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Specific Challenge

Elevated cooling water supply temperatures and pressure fluctuations

REGION REGION

North America

REGION

Challenge

  • Urgent inspection needed due to damaged cooling tower components
  • Reduced production caused by temperature and pressure issues

Solution

  • Inspection of cooling tower to return to optimum mechanical efficiency
  • Operator replaced broken nozzles and missing components

Result

  • Repaired and/or replaced 457 broken nozzles, missing torque tube covers, and sections of corrugated exterior paneling, within two days
  • Reduced supply water temperature by 5°F
  • Increased production by 80 tons/day
  • Operator gained approximately $8 million in production value from mid-May through August

Challenge

A chemical plant operator requested assistance from Halliburton to provide a superior automated cooling tower monitoring and control system. The system was outdated and prone to plugging, required frequent cleaning/calibration, and was limited to controlling two parameters: pH with acid and conductivity cycles with blowdown.

This limitation resulted in Halliburton and the operator making frequent chemical adjustments. The time between testing and adjustments led to erratic under and overfeeding conditions. These conditions were usually minor, but occasionally were much more than intended, and added to the budgeted chemical costs. 

Solution

Halliburton recognized the need for a flexible and innovative solution and recommended an advanced cooling water system from Halliburton’s APX™ suite of digital solutions for enhanced chemical performance and monitoring. The recommended solution included implemention of a polymer analyzer and a customized polymer dispersant. 

For the phosphate corrosion inhibitor, rather than use a phosphate analyzer, which is known to be problematic and maintenance intensive, Halliburton recommended a PTSA (pyrenetetrasulfonic acid, sodium salt) traced phosphate with probe monitoring. Next, since the cooling water heat exchanger system consisted of metallurgy, which contained yellow metal, a yellow metal corrosion inhibitor chemical treatment was also required. Halliburton recommended the application of a tolytriazole (TTA) corrosion inhibitor with a TTA monitoring probe. This combination of probes, chemistry, and analyzer technology-enabled monitoring and continuous automated control of five parameters: pH, conductivity, polymer, phosphate (via PTSA tracer), and TTA. 

3%

Reduction in target dosage variability

$58K

Decrease in chemical usage

$200K

Annual savings from chemical usage

Result

Following the operational start-up of the advanced cooling tower system and the continued control of existing pH and conductivity parameters, Halliburton improved control of the polymer, phosphate, and TTA chemistries to less than 3% reduction in target dosage variability. This decreased combined chemical usage by $58,000 and far exceeded the skid purchase price. The overall value of energy, water, and maintenance avoidance realized by the installation of the advanced cooling tower system is more than $200,000 annually.

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