Cooling Water Filtration for Cooling Circuits
Suspended solids in cooling water foul heat exchangers, block nozzles and encourage deposits. A side-stream pile cloth filter keeps the circuit clear — in continuous operation and matched to the existing water treatment.
Why Cooling Circuits Foul Up
Cooling circuits steadily accumulate suspended solids — airborne dust drawn in through cooling towers, corrosion products, process carry-over and biological growth. These solids settle in the coldest, slowest parts of the system, coat heat exchanger surfaces and block narrow nozzles and spray bars.
Corrosion and biofilm thrive under such deposits, and heat transfer drops — energy demand rises. Reliably removing the solids from the water is therefore the key to efficient cooling and long equipment life.
The Side-Stream (Kidney-Loop) Approach
Pile cloth filtration works well as a side-stream filter: a portion of the circulating water is continuously drawn off, filtered and returned. Over time this keeps the whole circuit clean without having to filter the full flow — saving filter area and energy.
The three-dimensional pile retains fine particles by depth filtration throughout the fibre volume and is cleaned by gentle suction. Filtration and cleaning run at the same time, so the filter operates continuously with very low rinse-water use and modest energy demand.
Operational Advantages at a Glance
Protects heat exchangers
Clear circuit water prevents deposits on heat exchanger surfaces and keeps heat transfer efficient.
Side-stream, not full flow
As a kidney-loop only a partial flow is filtered — keeping the whole circuit clean without treating the full volume.
Continuous, little rinse water
Filtration and suction cleaning run at the same time, with low head loss and minimal rinse-water demand.
Complements the chemistry
Clean water lets biocides and inhibitors work more effectively and often at lower dosing.
Filtration and Water Chemistry — Stronger Together
Mechanical filtration does not replace chemical cooling-water treatment — it complements it. It removes the suspended solids that chemical programmes cannot address, and by keeping the water clearer it lets biocides and corrosion inhibitors work more effectively and often at lower dosing.
The warm, aerated water in cooling circuits also encourages biofilm on the filter media. Our Bioactive pile cloth carries innovative silver particles (patent pending) that help limit biofilm growth on the cloth itself — for more stable filter operation between cleaning cycles.
Already running a disc or drum filter on your cooling or process water? We supply matching replacement pile cloth media. Our cross-reference tool helps identify the right R+F equivalent for your current cloth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Design Your Cooling Water Filtration
We assess your circuit’s load case and select the right cloth grade — for new build, side-stream retrofit or replacement cloth for existing filters.