TA-23-C013 – Impact of Crossflow Microsand Filtration on Particle Removal in Cooling Tower Circuit

The main objective of the current study is to assess particulate removal efficiency of crossflow filtration system in a HVAC circuit comprising of two plate heat exchangers, one chiller, three cooling towers and a side stream micro-sand filtration unit (CMF). The water quality parameters were measured every two weeks over a period of 7 months (Apr-Oct’22). The physicochemical parameters such as total solids, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, alkalinity and conductivity were measured at four different points of the circuit namely, inlet water, input of CMF, output of CMF and system purge. Maximum 100% reduction in total suspended solids and 42% reduction in turbidity were observed with an average removal of 27% and 15% respectively. In terms of particle count maximum removal of 94%, 89% and >97% occurs for particles <1 µm, 1-5 µm and 5-100 µm particle count respectively. No Legionella pneumophila were detected. The study highlights the role of industrial crossflow filtration systems towards effective removal of fine particles from the HVAC water circuit.