A major electronics manufacturer in Northern Illinois utilized city water for cooling various continuous operation water-cooled equipment including thermocycle testing chambers, air compressors, etc. Water quality was also a concern due to the high level of dissolved solids in the local water supply. As water was plentiful and inexpensive, there was little reason to evaluate other options other than the maintenance issues caused by the hard water. Although troublesome, there was not enough justification to replace the method used.

Sewer costs, however, were rising rapidly and more increases were projected to upgrade the local sewage treatment facility, so Industrial Solutions was contacted to evaluate available options for reducing these operating costs.

The system recommended by Industrial Solutions incorporated a cooling tower system designed for continuous operation in the cold northern Illinois climate including a fiberglass tower, indoor sump tank with dirty and clean sides, a plate & frame heat exchanger, backup pumping, automatic emergency city water supply, water treatment, etc. The plate & frame heat exchanger is used to separate the dirty tower water from the process water, keeping the water used in the process heat exchangers clean and non-fouling. This improves heat exchange effectiveness as well as reducing the maintenance costs of cleaning the process heat exchangers.

Variable frequency drives were also utilized on the process pumps to accommodate variable flow requirements and to maximize pump savings. They were also used on the cooling tower fan to reduce fan start/stops while satisfying the variable cooling load.

Digital display controls were also incorporated into a central control/starter panel for immediate observation of system performance.

As a result of this installation, this industrial facility was able to save $50,000 per year in water and sewer fees and pay back the capital cost of the equipment in less than 2 ½ years.

Process Water Systems

A major electronics manufacturer in Northern Illinois had always utilized deionized (or DI) water in their manufacturing processes. Although some users required very high purity water, the majority were simple parts cleaning operations. The elimination of Freons and the transition to water based cleaners also increased DI water use as makeup water and as a very clean final rinse.

When overall use approached the capacity of the plant's deionized water system, Industrial Solutions was contacted to assist in the upgrade of the system. As the system was evaluated, a cost saving alternative was proposed by Industrial Solutions.

DI water uses an ion exchange process similar to water softening, but utilizes expensive and potentially dangerous acids and caustics for regeneration. On average, DI water is approximately 10 times more expensive than tap water.

In reverse osmosis (RO), a semi-permeable membrane and high pump pressure is used to reverse the natural osmotic process. Clean water is forced through a membrane, concentrating impurities on the high pressure side where they are continuously flushed from the system. With RO water, the only additional costs are the reject water and the pump energy. As equipment has advanced, the reject rates have dropped significantly to approximately 30%, significantly reducing the cost of producing this high purity water.
As a result of this analysis, this manufacturer was able to reduce the use of DI water in favor of RO, significantly reducing their operating costs. They were also able to continue to operate with their existing DI equipment.

Industrial Solutions designed and installed the complete RO water system installation including storage, pumping, plant wide distribution, UV disinfection, controls, etc.
When last checked, this manufacturer was able to replace over 95% of their deionized water use with significantly less expensive RO water, resulting in a less than 2-year simple payback of their investment.