Northwestern Kentucky Industrial Water Treatment Services
Issues like corrosion and bacteria are the last things you want to encounter in your industrial water system. They can considerably raise operating costs, damage inner components and delay operations.
At Chardon Laboratories, we offer customized water treatment solutions for facilities in various industries. We service many cities across Northwestern Kentucky, including:
- Bardstown
- Campbellsville
- Elizabethtown
- Hodgenville
- Lebanon
- Liberty
- Shepherdsville
- Stanford
If you need water maintenance services for your cooling tower, steam boiler or closed loop system, we can help. Explore the different solutions we provide.
Northwest Kentucky Service Area
Cooling Tower Water Maintenance in Northwest Kentucky
A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger that helps maintain comfortable temperatures in facilities, transferring process waste heat into the atmosphere. Proper cooling tower water maintenance is vital, as these systems are vulnerable to the following issues.
- Corrosion: Corrosion naturally occurs when metal contacts water. When a cooling tower experiences corrosion, it becomes more susceptible to leaks, pipe-blocking debris and equipment damage, resulting in costly downtime and repairs.
- Scale: Scaling results from mineral accumulation on cooling tower heat transfer surfaces. When scale forms within tubes, it can cause blockages that reduce efficiency and eventually damage the system.
- Biological growth: Fungi, algae and bacteria can produce corrosion-causing biofilms — an issue known as microbiologically influenced corrosion. Biofilm microorganisms can settle on the cooling tower surface, producing harmful compounds and acids that damage the metal and equipment.
How We Help Treat Cooling Tower Water
With the following solutions, Chardon can customize an effective cooling tower water treatment plan for your unique requirements.
- Blowdown removal: This process removes cooling tower water with high mineral concentrations to prevent scale formation.
- Chemicals: We use special chemical inhibitors to manage scale and corrosion, such as orthophosphate, zinc and polyphosphate. We regularly monitor water chemical and salt levels to ensure they don't exceed solubility limits.
- Epoxy coatings: An epoxy coating creates a protective barrier between the cooling tower water and metal surface, helping prevent corrosion.
- pH control: Potential hydrogen imbalances can lead to corrosion, scale and microbiological growth. Chardon uses cooling tower pH probes to provide accurate, real-time pH levels for streamlined water quality monitoring.
- State-of-the-art equipment: We use innovative equipment to extend cooling tower longevity and minimize water treatment costs. Technology such as contact head water meters, biocide timers and flow switches help ensure adequate chemical levels for your cooling tower.
HVAC Water Treatment Solutions
Chardon Labs caters to an array of industries, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning. HVAC systems face heavy demands in industrial settings. They must meet the building's temperature and air quality requirements year-round, avoiding expensive system breakdowns, repair costs and downtime.
We can tailor a cost-effective treatment plan to your water-based HVAC system, preventing and controlling issues like scale, corrosion and bacterial growth. Chardon provides process water treatment services for the following systems.
Boilers
Industrial boilers produce hot water or steam for heating purposes. These appliances can undergo scaling and corrosion, which can:
- Develop pits and wear in the metal surface.
- Deteriorate inner mechanisms.
- Cause steam trap difficulties.
- Leak condensate lines.
- Warp and rupture pipes over time.
Our HVAC boiler water treatment services include flushing, cleaning and chemical applications to prevent these contaminants from damaging your equipment. We'll conduct a free survey to determine your boiler's current condition and needs, provide regularly scheduled testing and perform ongoing maintenance during peak usage and off-seasons alike.
Closed Loop Systems
Closed loop systems require as much care and maintenance as open loops. They are prone to leakage, allowing air to enter the system and develop corrosion and bacteria. Our team at Chardon has created an innovative flushing and cleaning method for closed loop water systems, preventing troublesome leakage, scale, corrosion and bacterial growth.
We clean and flush the system to eliminate iron deposits, then apply a biocide for complete decontamination. We also provide continued closed loop maintenance, such as pH monitoring, conductivity testing and filter changes.
Cooling Towers
Water-based HVAC systems typically combine cooling towers and water-cooled chillers to filter out excess system heat. Chardon uses various chemical treatment solutions for cooling towers.
These include scale and corrosion inhibitors for hard and soft water alike. We also perform thorough passivation and cleaning to prevent HVAC cooling tower contamination.
Kentucky Legionella Testing
Legionella is a bacterial strain that grows in warm, wet environments, such as:
- Decorative fountains
- Cooling towers
- Sink faucets
- Showerheads
- Air washers
Though it naturally occurs in freshwater environments like streams and lakes, Legionella can make its way into building water systems. Breathing in airborne droplets contaminated with this bacteria can cause potentially severe outbreaks of a lung infection called Legionnaires' disease.
Older and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk of contracting this disease, making Legionella particularly threatening in health care facilities and hospitals. Of course, controlling this bacteria should be a priority in any business setting.
The following variables can promote Legionella growth in water systems:
- Stagnation
- pH between 5 and 8.5
- Temperature range of 68 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit
- Microorganisms like algae, Pseudomonas and flavobacteria
Water Management Plans for Legionella Control by Chardon
Chardon Labs can help you create and execute an effective water management plan to control and prevent Legionella as much as possible. A WMP aims to protect your water system and reduce Legionnaires' disease outbreaks by locating bacterial risk factors.
When tailoring WMPs to different facilities and their needs, we use ASHRAE Standard 188 as a guide. This resource helps establish practical steps and practices to address Legionella-related issues in water systems.
Chardon implements these measures to help your facility develop a customized WMP.
- Site analysis: One of our representatives will examine your water system to identify Legionella risk areas. This analysis helps us determine the appropriate control measures and practices for your WMP.
- Legionella testing: We'll help you identify your facility's control locations to determine the proper testing protocols. A Chardon technician will test for Legionella, then send the results to a lab for further assessment.
- Corrections and adjustments: We'll validate and document your WMP's outcomes, making necessary alterations. Any changes to your water systems, staff, testing protocols and other control measures require consistent monitoring and updating to minimize Legionella as much as possible. WMP access and changes are simple through an online database.
Talk to a Chardon Labs Water Treatment Expert Today
Your water system deserves high-quality attention and care. Chardon Labs can fulfill this responsibility for you. We have nearly 60 years of expertise in the water treatment industry, and our highly trained technicians receive certification from the International Organization for Standardization. Our services come at a fixed annual price, so you never have to worry about any surprise bills.
Let us help you customize a cost-effective water treatment plan to your facility's needs. Contact us today to get started!