Closed-Loop Cooling Water System with Pond Heat Exchange

A customer operating multiple heat-generating process systems was relying on once-through city water for equipment cooling, resulting in excessive water consumption and increased operating costs. To improve sustainability and reduce utility usage, the customer engaged PTS to develop a closed-loop cooling solution utilizing existing onsite infrastructure.

PTS designed a two-loop cooling system leveraging two connected onsite ponds as the heat rejection source. Pond water is filtered and circulated through a heat exchanger loop, where heat is removed from a separate closed-loop process water system serving the plant equipment. This approach dramatically reduced city water consumption while maintaining reliable cooling performance.

The cooling platform was designed with operational reliability as a priority. Dual heat exchangers and redundant pumps on both the pond and process sides provide continuous operation and simplified maintenance flexibility. Automated valve sequencing and equipment rotation logic allow the system to maintain cooling availability while minimizing operator intervention.

PTS integrated the entire platform into a centralized control architecture utilizing an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC and PanelView HMI. The control system continuously monitors temperatures, pressures, flow rates, and surge tank levels while managing alarms, interlocks, and automatic equipment changeover functions.

To further protect operations, the system includes automatic fallback capability to city water in the event cooling demand exceeds pond-side capacity or abnormal operating conditions occur. This ensures uninterrupted cooling for critical process equipment while maintaining normal production operation.

The completed solution significantly reduced water consumption and operating costs while improving cooling consistency, system visibility, and operational reliability. The modern controls platform also provides a scalable foundation for future expansion and system enhancements.