Select Link Consultancy Front Page Siltation problems Water resource management Chlorination solutions Short Period Intermittent Chlorination (SPIC) Biofouling monitoring Environmental Impact Assessment Expert witnesses & regulator approval services Introduction to fouling problems Fouling of cooling water and other systems can be caused by a wide variety of organisms. Many enter the system as microscopic larvae, then settle and grow in it. FBS have the necessary solutions and expertise, whatever your fouling problem. MOLLUSCS Edible Mussels can settle and grow within marine and brackish cooling-water circuits, blocking tubes, restricting culverts, jamming valves, and leading to corrosion/erosion of condenser tubes and thence contamination of boiler-feed water. Historically, power stations have been caused to shut down through excessive mussel-fouling. The freshwater Zebra mussel poses a similar threat in rivers BARNACLES AND TUBE WORMS Both of these groups build calcareous shells/tubes. While, in Europe, they are smaller than the risk mollusc species, their excessive growth is still capable of impeding valve operation, of blocking strainers and of encouraging corrosion, notably on metal surfaces. HYDROIDS (WHITEWEED) Hydroids are branching, filamentous colonial animals capable of penetrating filter screens. They are more resilient than algae, and have in the past blocked condenser endplates and valves, risking loss of supply. BACTERIA Bacteria form gelatinous slimes within condenser tubes, which reduce the efficiency of heat transfer. ALGAE Excessive entrainment of algae (particularly seaweed) at intakes can block filter screens, valves and condensers, compromising the integrity of process-water supply.