Industrial process water

Monitoring water quality in industrial process using the most efficient microbial indicator

New age for industrial process water

Many industries require huge quantities of water in their industrial process or / and need to be supplied by water with specific characteristics. Water quality may impact seriously production units and quality of finished products. Chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, food industry, pulp and paper, micro-electronics, metal-working industry – water is of an extreme importance and impacts directly production performances, operational costs and the sustainability.
Problems linked to the development of microorganisms in process water are not always sanitary issues (for example proliferation of Legionella bacteria). Microbial Induced Corrosion (MIC), clogging, bio-fouling are phenomena described and studied since decencies. A more efficient microbial water management improves cost-effectiveness, reduces maintenance costs, water consumption and use of chemical disinfectants, reduces wear of equipments, and reduces risks of producing non-conpliant products.   
In most cases, water is treated by disinfection. Evaluation of efficiency of water treatments and optimization of their use is an important issue for reducing operational cost and improving sustainability of processes.
The adoption in 2000 of the EU Water Framework Directive pushes industrials to develop new water supplies (use of rain water, recycling of cooling tower water, recycling of treated residual water). However, implementing installation with no water loss during the process and complete recycling is linked to a lot of constraints. Monitoring microbial water quality and the follow-up of the reuse of water in the process is important for limiting bio-fouling and impact of biomass on the installation.  

QGA™ and QG21I™:  the best indicators of water quality adapted to efficient and fast management of installations

2^nd generation of ATP-metry allows measurement in only minutes of the total living flora in water samples. Quench-Gone™ Aqueous (QGA) and QG21I  kits allow the quantification of microorganisms through the measurement of only intracellular ATP in samples from industrial process water. Intracellular ATP is an indicator of living biomass. All living cells contain ATP- aerobic or anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, amoeba, and algae.  This is the true measurement of total living flora.
The principal interest of this technology for operators is the reactivity for anticipating microbiological drifts. Efficiency of chemical or non chemical water treatments can be immediately verified on all microorganisms, viable and cultivable but also on viable non cultivable microorganisms. 
Using QGA and QG21I kits, you can monitor microbial contamination in every kind of water – from pure water up to water containing high levels of suspended solids. Surveillance of quality of industrial water is a part of the global process for improving industrial processes, reducing operational costs with respect of environmental issues.

Microbial surveillance using QGA and QG21I is the best method to: 

1. Evaluate efficiency of treatments
2. Optimize treatment strategies
3. Validate new, non-chemical treatments
4. Early detect degradation of water quality and to anticipate microbial drifts
5. Localize critical points for development of biomass
6. Localize origins of microbial contamination
7. Reduce treatment costs
8. Reduce water use
9. Increase water re-use
10. Increase productivity
11. Reduce environmental footprint

Surveillance plans based on QGA and QG21I kits include microbial mapping of the water installation and the selection of critical points (critical zones include presence of biofilm, stagnant water, corrosion) to be controlled on regular basis as preventive actions.

QGA and QG21I – fast biological tools for surveillance and mapping in order to monitor the installation in a better way

The 2^nd generation of ATP-metry, called Quench-Gone, allows performing a diagnosis of the active biomass present in industrial process water in the whole installation. A biological mapping is first performed, allowing implementing a Methodical Analysis of Biological Risks using cATP (Intracellular ATP) indicator.
Using QGA and QG21I in industrial process water enables to:

1. Qualify the different types of water used (industrial water, osmosis water, demineralized water…)
2. Localize critical zones, presenting high level of microbial concentration and uncontrolled biofilm
3. Determine parts of the installation requiring mechanical or chemical cleaning
4. Optimize cleaning and disinfection actions and validate the impact on the biofilm
5. Validate efficiency of treatment strategies
6. Prevent associated sanitary risks  and limit environmental impact

Results are immediately available (3 minutes per sample) and new decisions for treatment- disinfection can be undertaken during the same day for securing the installation.
After validation of all the corrective actions, critical points are controlled on regular basis for early detection of new degradation or drift in microbial quality of water.