Control of industrial water treatment via digital imaging
Systems for and methods of monitoring and analyzing deposit in an industrial water system are provided. The methods comprise heating a substrate while the substrate contacts industrial water in the industrial water system to form deposit on the substrate. A series of digital images of the substrate while the substrate contacts the industrial water in the industrial water system is created. A region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate is defined. A deposit feature in the region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate is identified. The deposit feature in the region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate is analyzed to determine a deposit trend of the substrate in the industrial water system. Generally, the systems are configured so as to be capable of carrying out one or more of the methods.
1. A method of analyzing deposit on a substrate contacting industrial water in an industrial water system, the method comprising:
heating the substrate while the substrate contacts the industrial water in the industrial water system to form deposit on the substrate;
creating a series of one or more digital images of the substrate while the substrate contacts the industrial water in the industrial water system;
defining a region of interest in the series of one or more digital images of the substrate;
identifying a deposit feature in the region of interest in the series of one or more digital images of the substrate; and
analyzing a change in the deposit feature across the region of interest in the series of one or more digital images of the substrate.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising treating the industrial water of the industrial water system with a deposit inhibitor.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising acting based on the analysis of the deposit feature in the region of interest of the series of one or more digital images of the substrate.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining heat transfer resistance of the substrate.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring a parameter of the industrial water in the industrial water system selected from pH, conductivity, oxidation-reduction potential, linear polarization resistance, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring temperature at a plurality of points to determine heat transfer resistance of the substrate.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the deposit comprises one or more of a calcium-containing substance and an iron-containing substance.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the calcium-containing substance is calcium carbonate.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the iron-containing substance is ferric oxide.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the change in the deposit feature comprises analyzing the change in the deposit feature in the region of interest across the series of digital images of the substrate to determine a deposit trend of the substrate in the industrial water system.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the series of one or more digital images is a series of one or more multispectral digital images.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising acting to control deposit in the industrial water system.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the acting to control deposit in the industrial water system is selected from increasing dosage of deposit inhibitor, selecting a different deposit inhibitor, modifying the deposit inhibitor, altering a physical property of the industrial water system, shutting down the industrial water system, and combinations thereof.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing of the change in the deposit feature of the region of interest across the series of one or more digital images comprises classifying deposit on the substrate according to color of the region of interest or subregion thereof.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving the substrate in the industrial water system to expose a second region of interest to digital imaging; and repeating the steps of the method.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a quartz crystal microbalance.