Water treatment

Filtration of cooling water from evaporative cooling towers

Pharmaceutical company

A renowned pharmaceutical company in Germany operates large evaporative cooling towers to supply cooling water for various production steps.

Without the installation of a reliable filtration system, the cooling towers suffer significant efficiency losses.

Multi-layer filters for high volume flows are usually installed here, but their size and the associated space requirements result in high investment costs.

Blocking of heat exchangers and nozzles, formation of bacteria.

Heat exchangers and cooling tower internals in cooling circuits must be protected against coarse particles (blockages). In addition, open cooling circuits are an ideal habitat for bacteria, which can damage the system.

Conventional filtration with multi-layer filters often leads to contamination, which provides a good breeding ground for Legionella bacteria, among other things, and is also very capital-intensive to install and consumes a lot of fresh water.

Maximum system availability with minimal breeding ground for organic matter.

By selecting the right filtration at the right point in the process, the concentration of fine particles can be prevented and the formation of bacterial strains can be counteracted.

In addition, the spread of bacteria can be significantly slowed down, which has the positive side effect of reducing the use of biocides.

The solution

Efficient filtration of cooling water through the use of automatic backwash filters LENZING OptiFil (partial flow filtration) and LENZING CanFil (full flow coarse filtration).

Reduction of LegionellaCompliance with limit values
200-500 µm full-flow filtration
25 µm partial flow filtration

Process diagram for the filtration of evaporative cooling towers — Simplified process representation of the filtration of cooling water from open evaporative cooling towers with automatic backwash filter (LENZING OptiFil) and robust automatic filter (LENZING CanFil).

„It was more by chance that we discovered the significant reduction in Legionella bacteria when using LENZING OptiFil during a new installation. This positive side effect makes this filter even more attractive from an economic standpoint, as it significantly reduces the use of chemicals.“

Wolfgang Watzinger

Sales manager Lenzing Filtration

LENZING OptiFil and LENZING CanFil (AutoLine)

Advantages of using Lenzing Filtration filter systems compared to sand filters.

Defined filter fineness

When backwashing a sand filter, the sand is lifted. If the layer settles again before filtration, channels are created that allow larger particles to pass through.

Safe separation

With sand filters, the nozzle banks can break, allowing large quantities of sand to enter the filtrate side. A breakthrough with the OptiFil is impossible.

Smallest backwash volumes

Unlike sand filters, which often require many cubic meters of water for backwashing, the OptiFil only needs a few liters per backwash.

Prevention of bacterial growth

Due to the low speed and ideal temperature, bacteria can multiply more easily in the multi-layer filter.

LENZING OptiFil

The LENZING OptiFil system is a reliable backwash filter for the finest filtration of industrial fluids and in water treatment. Its patented backwash system enables maximum process continuity with minimum backwash quantities.

High backwash efficiency (patented)

Filter fineness down to 1 μm

Very high throughput rates

Completely closed system

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LENZING CanFil

Robust backwash filtration with automatic cleaning.

To separate impurities, this system uses wedge wire or fabric filter candles, through which the medium flows from the inside to the outside, trapping particles on their surface.

Advantages

Filter fineness down to 50 μm

High throughput up to 10,000 m³/h

Efficient cleaning by reverse flow

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