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water treatise by water treaters where
we’re scaling up on water treatment
knowledge so we don’t scale up our
systems hi everybody I am trace
Blackmore I am the host of scaling up
and today we’re going to be talking
about the most wonderful job anybody
could have on this planet and you folks
have it right now it is being a water
treat
think about it every single day we have
the opportunity to have our own
backstage tour to how things are made
I’ve seen how PVC is made how wires made
how glass is made how jars are made for
peanut butter I’ve seen how peanut
butter is made you name it I’ve seen it
due to water treatment well I haven’t
seen everything but I have the
opportunity to it’s a cool job we’re
working but we’re learning and having
fun as we’re working and folks let me
tell you if you ever have a down day in
this job you need to make sure you have
a copy of this recording because this is
meant to boost you up and make sure that
you know that you are a superhero water
treaters are superheroes we don’t
realize what our power is if you think
about all the things that we are
responsible for and all the things that
are acting against us to not make it
work properly but yet if we do our job
properly we get it to work properly the
only people that can do that are
superheroes so folks you are a superhero
and of course with great power comes
great responsibility
so let’s talk about why I say you are a
superhero think about what it is that
we’re supposed to do we protect the
customers equipment we’re supposed to do
four things as a water-treatment we’re
supposed to protect it against corrosion
we’re supposed to protect it against
scaling we’re supposed to protect it
against microbial fouling and protect it
against just general dirt and debris if
we are doing our job properly we are
taking care of all of those is
use and thereby making sure that that
equipment is going to last as long as it
possibly can and an added bonus it’s
going to be as efficient to operate that
equipment as it can be because our job
is to manage that heat transfer through
that equipment as efficiently as we
possibly can if we’ve got nice clean
surfaces that’s the end result of what
we do so let’s discuss how us
superheroes get our strength and it
deals with the four things we just
talked about let’s start off with
corrosion think about what we’re
corroding let’s talk about metal if
you’ve ever seen how metal is made
there’s a bunch of stuff that goes into
metal with a bunch of energy to get all
that stuff that doesn’t want to stay
together to get it together and then
when it’s all finished it does not like
being held together in that form it
takes a lot of energy for it to hold
itself together it wants to relax
ie it wants to corrode I said we’re
superheroes I’m getting to that well now
we’re gonna put that metal into a
substance that wants to corrode it we
call water the universal solvent water
given anything else and enough time
water will win so we are putting
something that wants to corrode in
something that wants to corrode things
and now we’re expected to slow that
corrosion rate down if that’s not the
definition of a super hero I don’t know
what is so think about what we have to
do if we’re doing our job properly we’ve
got a lot of things that are working
against us the second thing is scaling
now those of you that have heard me
teach at AWT I call calcium carbonate
the water treaters nemesis because our
job is a heat transfer efficiency
manager and that means that we’ve got
hot surfaces and our job is to also make
sure that we’re using that water to the
best of
ability and we’re not needlessly wasting
it meaning we’re concentrating that
water up as much as we can before
there’s an actual problem ie scale but
calcium carbonate which is our primary
scale forming material it doesn’t like
heat it comes out of solution the hotter
it gets most things you can actually
dissolve more stuff into the hotter it
gets but not calcium carbonate because
we don’t want our job to be easy we’re
gonna throw a little extra twist in
there and as we’re managing that heat
transfer efficiency are the water
treaters nemesis calcium carbonate is
going to come out on our heat transfer
surfaces folks I called you superheros
for a reason everything in the universe
is working against us but if we do our
job properly we’re going to make sure
that that doesn’t come out of solution
at that heat transfer surface there by
that system is clean and efficient and
it’s not costing any more resources or
money to run that system if we do our
job properly so the next thing is
microbial fouling microbial fouling
things are growing in our system folks
these bugs that are growing in our
system they care about two things they
care about eating and reproducing and
anything else we do to them
they could care less and they have all
day long to figure out how they’re going
to get around those things if that’s not
being a superhero I don’t know what is
but that’s why we’re using our micro
biocides to make sure that we’re keeping
all that stuff that wants to grow in our
system at bay and then the last thing is
general dirt and debris well if we’re
talking about a cooling tower a cooling
tower sucking in air to exchange for
that hot water or the heat that’s in the
water through that air so we can reject
that heat out to the atmosphere well
what’s coming in with the air all the
other stuff that dusts the particles the
grass clippings the leaves you name it
it’s going to get
washed out of that air and it’s now in
our cooling tower system we’ve got to
deal with that too now hopefully you
have some sort of filtration on that
tower otherwise there’s not much we can
do to get leaves and grass particles out
but think about all this stuff that’s
happening to us in our systems and
things that we are expected to do in
order to keep that system running
efficiently and optimally think about
all the stuff we just talked about I
called you a superhero I hope by now you
understand why you have special powers
everything is working against us doing
our job properly
but yes good water treaters are doing
that job despite all of that and I can’t
think of how else they do it unless they
are a superhero so just like Superman
and the Yellow Sun giving us all this
power I hope that you take
responsibility for the power that you
have and the water treatment industry is
better because you have this power and
you know how to use it and you’re
respecting this industry and you’re a
better water treater tomorrow than you
were today