Biofouling control: Alternatives to chlorine

Abstract

Knowledge about the fouling organisms in the cooling systems and their implications on the operational efficiency is a prerequisite to the design and monitoring of fouling control strategies in power stations. Several types of antifouling processes, which have been used in large cooling water circuits, fall into two main categories: physical methods, in which there is no addition of chemical substances to the cooling water, and chemical treatments that use injectable or surface-bound chemical toxins. The development status of the various methods is quite variable: some are in moderate or even widespread industrial use, others are being tested on site, while many remain for the moment at the level of laboratory research.