It is difficult for a man to imagine the rate at which water
is consumed throughout the United Kingdom. A single industrial unit, for
example, can use literally millions of gallons of water every day just for
cooling purposes. This means that industry alone uses billions of gallons of
water every year. The cost of this waste is significantly high.
71.It should be apparent, therefore, that a fully sealed cooling system
would lose no water, consume no water, discharge no water and would not require
the application of chemical treatment. Sealed water cooling systems are
available and make it possible for a teacupful of water to do a job normally
requiring millions of gallons of water. Water Saver Systems
is a company that has pioneered the principle of sealed industrial cooling in
the UK and Europe. These sealed cooling systems, it is claimed, can actually
provide payback within a matter of months because of the water and effluent cost
savings and the removal of the need for a chemical treatment plant and the
resultant chemical costs. In addition, it is possible to recover heat from a
sealed system, allowing savings in boiler feed water and domestic hot water
supplies. A further advantage is that grayish-materials build-up is prevented
and rust minimized, so that the high efficiency of the sealed system is
maintained and the service life in- creased. A significant merit of a sealed
system, not yet fully appreciated, stems from the fact that industry can now be
more mobile in terms of location. Traditionally, with some industries, a main
consideration as regards a factory site would be the availability of a local
high volume water supply for cooling purposes. 72. With a sealed system, it
is claimed to be possible for a major user of cooling water to setup in the
desert with only a small truck of water to give the sealed system its initial
fill. Sealed cooling systems also reduce water-related
health risks. Chemical treatment does help to reduce such risks but for various
reasons, chemicals have not yet provided total protection from disease. For
example, Lehionnaires Disease which can be propagated via the evaporation taking
place in cooling towers. Sealed systems do not emit contaminated vapour to
atmosphere and this also means that thermal pollution does not occur.
73. Sealed industrial cooling systems were originally developed to
offer efficient and cost-saving cooling alternatives to industry, giving
considerable operational and financial advantages to the user. Fortunately,
the development of the sealed cooling system also contributes significantly to
the environment and health.