Online Biofilm Monitor Proactively Detects Contamination at a PET Plastics Manufacturer
- Industry: Food and beverage plastics manufacturer
- Application: Process chilled water
- Problem: Unpredictable contamination in a critical process cooling system caused rapid fouling that impacted production and increased maintenance costs.
- Solution: bioDART real-time biofilm monitoring system installed.
- Result: Online bioDART monitor detects an increase in the biofouling potential associated with contamination before excessive fouling disrupts plant operation.
Problem
A PET plastic bottle manufacturing plant periodically experienced severe fouling problems in a key process cooling water system due to glycol contamination from auxiliary cooling equipment. This contamination caused thick microbiological fouling deposits to form that plugged filters, reduced the flow of cooling water, and impeded heat transfer.
Chem-Aqua Solution
To address these issues after system cleanup, Chem-Aqua installed the new bioDART Biofouling Monitor to gauge microbial control and provide an early warning of problems. The bioDART is a predictive, early warning monitor that continuously monitors the potential for biofilm growth, and provides an early warning alert for conditions that cause problems. When biofilm is under control, the bioDART
Biofouling Index (BFI) reading remains stable with some increase normal. For several weeks, the flat BFI reflected a low potential for biofilm formation.
Results
After several weeks of stable response, the BFI reading increased significantly, triggering an alarm indicating an unusual increase in microbiological activity. Chem-Aqua notified plant personnel and began investigating the cause. An oil line was found leaking, providing a food source for prolific bacteria and biofilm growth. The processing equipment was quickly repaired and the system cleaned with minimal disruption to plant operation. The bioDART allowed early detection so that repairs could be made before significant damage and downtime occurred.
