What causes high turbidity in industrial recirculating water?
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All the indicators are within normal ranges: oil content, COD, and iron levels are all normal. However, the turbidity remains quite high, ranging from 40 to 60. There is a suspicion of a leak in the heat exchanger, but no leak can be detected; there is no oil present, and VOC testing of the gases also shows nothing abnormal. I’m at a loss – I urge experts to offer some guidance, please!
1. Microbial proliferation 2. Sludge detachment from the heat exchanger 3. Poor filtration of the circulating water (if applicable) 4. Your eyes are playing tricks on you
Anything over 30 is considered to be above the limit; usually it stays below 30. But now it’s been over 50 for two weeks, and today’s analysis showed that the COD level was slightly above 22.
The high turbidity is related to the local air quality; when the cooling tower is in operation, the water that flows downward comes into contact with the air and cools down as a result
The calcium and magnesium ions in the circulating water will precipitate as the temperature of the water rises, causing their solubility to decrease, which in turn increases the natural turbidity
This post was last edited by yidiandian23 on 2021-12-31 at 14:42. Have you considered the possibility that it might be related to the local air quality? Has there been any change in air quality recently? As the aforementioned teacher said, when the cooling tower is in operation, air from outside continuously enters the tower, which may bring in dust, pollutants, and other substances, thereby complicating the water quality. Another thing is to make sure there’s no problem with the turbidimeter, right?
I’ve encountered similar problems before. Initially, I assumed that there was a leak in the system. However, after conducting all the checks you mentioned, no issues were found. Eventually, after consulting some experts, they said that it was related to microbial growth and the detachment of sludge from the heat exchanger. So, I increased the amount of biocide used. At first, it seemed to help, but the problem reappeared later on. In the end, we determined that it was also closely related to high levels of dust in the air. Additionally, we checked whether the side filter was functioning properly; opening it seemed to bring some improvement. Later on, we also added some flocculants, which also helped to some extent. Please take this into consideration!