many years of experience in this field and can provide advice and guidance on:

• the cooling water conditioning technology to be used
• Integrated monitoring of cooling water quality
• upset conditions.

By means of Guidance & Control we can test the operating conditions of cooling systems and the recommendations made by service engineers. Cooling water conditions and treatment methods are evaluated during periodic review meetings.

During plant shutdowns Intertek-Polychemlab can inspect heat exchangers and piping so as to detect any limitations of the cooling water conditioning method and the operating conditions.

Intertek-Polychemlab makes use of advanced methods and equipment such as:

• a bench scale cooling water test set-up for research into new cooling water conditioning methods and/or facilities, microbial slime formation, corrosion and fouling under varying operating conditions
• test equipment for measuring the biological load and fouling of cooling and process water systems.

In addition, methods and equipment for on-line monitoring of corrosion and fouling processes can be tested in our laboratory or be evaluated in the field by means of pilot tests.

If you would like more information from one of our experts, then please contact Intertek Polychemlab by Email, or by telephone +31 46 476 27 13