Removal of dissolved and colloidal silica
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorWilliam S. Midkiff
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Abstract
Small amorphous silica particles are used to provide a relatively large surface area upon which silica will preferentially adsorb, thereby preventing or substantially reducing scaling caused by deposition of silica on evaporative cooling tower components, especially heat exchange surfaces. The silica spheres are contacted by the cooling tower water in a sidestream reactor, then separated using gravity separation, microfiltration, vacuum filtration, or other suitable separation technology. Cooling tower modifications for implementing the invention process have been designed.
Claims5
A method of removing silica from evaporation cooling tower water comprising:
- (a) contacting said water to be treated with particles of a nucleation site material to produce a deposition of silica from said water to be treated onto said particles of said nucleation site materials, said nucleation site material comprising amorphous silica spheres, wherein the surface area of said nucleation site material is in the range from about 100 to about 100,000,000 times a surface area of wetted surfaces of the evaporative cooling tower;
- and
- (b) separating said particles of said nucleation site material from said water to be treated after said deposition of said silica upon said particles of said nucleation site material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.