PERGAMON Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066

Techniques for reducing the amount of biocide necessary

to counteract the e€ects of bio®lm growth in cooling
water systems
T.R. Bott
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, U.K.
Received 25 January 1998

Abstract

Cooling water is essential in many industries, including power generation, chemical manufacture and
petroleum re®neries. Bio®lm formation on heat exchanger surfaces reduces heat transfer eciency; in
order to maintain cooling water e€ectiveness it is necessary to eliminate or reduce the incidence of
bio®lm growth. Techniques available include physical methods and chemical addition. The paper
discusses how the environmental impact of mitigation may be reduced, and draws attention to the cost
penalties involved. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cooling water; Bio®lms; Biocides; Heat exchangers

1. Introduction

Water for cooling purposes has been widely used in many industries since it is an obvious
choice as a very suitable medium. It is found as the cold utility in the process industries, in
power generation, indeed whenever there is a need to reduce the temperature of a product or
intermediate component of an industrial operation.
In many instances the water is obtained from `natural' sources such as a river, lake or canal.
It is also possible to use site bore hole water for cooling purposes. It is not often that the more
expensive town's water is employed as a cooling medium.

2. Cooling water systems

Cooling water may be utilised in three di€erent ways:

1359-4311/98/$19.00 # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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1060 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066

1. Closed systems, where the water is circulated around the circuit without coming into contact
with the environment. The heat gain by the water is removed, usually by some form of air
blown heat exchange. Although this would seem an ideal way of using water as a cooling
medium, the overall cost is likely to be high in terms of the capital investment (the airblown
exchangers are relatively large) and the operation requires the movement of large volumes
of air.
2. Open recirculating systems, where water is circulated around the circuit to remove heat as
may be required. Removal of the heat acquired by the circulating water is achieved by
evaporation of some of the water (i.e. as latent heat) in a cooling tower or spray pond. Due
to the process of evaporation the concentration of dissolved salts in the remaining water
increases. Precipitation would occur if the solubility limits of the dissolved solids were
exceeded, with associated operational problems, unless a `blowdown' of the water is made at
regular intervals. The volume of the water lost through `blowdown' is made up in the feed
water to the system, that also replaces windage and other losses from the system. Fig. 1 is a
schematic diagram of an open recirculating cooling water system involving a cooling tower.
The location of the various losses of water from the circuit and the `make up' are shown.
The blowdown is often discharged to the original water source.
3. `Once through' systems, where the water is taken directly from the natural source, used for
cooling and then discharged back to the source. The advantage of the system is its relative
simplicity (there is no cooling tower for instance) and the treatment required is kept to a
minimum.

3. Environmental problems associated with cooling water systems

Both the `open' and `once through' systems present problems for the environment either in
terms of thermal or chemical pollution. The latter may arise from two sources i.e. the
concentrated dissolved salts in the `blowdown', or perhaps, more importantly, the presence of
toxic chemicals added to the water to maintain ecient operation of the heat exchange
equipment and the associated pipework.

Fig. 1. Water loss in a cooling water system with a cooling tower.

 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066 1061

The importance of maintaining the cooling water system in an acceptable operating

condition, may be appreciated from an examination of the importance of cooling water quality
in the ecient production of electricity in a fossil fuel ®red power station. Fig. 2 illustrates the
principle of power generation.
The overall eciency of power generation using steam turbines, depends on maintaining the
highest possible steam pressure di€erential across the turbines. Steam is raised to a given
pressure by the combustion of the fossil fuel in a suitable boiler. Water cooled condensers
receive the exhaust steam from the turbine. The lower the condenser temperature, the lower the
condenser steam pressure and therefore the higher is the pressure di€erential across the turbine
for a given inlet steam pressure. Under this condition the maximum power output per unit of
steam is achieved. Clearly, the eciency of the water cooled condenser has a direct in¯uence
on the utilisation of the pressure energy contained in the steam. Inecient cooling will result in
a higher fossil fuel requirement for a given output of electrical power. Quite apart from the
additional fuel costs involved, there is the further problem of the emissions associated with the
increased fuel combustion. It is important, therefore, that the water cooled condensers are kept
at peak eciency to reduce production costs and to conserve energy.
A similar cost penalty, and often an associated increase in energy requirements is evident in
other cooling water applications, where heat transfer performance is impaired by poor cooling
water quality.

4. Cooling water quality

The diculties associated with the use of cooling water generally stem from deposits that
accumulate on the surfaces of equipment, particularly on heat exchangers (coolers). The
presence of a deposit, in general, also causes an increase in pressure loss through the cooling
water system. The additional energy requirement will add to operating costs. Furthermore, this

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the cooling water application in a fossil fueled power station.
1062 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066

additional energy, usually in the form of electrical power, will have to be generated often by
fossil fuel combustion, with the attendant emissions and the production problems already
described in the previous section.
In general, water from natural sources will lead to a poor cooling performance unless
adequate steps are taken. The extent of the problem, however, will be dependent on the quality
of the raw make up water. The deposits that occur on the heat exchanger surfaces are complex
in character, and are likely to include particulate matter, crystalline salts, corrosion products
and bio®lms. It is necessary to counteract this problem of deposition onto surfaces, in order to
maintain heat exchanger e€ectiveness.
In the use of `natural' waters it is probably the presence of micro-organisms that will be the
predominant cause of poor heat transfer eciency. The conditions on the water side of a
cooler are usually conducive to the growth of micro organisms notably bacteria, because of the
very suitable temperature conditions and the availability of nutrients. The colonisation of the
heat transfer surface and the subsequent growth of a bio®lm may, under favourable conditions,
lead to a deposit with a thickness of 1 mm or more, unless preventative action is taken. The
presence of this layer represents a resistance to heat transfer i.e. it acts as an insulating layer.
The bio®lm may also act as a trap for particulate matter and corrosion products. In addition,
the bio®lm may encourage corrosion of the underlying metal due to biological activity, thereby
adding to the operating and maintenance costs. The factors in¯uencing the growth of microbial
deposits in heat exchangers has recently been reviewed in ref. [1].

5. Mitigating the problem of fouling

There are two broad technologies available to counteract the problem of bio®lm formation.
They include the use of physical methods, or alternatively the addition of chemicals to the
cooling water. Sometimes the techniques are combined, but this is not common. Chemical
additives can include corrosion inhibitors, de-scalants and biocides.

5.1. Physical methods

The use of chemicals to overcome the problem of biofouling and the associated operating
diculties is likely to lead to environmental problems. Biocides particularly, since by their very
nature they are toxic, can represent an ecological hazard. The obvious way to protect the
environment is to avoid chemical treatment altogether, using physical technologies to reduce
the impact of bio®lms on ecient cooling water application. Yet these methods are not always
feasible in a given situation or indeed, cost e€ective.
A method that has been found to be very e€ective in power station condensers, is the
circulation of sponge rubber balls. Power station condensers are usually shell and tube heat
exchangers, the steam being condensed on the outside of the tubes through which the cooling
water passes. The inside surfaces of the tubes are prone to bio®lm formation. The condensers
are very large pieces of equipmentÐwith, in total, many kilometres of tubes of uniform
internal diameter.
 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066 1063

The principle is illustrated in Fig. 3. Slightly oversized balls (compared with the internal tube
diameter) are circulated with the cooling water. The passage of the balls through the tubes
wipes the inside surface and maintains them in a clean condition. The e€ectiveness of the
method relies on the probability that every tube will receive a ball within a speci®ed time. The
frequency required will depend on the severity of the fouling problem. The system is
particularly useful for `once through' systems. The method is not without its problems. It is
possible, for instance, for individual tubes to become blocked by a ball permanently lodged at
the tube entrance.
The circulation of sponge rubber balls is not an option in a chemical manufacturing complex
or an oil re®nery, where the individual coolers are dispersed around a large site area, and of
practical necessity, the tubes of the heat exchangers are not uniform. A possible alternative in
these situations is to employ the brush and cage system, where a bush of suitable material, is
made `to shuttle' back and forth along the tube by ¯ow reversal. The brush is caught at either
end of the tube by a perforated box or cage. The frequency of reversal will depend on the
extent of the biofouling problem. The complex control equipment required makes the method
rather expensive.
Another physical method involves the use of ¯exible tubes (plastic) that oscillate under the
¯ow conditions. The movement of the tube is intended to `shake o€' the accumulated deposits
or prevent their formation. Due to the rather `fragile' nature of the system, it has limited
application. The more conventional methods are to be preferred as being more intrinsically
safe.
The use of a ®ltration system, such as sand ®lters, may also help reduce the incidence of
bio®lm formation. Filtration of a side stream, say 10% of the total ¯ow, may be adequate.
One of the diculties of this method is the space required to accommodate the ®lter beds.

Fig. 3. The Taprogge system for the maintenance of cooling eciency in a tubular heat exchanger.
1064 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066

Alternative physical methods that are under investigation include the use of ultrasound to
create micro-bubbles at surfaces, to maintain clean conditions [2]. The employment of low
power electric ®elds to `hold o€' the micro organisms from the surface is another possibility.
The use of inserts to increase removal forces on the bio®lm as it develops, is also being studied.
The relatively high costs associated with the physical methods described, except perhaps the
application of the sponge rubber ball technology (Taprogge system) which is very cost e€ective
in certain situations, means that chemical treatment will be employed. Even if a physical
method is successful and cost e€ective, it will still be necessary to employ biocides where a
cooling tower is present, in order to prevent bio®lm accumulation on the tower internals and
to eliminate the problem of Legionella dispersal in water droplets from the tower.

5.2. Chemical treatment

Biocides, biostats and biodispersants are employed to reduce the potential for the
development of bio®lms on equipment surfaces. Biocides are intended to kill micro organisms,
biostats control activity and biodispersants impose an electric charge either to the substrate or
the individual cells or clusters to reduce the possibility of attachment. In general, biostats and
biodispersants are not used on their own. A common treatment involves the use of a biocide
and a biodispersant. A proprietry additive may contain more than one biocide to improve the
spectrum of e€ectiveness.
There are, essentially, two ways of reducing the environmental impact of chemical additives:

1. To use so called `environmentally friendly' biocides, i.e. chemicals that readily break down
to innocuous products after application. Hydrogen peroxide is an example of such a
biocide.
2. To operate the treatment programme so as to reduce the quantity of biocide necessary to
control the biological activity.

A combination of these two alternatives is likely to be the preferred option to minimise

environmental risks.
The addition of chemicals may be made in three ways:

1. Continuous dosing, i.e. maintaining a ®xed concentration of the added chemical in the
circulating water; concentration being the minimum to maintain control.
2. Shock dosing, i.e. an intermittent dose of biocide at a relatively high concentration, perhaps
once a day, designed to remove any accumulated bio®lm that has attached to the surface
since the previous shock dose.
3. Intermittent dosing that is more frequent than shock dosing, e.g. several periods of short
duration during a day, to minimise colonisation of exposed surfaces by micro-organisms.

The choice of the method will be cost driven, but of course also taking into account
environmental acceptability. The quantity of chemicals involved will also change with the
season and the variability of water quality.
 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066 1065

Attention to plant operation will also ensure that the chemical usage is kept to a minimum.
For instance, ¯ow velocity can have a marked e€ect on the ecacy of a biocide in relation to
bio®lms on surfaces. Higher velocities, because of the improved mass transfer and the higher
shear at the bio®lm/water interface, generally lead to higher e€ectiveness [3]. Fig. 4 shows how
the use of a higher velocity can improve biocide e€ectiveness. The removal of an established
bio®lm using a chlorine concentration of 4.7 mg/l is greater at a velocity of 1.27 m/s compared
with 0.86 m/s. After 1 h the removal at the higher velocity is approaching 20% more than that
at 0.86 m/s.
It may be possible therefore, to reduce the e€ective concentration of chemical additives by
using higher velocities. The penalty is the higher pumping costs because of increased energy
usage involved with the maintenance of the higher velocity. In general terms, doubling the
velocity will result in a quadrupling of the energy requirements.

5.3. Costs

Each cooling water system is unique, depending on: the source of the water, the size and
design of the equipment, the distance the water has to travel; and the temperature of
operation, so that it becomes dicult to provide general data on the cost of controlling the
fouling. A modest cooling water system in which the fouling is controlled by the use of
chemical additives, could involve mitigation costs of upwards of £40,000 per annum. In respect
of the Taprogge sponge rubber ball system, relatively short pay back times of less than 1 year
are possible. The use of more sophisticated techniques is likely to involve higher cost.

Fig. 4. The removal of an established bio®lm using chlorine as a biocide.

1066 T.R. Bott / Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (1998) 1059±1066

6. Monitoring

In order to keep control of the chemical addition, monitoring of its e€ectiveness is essential.
Some form of `on line' monitor will provide the maximum opportunity to maintain chemical
addition at an acceptable low level. A number of non-intrusive monitors that involve di€erent
physical principles are available [4], including the use of infra-red absorbance, heat
transmission, and ultrasound. Although not yet a practical reality, it is anticipated that in a
relatively short time, it will be possible to activate the chemical addition in response to a signal
from the monitor, thereby utilising the minimum quantity of additive chemicals.
It is important that the monitor takes account of bio®lm accumulation and not the
biological activity of cells in suspension in the water. It is well known that it is possible to kill
all planktonic cells in a system, and still have an active bio®lm on an associated surface. The
location of the bio®lm on a surface and its structure, resist the action of many biocides so that
any monitoring system must assess bio®lm accumulation in situ on a surface.

7. Concluding remarks

For many years the use of biocides and other chemicals for the control of bio®lms in cooling
water systems tended to be indiscriminate, and the chemicals, such as chlorine, were
environmentally detrimental. In the more recent past, with greater public concern for the
environment, there has been a move towards the use of minimal quantities of additives by
e€ective dosing programmes and more reliable monitoring. The development of
environmentally friendly chemicals and physical methods, possibly in combination, will further
reduce the environmental impact of bio®lm control.
As legislation becomes ever more restrictive it may be necessary to treat cooling water to
remove any remaining added chemicals before discharge, with increased operating costs which
may be considerable.
All additional costs associated with the environmentally acceptable operation of cooling
water systems, will ultimately a€ect the price of the ®nal product of the process and its
pro®tability.

References

[1] T.R. Bott. Bio®lms in process and industrial waters. International Conference on Bio®lms in Aquatic Systems.
Royal Society of Chemistry, Warwick. 1997.
[2] I.E.C. Mott, T.R. Bott, D.J. Stickler, W.T. Coakley, Ultrasound in the control of bio®lms. Engineering
Foundation Conference on Fouling Mitigation of Industrial Heat Exchnage Equipment, San Luis Obispo,
1995.
[3] T.R. Bott, R.J. Taylor, The e€ects of velocity on biocide ecacy on bio®lm removal in ¯owing systems. 32nd
National Heat Trans Conference on Fouling Formation and Control in Heat Exchange Equipment, Baltimore,
1997.
[4] Engineering Foundation Conference on Understanding Heat Exchanger Fouling and its Mitigation, Lucca,
1997.