Cooling System Automation and Process Control: The Next Technology Wave

Industrial cooling water systems are key enablers of unit processes.  Cooling system performance serves to realize primary business goals such as production throughput and yield, energy consumption, capital asset preservation, environmental compliance and the protection of human health.  The management of corrosion is inextricably linked to the success in the control of scale and deposits, as well as microbiological activity.

Over the past 30 years, industry has benefited from a steady progression of developments in the automation and control of critical water system parameters.  Technology advancements have now progressed to the point that the direct control of all three cornerstones of effective cooling water treatment has been made possible with singular instrument and control platforms that are reliable and cost-effective.

This paper discusses the most recent and complimentary developments in automation and process control technologies, both in on-line and off-line modes, and the convergence of their development with the changing needs and challenges of operators of industrial cooling water systems.  Case reviews of real-world applications and the realization of economic value in practical, every-day situations are presented.