Around the globe, water stress is increasingly part of daily life, and industrial production plants must find ways to do more with less water.

SABIC is one of the world’s largest petrochemical manufacturers. Many of SABIC’s large petrochemical complexes in the Middle East rely on seawater for their cooling towers. By its nature, seawater increases the risk of biofouling and scaling. SABIC needed innovative solutions to protect its assets from scaling and biofouling, while finding ways to reduce the water and energy footprint of its seawater cooling towers.

At SABIC’s largest petrochemical complex, the seawater cooling towers were responsible for 28% of the site’s total electricity consumption. Reusing more cooling tower water by increasing the number of recirculating cycles could reduce both water and energy use.

To improve system cleanliness, Ecolab introduced Purate™ Technology, an easy-to-use, more cost-effective chlorine dioxide generation method that reduces chemical hazards for these large seawater systems. Purate™ Technology led to reduced biofouling on the surfaces of the heat exchange systems (which are used to transfer heat between two or more fluids). It also reduced manual cleanings and increased production rates in summer, when higher regional temperatures make cooling challenging.

In addition to Purate™, Ecolab implemented 3D TRASAR™ Technology, coupled with a seawater scaling tool to safely model the number of recirculating cycles, saving water and energy. exchange systems (which are used to transfer heat between two or more fluids). It also reduced manual cleanings and increased production rates in summer, when higher regional temperatures make cooling challenging. In addition to Purate™, Ecolab implemented 3D TRASAR™ Technology, coupled with a seawater scaling tool to safely model the number of recirculating cycles, saving water and energy. 

Along with 3D TRASAR™ Technology, Purate™ enabled the plant to increase recirculating cycles and reduce the volume of seawater intake. A cleaner system also allowed the plant to periodically turn off pumps and fans, significantly reducing energy use. Ecolab’s solutions led to total savings of $3 million in cooling tower operational costs, reduced water and chemistry usage, and improved overall energy usage while safeguarding summertime production rates.