Bacteria & Biofilm

Cooling towers/cooling condensers are considered high-risk facilities in terms of bacterial contamination. This is primarily due to the fact that the environment in these facilities is particularly prone to the formation and retention of bacteria, due to e.g. a high concentration of minerals/salts, optimal temperature conditions, nutriments deriving from air inlet, optimal pH value, stagnant water etc.

Especially the bacterial species legionella (>40 species) are considered to be extremely dangerous, because they can infect humans with pontiac fever/legionellosis, which ultimately may have fatal consequences.

The disease is transmitted through aerosols which are inhaled, and since the cooling towers/condensers emit lots of aerosols through vapour, it is recommended getting a hazard assessment as well as a recurrent analysis carried out on every cooling tower/condenser.

Biofilm is a mucocid substance that can be found in cooling towers/condensers which have not been treated optimally. This biofilm breeds further growth of bacteria.

Biofilm can also form deposits on heating surfaces which is actually more isolating than scales. It is therefore very important that the formation of biofilm is kept under control.

Kemi-tech only offers cooling water products where the risk of formation of biofilm in the system is practically non-existent. This is both a cost-effective and environmentally advantage for you, because the amount of biocide used can be significantly reduced due to the fact that very few bacteria is protected by the biofilm.

Kemi-tech can offer you online surveillance of biofilm and other types of deposits through approved equipment from our suppliers. Dosage of biocide through online monitoring equipment is also possible. The online monitoring equipment ensures a permanent biocide surplus 24 hours a day, without risking bacteria resistance.