Techno-commercial assessment of water treatment chemicals used in leisure industries
Student name: Ms Rakhi Gupta
Guide: Dr Arun Kansal
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Ion Exchange (India) Ltd.
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Manish Verma
Abstract: Calcium depositions, corrosion problems and biofouling have always been associated with water
systems which results in reducing their efficiency and life cycle. Conventional methods for water
treatment pose health hazards and sometimes result in operational shut-down. This study is mainly
focused on the scope of such problems in hotel industry and application of chemical treatment, its
cost-effectivity to solve them. To tackle problems such as corrosion, scaling, depositions and
biological growth in water systems, chemical treatment of water had been a most reliable choice for
industries. Since hotels are the most popular option for tourists due to which hotel industry is
expanding rapidly, displaying higher level of water consumption, this sector has many productive
processes which generate huge water demand. Here, survey of 28 hotels has been carried out to
examine the water intensive component, various problems associated with them and treatment
practices that have been adopted in this sector. This is followed by detailed analysis considering a
number of operational factors that may influence water treatment process. Recommendations have
been made not only to ensure efficient practices but to achieve operational cost saving and
environmental protection as well. Analysis of data was done by performing experiments such as
calculation of MIC value in case of disinfectants, corrosion rate by weight loss method and maximum
inhibition percentage in case of antiscalants. Environmental concerns have also lead to exploration
of application of green chemistry in industrial water chemistry. Thus, hotel industry not just looks for
most efficient and cheap water treatment rather most efficient, cheap and environmentally
sustainable water treatment option.
Keywords: Water treatment chemicals, Environmental concerns, MIC value, Weight loss
method and maximum inhibition percentage
