Tyson Tervort

Industrial Water Treatment

For a work day I had a chance to shadow a chemist. His particular field is in industrial water treatment. Surprisingly there are many different tasks that are associated with this occupation, these tasks range from designing skids that create purified water to the demands of the costumer. These skids include reverse osmosis systems, producing deionized water, UV filters, carbon filters.

Other tasks include providing chemical treatment for HVAC systems, usually two different chemicals are used for this. The first is an inhibitor that prevents rust forming in the pipes. The second chemical is glycol; the most commonly used is Propylene Glycol Inhibited. Glycol is a heat transfer fluid, in other words it works like you radiator fluid that is in your vehicle. It raises the boiling point as well as the freeze point. Other chemicals that can be used are Methanol and Ethylene Glycol.

Cooling tower and Boiler chemical treatment design and maintenance, calcium buildup can happen in the pipes as well as in the cooling tower. Calcium is a base which means that it has a ph that is greater than 10. Acidic blends of chemicals are used to keep the ph as neutral as possible. A biocide is also introduced to keep algae from growing. These chemicals are regulated by a control panel which measures the conductivity and ph of the water that is circulating through the water system.

One of the most exciting things that I have noticed is that many high security places need very specific requirements for their water needs. Some contracts include Hill Air force Base, Northrop Grumman Dugway Proving Grounds.