Case Studies
Low Phosphorous Cooling Chemistry Development
A customer in Michigan was recently faced with permit restrictions concerning phosphate in their cooling system discharge water. US Water Services was asked to develop a low phosphorous treatment program, in order to allow the customer to meet these new tight discharge limits, while still providing excellent scale and corrosion control for their critical cooling system.
RO Cleaning Station
When an ethanol plant in Texas, services by US Water Services, started experiencing problems in their reverse osmosis system, conventional on-site methods of cleaning failed and the reason soon became clear. When the city changed the flow of the water to accommodate the ethanol plant, it stirred up red clay that had settled in the distribution piping. The fine clay silt found its way to the ethanol plant RO system, fouling the membranes.
RO Membrane Cleaning
After months of operation, the RO system at a 50 million gallon per year ethanol plant in the Midwest began experiencing progressive increases in pressure differential (Delta P) between primary and final RO pressures.
Bugs Eat Copper
Do you ever wonder what happens to that water in a closed loop system after the piping is done and you’ve left the job site? Probably not, right? It’s just a closed loop, nothing goes in and nothing comes out, what could possibly go wrong? Well, in some cases, nothing, but in others, it seems like nothing will go right! Let’s talk about some horror stories, and how they could have been avoided.
Cold Lime Softening
When an ethanol plant in Minnesota was built, they made an agreement with the state DNR. They would monitor local wells, and if the aquifer level dropped enough to impact local and owners, they would build a sophisticated water treatment system that would allow them to use multiple water sources.
Temporary Pretreatment on River Water
Front Range Energy, Windsor, CO went to the well and it was dry. During pre-startup water trials in May 2006, engineers of the 40 million gallon per year ethanol plant discovered the onsite wells didn’t have enough capacity to meet the facility’s needs.
Total Water Treatment Solution
One of the most overlooked, yet costly issues facing many plants today is the presence of an ineffective water treatment system. This can often become a financial burden. A mid-western food processing company was experiencing problems with their water system. Facing continued expenditures, the company decided to have US Water Services design a total water treatment solution for their old system.
Water, The Most Overlooked Aspect of Building an Ethanol Plant
You just committed to building an ethanol plant. You spent thousands to assess gas and electric availability, the cost of running extra rail spurs and even ensuring access to the county blacktop, but did you test the water? You know there is an aquifer a few hundred feet down and the county extension office said there is plant of water, so water WAS the least of your worries.
Working for a Solution to Iron Discharge
The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program seeks to reduce the amount of water pollution to surface waters. This is accomplished by regulating point sources such as pipes or man-made ditches that discharge pollutants into public waters.
Boiler Lizard
In the past, corrosion of the boilers and deaerator was a severe problem during seasonal shutdown at a Midwestern college. A new boiler and deaerator were recently installed and the chief engineer wanted to protect this new equipment from this type of corrosion. The chief engineer noted that almost all of the boiler corrosion occurred during the idle period when the equipment was drained for their annual inspections and maintenance.
Cooling Tower Toads
Every year the cooling system for an industrial plant providing comfort cooling was shut down and drained for the winter months. Historically, during this shut down period the cooling water piping and equipment would experience severe corrosion. During startup of the cooling system the next spring, iron flakes would peel off the piping plugging strainers and heat transfer equipment. This would interfere with the efficiency of the production process and cause an increase in maintenance.
Zero Liquid Discharge Ethanol Plant
Every year the cooling system for an industrial plant providing comfort cooling was shut down and drained for the winter months. Historically, during this shut down period the cooling water piping and equipment would experience severe corrosion. During startup of the cooling system the next spring, iron flakes would peel off the piping plugging strainers and heat transfer equipment. This would interfere with the efficiency of the production process and cause an increase in maintenance.