Ozone Treatment of Cooling Water: Results of a Full-Scale Performance Evaluation

Abstract

This paper is the first technical status report of a continuing evaluation of ozone treatment for cooling tower water. Data will be presented that illustrate the results of ozone treatment in a 3,400-ton air-conditioning cooling system at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy. Heat transfer data and equipment inspections confirm that a threshold surface temperature exists, below which heat exchange surfaces remain free of mineral scale. Heat exchange surfaces that exceed the temperature threshold experience calcium carbonate scaling. The temperature threshold effect may explain why ozone treatment has been reported as a successful treatment for air conditioning cooling towers, but has not been successful in higher temperature process cooling systems. Plans for future ozone investigations will be discussed.

Key Words:

• Ozone
• Cooling Water Treatment
• Cooling Tower Water Treatment
• Air Conditioning Cooling Towers
• Microbiological Control
• Corrosion Control
• Critical Scaling Temperature