AQUAC: new advances to prevent water quality problems in air conditioning systems

Optimizing water quality in closed air conditioning circuits to prevent corrosion, the formation of sludge and biofilms is one of the main challenges in critical facilities such as data processing centers (DPCs), hospitals or industries. These systems often present problems that directly affect the performance of their systems, such as material degradation, microbiological proliferation, loss of energy efficiency and increased maintenance costs, with the consequent risk of critical failures.

In this context, the AQUAC project, developed within the framework of the 2025 call for Innovative Business Groups (AEI) with the leadership of the Spanish Plastics Center (CEP), and the participation of the University of Barcelona, the CWP, Italsan, Climava and TFlowlab aims to address these challenges that impact the operation of refrigeration systems, as well as to develop an advanced digital monitoring platform and prepare a White Paper of proposals for improvement and recommendations for these systems.

Since the start of the project, in September 2025,  work has been carried out on the identification of critical points, analysing the factors that accelerate metal corrosion, those that favour the proliferation of biofilm and the evaluation of different maintenance strategies in order to define the bases of a strategic approach to guide the improvement in the facilities.  Likewise, after an exhaustive review of the existing literature, the project is in a phase of consolidating the first results and defining the lines that will mark the recommendations for the sector.

At the same time, in the experimental field,  laboratory tests are being carried out to study the interaction between steel and different water qualities. This work will make it possible to identify the electrochemical mechanisms responsible for corrosion and establish objective criteria to prevent failures and optimize treatments.

Another of the pillars of the project is the monitored pilot plant, already in operation, which allows continuous data to be collected on the behaviour of water and its impact on equipment. This information will be key to validating maintenance strategies and determining which are the most effective in real conditions. In this line, the AQUAC digital platform is being developed for the monitoring of maintenance and treatment operations. This tool will make it possible to visualise the status of the circuits, manage alerts, plan tasks and analyse key indicators such as the availability, reliability or safety of the systems.

In this way, the project has already begun the drafting of the White Paper on the maintenance of closed circuits, which will become a reference document for the sector. This will include practical recommendations, improvements to existing criteria and guidelines based on scientific evidence.