A leading company in industrial water management is committed to tackling water scarcity worldwide. Their water treatment systems not only optimise the water quality, but also help customers to improve their processes, thanks to the new insights and actions that can be generated based on the process data collected. In this way, the company’s solutions support the responsible use of water.
The challenge
The efficiency of cooling water systems can have significant effects on the cost of running a building. When water is used for industrial purposes in closed-loop cooling systems, corrosion, deposits, contamination and biological impurities can significantly reduce their efficiency. The aim is therefore to optimise the water quality while at the same time cutting back on water consumption and waste.
Water treatment systems are used to reduce the environmental impact and avoid high disposal costs. In the present case, the customer wanted to equip a central building cooling system with a water-dosing unit to reduce scale, corrosion and microbial growth. The blowdown water used is treated with the water-dosing unit at the outlet. Previously, vortex flow monitors from various manufacturers were used to control and collect data from the water-dosing unit. However, these sensors came with strict installation specifications prescribing straight inlet and outlet pipe lengths to prevent swirling vortices. This was not always possible. Besides, commissioning was often complicated.
The solution
ifm’s SM7020 magnetic-inductive flowmeter requires significantly smaller inlet and outlet pipe lengths. It has been used at the blowdown outlet of the water-dosing unit to reliably measure flow values since 2022. The quality threshold values, such as pH value, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and conductivity, are detected by other sensors. In larger systems, SA/SI flow sensors/flow monitors and PA pressure transmitters are tasked with monitoring the dosing media. Integration and operation are also much easier and require less explanation. This is thanks to the intuitive display and push-button user interface. The result is a significant reduction in set-up time.
Results
This resulted in a flexible and quick installation, an intuitive user interface and reliable water quality. Clean water reduces energy costs while enabling more sustainable operations.
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