Cooling tower treatments save Heathrow £310k
9th August 2016
UK: Heathrow Airport is reportedly saving more than 130 million litres of water annually using GE’s advanced water treatment solutions.
Thirty-nine cooling towers across four terminals at London’s Heathrow Airport have been treated with GE’s corrosion inhibitor, cooling and chemical treatment technologies. After 12 months, the airport is said to have saved the equivalent of 5% of total site water usage and $310,000 in costs.
“With more than 75 million passengers per year, 80 airlines, over 76,000 employees and an average of approximately 1,300 flights per day, Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe, and we consume a significant volume of water,” said Chris Allen procurement business partner – engineering at Heathrow Airport.
“It is crucial we work with partners to reduce our environmental impact and are pleased that the GE technology has allowed us to exceed our environmental and industrial goals while meeting our high operational demands. We have been able to reduce our water usage and costs and improve efficiency.”
The airport’s cooling towers were monitored in real time, and the data was analysed with GE’s InSight knowledge management system and TrueSense for Cooling remote monitoring and diagnostics platforms. InSight and TrueSense technologies ensured the precise dosing of chemicals in the right quantity and provided continuous monitoring of system performance, cost optimisation and efficiency.
Previously, the 39 cooling towers were treated with ozone, which restricted the cooling towers to only two cycles. After using GE’s water treatment chemicals, GenGard corrosion technology, Spectrus microbiological control, TrueSense and InSight, Heathrow Airport was able to reduce make-up water demand by increasing cooling tower cycles from two to five, which led to a substantial increase in water efficiency and clean water.
“Airports use a large amount of water and energy. By reducing corrosion and increasing the efficiency of the cooling towers across four terminals, Heathrow Airport saved over 130 million litres of water a year,” said Amy Ericson, global leader, chemical and monitoring solutions—water and process technologies for GE Power.
