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US-20260125289-A1 - COOLING WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HAVING CONTINUOUS BIOFILM MONITORING AND ASSOCIATED METHODS FOR USING THE SAME

US20260125289A1US 20260125289 A1US20260125289 A1US 20260125289A1US-20260125289-A1

Abstract

A water cooling/recirculating management system, including: a controller; a fluid displacement pump; a centrifugal separator; a germicide generator; a primary side stream magnetic field generator; an optional continuous, real time corrosion monitoring and reporting system; and a continuous, real time biofilm monitoring and reporting system.

Inventors

  • Bradley J. Brussow
  • Ed Kroll

Assignees

  • Bradley J. Brussow
  • Ed Kroll

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250902

Claims (20)

  1. 1 - 20 . (canceled)
  2. 21 . A water cooling management system, comprising: a controller in electrical communication with a fluid displacement pump, a centrifugal separator purge valve, and a germicide generator; the fluid displacement pump that extracts water from a main stream basin through a closed-circuit side stream; the centrifugal separator having a solids collection chamber with the purge valve; the germicide generator comprising at least one electrode fabricated from copper and silver; a primary side stream magnetic field generator comprising at least one permanent ceramic magnet; and a continuous, real time biofilm monitoring and reporting system.
  3. 22 . The water cooling management system according to claim 21 , further comprising a continuous, real time corrosion monitoring and reporting system.
  4. 23 . The water cooling management system according to claim 22 , wherein the continuous, real time corrosion monitoring and reporting system measures corrosion using linear polarization resistance technique with harmonic distortion analysis.
  5. 24 . The water cooling management system according to claim 21 , wherein the continuous, real time biofilm monitoring and reporting system measures cathodic current density on a surface of a stainless steel or titanium probe.
  6. 25 . The water cooling management system according to claim 21 , wherein the at least one electrode is fabricated from approximately 93 percent copper and approximately 7 percent silver.
  7. 26 . The water cooling management system according to claim 22 , wherein the controller receives real-time data from both the biofilm monitoring and reporting system and the corrosion monitoring and reporting system.
  8. 27 . The water cooling management system according to claim 21 , wherein the centrifugal separator removes particles down to 40 microns and contains no filter medium or moving parts.
  9. 28 . A method of treating cooling water using physics-based treatment, comprising the steps of: extracting water from a main stream basin with a fluid displacement pump and displacing the extracted water through a closed-circuit side stream; separating solids from the extracted water via a centrifugal separator; treating the water with ions via a germicide generator comprising at least one electrode fabricated from copper and silver; exposing the water to a magnetic field via a primary side stream magnetic field generator comprising at least one permanent ceramic magnet; and returning treated water to the main stream basin.
  10. 29 . The method according to claim 28 , further comprising the step of monitoring biofilm activity continuously and in real time.
  11. 30 . The method according to claim 29 , wherein monitoring biofilm activity comprises measuring cathodic current density on a probe surface.
  12. 31 . The method according to claim 28 , further comprising the step of monitoring corrosion continuously and in real time using linear polarization resistance technique with harmonic distortion analysis.
  13. 32 . The method according to claim 28 , wherein the at least one permanent ceramic magnet includes side-to-side polarity and is mounted to a non-ferrous pipe with a south pole facing inward toward the water.
  14. 33 . The method according to claim 28 , wherein the germicide generator operates in at least one of an off mode, a continuous on mode, and a non-continuous pulse mode.
  15. 34 . The method according to claim 28 , wherein the method achieves up to 40 percent energy savings and eliminates chemical treatment costs.
  16. 35 . A water cooling system, comprising: a side stream comprising a fluid displacement pump, a centrifugal separator, a germicide generator, and a primary side stream magnetic field generator, wherein the primary side stream magnetic field generator comprises at least one permanent ceramic magnet having side-to-side polarity mounted to a non-ferrous pipe with a south pole facing inward toward water; a main stream basin; and at least one main stream magnetic field generator associated with the main stream.
  17. 36 . The water cooling system according to claim 35 , wherein the primary side stream magnetic field generator further comprises a steel band wrapped around the at least one permanent ceramic magnet that focuses magnetic flux lines into the pipe.
  18. 37 . The water cooling system according to claim 35 , wherein the primary side stream magnetic field generator is placed after a turbulent event and before a cooling tower.
  19. 38 . The water cooling system according to claim 35 , further comprising a continuous, real time biofilm monitoring and reporting system that measures cathodic current density on a probe surface continuously and in real time.
  20. 39 . The water cooling system according to claim 35 , further comprising a continuous, real time corrosion monitoring and reporting system that measures corrosion using linear polarization resistance technique with harmonic distortion analysis.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/926,509, entitled “COOLING WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HAVING CONTINUOUS BIOFILM MONITORING AND ASSOCIATED METHODS FOR USING THE SAME,” filed Oct. 25, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,404,186, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/898,741, entitled “COOLING WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS FOR USING THE SAME,” filed Aug. 30, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/242,527, entitled “COOLING WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS FOR USING THE SAME,” filed Sep. 10, 2021—which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, including all references cited therein. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This application includes material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not applicable. REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING Not applicable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates in general to water management systems having continuous biofilm monitoring and reporting, and, more particularly, to cooling and/or recirculating water management systems that eliminate the need for harsh chemicals, bleed water, and labor to maintain recirculating water systems at peak efficiency. This results in: (1) up to a 40% savings in energy consumption; (2) the elimination of chemical treatment costs; (3) the elimination of blowdown water and sewer costs; (4) the elimination of labor to clean/restore heat exchange equipment; and (5) greatly extended equipment life. The water management systems of the present invention also result in the elimination of environmental pollution from chemical bleed, and personnel protection against waterborne diseases, such as Legionella. While evaporative water cooling for heat exchange systems (e.g., cooling towers, chillers, compressors, heat exchangers, HVAC systems, etcetera) and heat rejection processes is the most efficient cooling method, it is also the most aggravating to maintain because of scale, corrosion, algae, bacteria, biofilm, and sludge. The present invention eliminates the above-identified problems using physics instead of conventional, environmentally problematic chemistry by synergistically utilizing a centrifugal separator, a germicide generator, and a magnetic field generator. The water management systems of the present invention also provide for continuous, real time biofilm monitoring and reporting which is a significant improvement over traditional systems that only monitor biofilms periodically (e.g., weekly, monthly, etcetera) with costly offsite water testing. 2. Background Art Water management systems and associated components have been known in the art for years, and are the subject of a plurality of patents including, for example: U.S. Pat. No. 8,223,495 entitled “Electronic Device Cooling System,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,585 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Treating Water in a Cooling System,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,283 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Treating Cooling Tower Water,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,919 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Magnetically Treating Fluids,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,847 entitled “Apparatus and Method for Cooling Water Especially in Cooling Towers,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,786 entitled “Ozonation of Cooling Tower Waters,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,559 entitled “Water Treatment Device and Method for Manufacturing Same,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,635 entitled “Method and Device for Evaporative Cooling,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,425 entitled “Water Cooling Tower,” Chinese U.S. Pat. No. 201,392,109 entitled “Closed Type Cooling Tower,” Chinese Patent Number 2906512 entitled “Energy-Saving Environmental-Protection Cooling Tower,” and Chinese Paetnt Number 1844824 entitled “Environment-Friendly Water-Saving Cooling Tower”—all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety including all references cited therein. U.S. Pat. No. 8,223,495 appears to disclose cooling systems for providing cooled air to electronic devices. The systems can include large storage tanks or waste treatment systems to improve the efficiency of the plant and reduce impact on the environment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,585 appears to disclose a method for treating water in a cooling system that includes a cooling tower and heat exchanger. The method includes the steps of removing water from the main cooling water circuit, serially subjecting the water to magnetic treatment, treatment with ozone, filtering with a centrifugal separator, and then returning to the main cooling water circuit. Underflow from the centrifugal separator is filtered with a bag filter, and the filte