Cooling Tower Corrosion Protection
If you are searching for “Cooling Tower Corrosion Protection” you are probably trying to understand the ways you can make your cooling tower system last longer for your commercial or industrial property. This article is designed to help you understand why cooling towers are especially prone to corrosion, and what you can do to about it.
Cooling towers are a vital part of a lot of businesses and industrial processes. They provide cooling for chiller systems and help remove heat from fabrication processes. Coolant in many applications comes in the form of water, and when combined with extreme heat it creates an environment that is prone to corroding metal. To extend the life of cooling towers, and their components, coatings are applied to various elements as a barrier between water and chemicals and bare metal.
What is corrosion?
Corrosion is a set of forces which have a natural tendency to electrolytically or chemically react with metals, when given the proper circumstances and opportunity. The most prevalent and common of these forces is Oxygen. With oxygen being the most common element on the planet oxidation is a serious concern for metal. Oxidation is a reference to the way oxygen interacts with various compounds or elements and the term rust describes the way that oxygen interacts with iron. Iron is the basic ingredient used in the production of carbon steel which is very common in cooling tower components.
Regional Effects on Corrosion
The degree of oxidation and corrosion on carbon steel varies by degree based on the heat and humidity of a given geographical region. Places which are cool and dry haven’t the same predisposition for corrosion as somewhere that is humid and hot. It is in these hot or humid areas which corrosion must be prepared for prevented.
Atmospheric Effects on Corrosion
Today’s air conditions include an ever increasing corrosion atmosphere which is caused by considerable increases in industrialization. The coatings that we used years ago which would be considered rudimentary by today’s standards functioned adequately with air that was more “fresh”. With air quality changing and usually towards a higher content of gaseous byproducts ongoing research and development is necessary to keep the coatings used to prevent corrosion effective.
Cooling Tower Conditions and Corrosion
The purpose of a cooling tower is to take hot water from industrial or HVAC processes which produce hot water and cool it back down to be used again to sustain the process. As we know the combination of heat and humidity is the perfect conditions for corrosion to occur. In addition to heat and humidity cooling towers also include evaporation which causes an relentless flow of flow against the metal components in the cooling tower. When water stagnates around steel it actually develops a protective layer of oxidation which prevents aggressive corrosion. In the case of cooling towers the constant flow of air, water, and evaporation continually dissolves this film and perpetually eats away at new metal material.
Quality Cooling Tower Coatings
To help prevent corrosion and the need to replace components or entire cooling towers which are susceptible to corrosion coatings such as Belzona 1321 are used to centrifugal pumps, vacuum pumps, valves, heat exchangers, impellers, pipes, nozzles, water boxes, and much more. Benefits of using a coating like Belzona is that it makes maintenance more simple, cuts down on the need for spare parts, helps protect against corrosion, and therefore extends the life of cooling towers and chillers. Let All Kote Lining take care of your cooling towers the right way. We specialize in maintaining the equipment you have to make it operate more efficiently and last longer.
It can be applied to various elements in the cooling tower system by using shimming, bonding, injecting and more application methods. It bonds aggressively to a wide range of substrates and as a multipurpose polymeric coating it does not corrode and provides exceptional resistance against a wide range of chemicals. If you have questions about how to prevent corrosion in cooling towers or would like to schedule cooling tower corrosion protection please call 480-966-4446.