A Case Study from China: Reusing Industrial Wastewater in Cooling Towers

Sinopec Chongqing SVW Chemical Company (SVW) recently introduced an initiative to continuously improve water reuse and recycling at its chemical plant in Chongqing, China, supported by Ecolab.

Recycle wastewater for use in cooling towers at the factory aligns the company with Chinese government’s efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

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Ecolab’s water and process management business, Nalco Water, worked with SVW to develop a program that is designed to control corrosion and scale while maintaining a ratio of up to 60 per cent recycled wastewater in the cooling tower makeup water. SVW implemented Nalco Water’s corrosion control solution for cooling systems, along with 3D TRASAR™ Technology to provide integrated water quality management along with real-time, automated monitoring and dosing.

Outcomes

The partnership with Nalco Water enabled SVW to achieve historically high levels of compliance with key control and performance indicators in the cooling water systems (>99 per cent). It also improved system reliability, water use and sustainable development and led to substantial cost savings. In addition, production increased and maintenance time was reduced, due to the prevention of leaks in the heat exchanger system.