Cooling water treatment control is accomplished by a number of methods, including mass balance, timer control and control by measurement of an inert component of the cooling water product. A new on-line analyzer achieves product control by measurement of active treatment chemistry.

The new analyzer utilizes an on-line ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer containing no moving parts. Coupled with a chemometrics software package, the instrumentation accurately predicts active product chemistry. Data from frequent determinations of active product level is processed to control product chemistry.

Two case histories illustrate the monitoring capabilities of the novel analyzer. Excellent correlation between analyzer results and manual test results serve as the background for analyzer control. Using the analyzer as the basis for trim control, the tightness of control at one air separation plant is improved from +/- 37% to +/- 11% of the mean treatment level.

Use of the on-line analyzer produces the following benefits: accurate, frequent determination of active cooling water treatment chemistry, real-time analysis of chemistry, control based on active chemistry, minimization of cooling water treatment variability and positive return on investment.

Subject
Costs, Test methods, Water, Water chemistry, Cooling water treatment, Statistics, Investment, Cooling systems, Rectifiers, Equipment, Cooling water, Conductivity, Samples
Keywords:
analyzer, cooling water, chemometrics, control, monitoring, on-line spectroscopy
© 1995 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1995
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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