Air Intake Louvers
Goodway Benelux supplies systems for cleaning and maintaining air inlet louvers of both open and closed type cooling towers. Remove scale build-up and biofouling by means of low pressure cleaning equipment and chemicals.
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Cleaning of air intake louvers
Air intake louvers prevent splashing water from the water basin/collection tank and prevent (large) objects from outside, entering the water basin. In addition, these parts also have the function of limiting (direct) sunlight, so that bacterial and algae growth is minimized. However, they are also the first barrier between incoming air and water, as a result, these parts pollute the fastest. Think of bacterial / algae growth, but also scale formation.
When air intake louvers become fouled, they reduce the incoming air flow, leaving less air available to cool the water. Which reduces the efficiency of the cooling tower. Furthermore, growth of deposits on the air intake louvers is an ideal breeding ground for various microorganisms, including the Legionella bacteria. Correct cleaning of these parts is therefore crucial to maintain an optimal efficiency and hygiëne of a cooling tower and its surroundings.
Current cleaning techniques
At the moment many end customers and contractors still use the traditional high pressure cleaning method. When the air inlet louvers are cleaned with 80-100 bar water pressure, it almost always results in damaged parts. After all, these (fragile) components have not been developed to be cleaned with high pressure. Another solution is to simply replace these air inlet louvers. In some cases this is the best choice, but often unnecessary.
Low pressure cleaning
In many cases it is possible to clean the air inlet louvers easily and quickly on the basis of low pressure in combination with a chemical cleaning agent such as Scalebreak-Gel. The chemical cleaning agent is first applied to the fouled surfaces by using the TFC-JR device, because of the high viscosity the cleaning agent adheres well to the surfaces.
Almost immediately after application, the product will react with biological and scale deposits. After some time, the cleaning agent and loosened deposits are sprayed off with a low-pressure cleaning device, such as the CC-400HF. Due to the low pressure of 30 bar, it is virtually impossible to damage the fragile air inlet louvers. The advantages of this cleaning method are:
- Air inlet louvers can be cleaned on site without being damaged.
- It is not necessary to replace the components early, which saves costs.