Biofilm and MIC control, wet scrubber applications, Legionella performance, and zebra mussel elimination.
Jenfitch cooling tower and scrubber research covers biofilm and MIC control, Legionella, wet scrubbers, and zebra mussel elimination using JC 9465. On heat-transfer surfaces biofilm insulates roughly 300 percent worse than calcium-carbonate scale, and about 90 percent of Legionella lives inside it. An ORP-controlled program removes that biofilm.
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Why it matters
Bacteria and organic deposits can lower heat-transfer rates up to 40%. JC 9465 helps prevent biofouling and scale, control biofilm and MIC, address Legionella in under 10 seconds, and eliminate zebra mussels.
The problem
On a heat-transfer surface, biofilm is roughly 300% worse than calcium-carbonate scale as an insulator. ASHRAE data shows a fouling factor of just 0.001 can cut cooling efficiency by about 10%. Beyond lost heat transfer, biofilm shields anaerobic bacteria against the water treatment program, driving pitting and microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of the metal underneath.
The program
Instead of a stack of separate biocides, dispersants and scale inhibitors, the JC 9450 / JC 9465 program uses a single mineral-oxychloride chemistry controlled by oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). It controls biofilm, algae, scale and corrosion at once while improving heat transfer and lowering total cost.
Efficacy vs. ORP
| ORP (mV) | Surviving CFU / 100 mL | Status |
|---|---|---|
| +200 | 300 | Poor control |
| +300 | 36 | Partial |
| +400 | 3 | Improving |
| +600 | 0 | Disinfection |
| +700 | 0 | 6-log Legionella in <10 sec |
| +800 | 0 | Sterilization |
Legionella
Legionella thrives at 20–50°C (optimum 37°C) — the exact range of a warm cooling loop. Around 90% of Legionella lives inside biofilm (per Montana State University's Center for Biofilm Engineering), where it is more resistant and can harbor protective amoebae. A biocide that cannot break biofilm cannot reliably reach it.
Also controlled
JC 9465 delivers ozone-class oxidation but, unlike ozone, leaves a residual in the water. That residual carries control downstream of the injection point — where dissipating ozone cannot — to eliminate invasive zebra and quagga mussels in intake and cooling systems.
The same oxidative chemistry eliminates hydrogen sulfide in wet scrubbers, shifting ORP from reducing to oxidizing and converting H₂S to inert sulfates. See the Oil & Gas research page for the full H₂S wet-scrubber study.
Ozone must be generated on-site and dissipates within seconds of leaving the contactor. Mineral-oxychloride ROS delivers comparable oxidation potential with a measurable residual you can control by ORP — without dissolving a gas into the water.
Questions
On a heat-transfer surface, biofilm insulates about 300% worse than calcium-carbonate scale, and even a 0.001 fouling factor can cut cooling efficiency roughly 10% according to ASHRAE data. Biofilm also shields anaerobic bacteria against the water treatment program, driving pitting and microbially influenced corrosion, or MIC, of the metal underneath. So biofilm costs both heat transfer and metal, and bacteria and organic deposits can lower heat-transfer rates by up to 40%.
Holding ORP above +700 mV produced a 6-log Legionella reduction in under 10 seconds in Special Pathogen Laboratory testing, and eliminates legionellosis risk in most systems within four hours — because it breaks the biofilm where ~90% of Legionella hides.
Yes. Instead of a stack of separate biocides, dispersants, and scale inhibitors, the JC 9450 and JC 9465 program uses a single mineral-oxychloride chemistry, controlled by oxidation-reduction potential, that addresses biofilm, algae, scale, and corrosion together while cutting electricity use 20%+ (per SCE) by keeping heat-transfer surfaces clean. Improving heat transfer and consolidating the program is what lowers total cost, and microbial kill occurs in under 10 seconds at target ORP.
It provides ozone-class oxidation but leaves a residual, so control continues downstream of the injection point where ozone would have already dissipated. That persistence is what allows the JC 9465 program to eliminate zebra mussels rather than only treating water at the point of contact. The same chemistry, controlled by ORP, is also what handles biofilm, MIC, scale, and algae in the same system, with Legionella addressed in under 10 seconds.
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