Condair | Evaporative Technologies, established in 1948 and based in Switzerland, is a prominent global leader in the fields of humidification, dehumidification, and evaporative cooling. Condair is the Home of Kuul evaporative media products, which are at the forefront of the industry.
The performance of the media you choose has a significant impact on your evaporative cooling system and can have a major positive or negative effect on the bottom line for your business. Water quality, materials used, flute height and angle, and biocide compatibility all influence the performance of your media.
In this article, we will specifically explore biocide compatibility. First, let’s cover the basics of evaporative cooling, and then we’ll move on to how you can expand the life of your media through biocide compatibility.
Evaporative, or adiabatic, cooling uses water evaporation to cool and humidify the air. Among the many applications are direct and indirect evaporative cooling, and precooling for various purposes such as gas turbines and data centers.
This cooling equipment’s effectiveness hinges on the performance of the evaporative cooling media used. Importantly, that performance includes the media’s compatibility with biocides.
Kuul FirePro™ media is a glass fiber based material, which is 100% PFOA and PFOS free. The saturated cooling media facilitates water evaporation, enabling adiabatic cooling to occur. For efficient adiabatic cooling, the media must demonstrate high durability and near constant water saturation.
One challenge that arises with all media types, however, is that water can create a favorable environment for microbial organisms, leading to issues such as bio film deposits, odors, negative impacts on health, and equipment corrosion.
To address this, operators often employ a biocide treatment program in their adiabatic cooling water supply to effectively remove and prevent microbial growth using advanced water treatment chemistries. Many evaporative cooling medias on the market, however, are susceptible to those biocides, causing degradation or damage to the media.
FirePro media is compatible with many of these chemistries to prevent material breakdown and resolves that issue, increasing the longevity of evaporative media compared to those that degrade in common biocides. Let’s dig into those biocides and their effect on standard evaporative media.
To reduce the risk of bacterial growth, two main categories of biocides are frequently used: chlorine-based biocides and organic biocides.
Chlorine-based biocides are highly reactive and can attack both the microbes and the cooling media, resulting in the degradation of their physical and water transport properties. While not chlorine-based, hydrogen peroxide most closely fits in this group as an oxidizing biocide.
Although less reactive than chlorine-based biocides, non-chlorine-based biocides such as hydrogen peroxide, Bronopol, DBPNA, and Isothiazalone also function by chemically breaking down microbes and can attack the cooling media.
Consequently, for both types of biocides, the adiabatic cooling performance may decrease, and costs may increase due to the need for earlier media replacement. This means higher costs over the life of your media and the life of your cooling equipment.
With Kuul FirePro, media replacement is not accelerated by biocides when used at proper dosages, as the compatibility testing below shows, lowering replacement costs.
Replacing media for cooling systems can come at a hefty price if you fail to act in a timely manner or react too prematurely. Early replacement means higher costs overall, and waiting too long to replace your meeting can increase your operating costs by lowering performance. As biocides can degrade media, media that is resistant to them can lower the total cost of ownership over the lifespan of your equipment.
To ensure Kuul FirePro media is stable when exposed to these biocides, we conducted rigorous testing to assess the compatibility of the FirePro media with these most common biocides.
The laboratory tests were created to simulate real-world exposure conditions and measure the effects of biocide exposure. Following exposure to these biocides, the physical and water transport properties of the FirePro media were analyzed to determine if there was any adverse impact on the media.
Our team of engineers assessed the following biocides to evaluate their impact on Kuul Media. The biocides evaluated for their impact on Kuul media were:
Aqueous solutions of biocides were formulated utilizing distilled water. The Kuul media was subjected to these biocide solutions in accordance with the conditions specified in Table 1 below. The exposure parameters were determined based on customer feedback to simulate the anticipated duration of biocide exposure to the Kuul media.
Following the exposure to biocides, the physical and water transport characteristics of the Kuul media were assessed and compared to those of the control or non-exposed Kuul media. Note that the pH and temperature conditions were selected based on chemical stability for Bronopol, DPBNA, and Isothathazalone solutions.
Testing the media with the above chemicals guarantees that it can be disinfected at regular intervals, as a part of a normal Hygiene Management System over the full lifetime of the media without degrading.
Disclaimer: The purpose of the test has been to confirm that the exposure to the above biocides does not affect the physical and water transport properties of the Kuul media. The purpose was not to test the hygiene of the water or the system.
Kuul media maintained its physical and water transport properties after exposure to these biocides, proving Kuul media compatible with the use of biocides to control water quality.
Kuul media’s compatibility with biocides means longer-lasting media in systems that employ biocide treatment. As properly timed media replacement and the longevity of your media directly impact the cost of ownership of your cooling system, as well as your energy costs, that means direct benefits for system operators.
Reach out to Condair to find out how switching to Kuul FirePro Evaporative Media can impact your bottom line, or Request a Quote, today.
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