SUEZ has received a distinction in the Industrial Project of the Year category at the 2021 Global Water Awards* for its ECO Film technology. Developed to reduce operational risk in industry, the solution helps plants to comply with increasingly strict environmental regulations on the operation of cooling towers.
The ECO Film technology (Engineered Carboxylate Oxide) is designed to protect industrial cooling towers against limescale deposits and corrosion in open recirculated water cooling circuits without the use of pollutant materials.
The Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), the state’s biggest natural gas distributor and second-biggest electricity distributor, decided that the solution provided advantages in both environmental and economic terms. It chose the ECO Film technology to remedy significant algal growth in its industrial process, which was attributed partly to its cooling water treatment programme involving phosphorus, and to avoid breaching discharge standards.
Shortly after the ECO Film technology was put in place, NIPSCO observed a considerable reduction in algae, estimated at over 5,000 tonnes of wet algae per year, in the final settling basin. This major reduction enabled NIPSCO to comply with the discharge limits on suspended solids. Moreover, the quantity of algicide used was much lower than in previous years.
The positive impact of the project extends well beyond the boundaries of the plant. The environmental impact of the algae on water resources and aquatic life has been greatly reduced, preserving both public health and the local ecosystem.
* An award that honours the most impressive technical or environmental project in the field of water and industrial wastewater.