Table of Contents
Page numbers are estimates at 325 words per printed page, counted from the manuscript as it stands, each section starting a new page. Final typesetting will shift them.
Front matter
- Preface p. i (1,279 words)
- How to Read This Book p. v (2,028 words)
1. Building Blocks · p. 1
Hub · Narrative p. 1 (4,435 words) · Engineering Notes p. 15 (1,881 words) · Problem Set p. 21 (455 words) · Answer Key p. 23 (498 words)
Narrative sections: Chemistry · Through the Looking Glass · Inside the Atom · Valence Electrons · Bonding · The Map of Matter · Aside: The Curious Case of Calcium Carbonate · Building a Water Molecule · The Hydrogen Bond Network
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Using the Periodic Table as a Tool · Atomic Mass and Atomic Weight · The Mole: Bridging Two Worlds · A Simple Reaction: Why Moles Matter · Dimensional Analysis
2. The Hero of Heat Transfer · p. 25
Hub · Narrative p. 25 (3,545 words) · Engineering Notes p. 36 (881 words) · Problem Set p. 39 (529 words) · Answer Key p. 41 (513 words)
Narrative sections: The Experience of Heat Transfer · Managing Heat · Heat Only Moves One Way · Adhesion, Cohesion, & Heat Transfer · A Matter of State · State Transitions · Latent Heat: Transformational Resistance · Pressure & the Payoff · Evaporative Cooling: Flipping the Script · The Hero, Revealed
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Counting Heat · The Two Types of Heat · Sensible vs. Latent: The Scale Difference · Pressure vs. Boiling Point · The Cooling Tower Rule of Thumb · The Three Energy Reservoirs in Water
3. The Solvent · p. 43
Hub · Narrative p. 43 (2,767 words) · Engineering Notes p. 52 (1,582 words) · Problem Set p. 57 (456 words) · Answer Key p. 59 (522 words)
Narrative sections: The Universal(ish) Solvent · The Thermodynamic Negotiation · The Balance That Determines Solubility · The Three Fates of Matter · The Passengers
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Measuring the Invisible · Ions in Motion - Conductivity · Concentrations: ppm & mg/L · Added Substance Calculation · Percent to ppm · The Passengers and What They Do
4. The Power of Hydrogen · p. 61
Hub · Narrative p. 61 (3,490 words) · Engineering Notes p. 72 (1,050 words) · Problem Set p. 76 (509 words) · Answer Key p. 78 (541 words)
Narrative sections: Brewing Beer: A Chemist with a Problem · Learning pH the Hard Way · What pH is Trying to Tell Us · When Water Falls Apart · The Equilibrium Tug-of-War: Acids and Bases · Resistance to Change · The Math of the Mistake · Why a Small Number Runs the Entire System · The Smallest Thing We Manage
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Logarithms: A Quick Refresher · The Self-Ionization of Water · Why Neutral is “7” (and Why That’s Not Always True) · The Link: pH, pOH · Example Calculation: Alkaline Water
5. Carbonated Water · p. 80
Hub · Narrative p. 80 (2,840 words) · Engineering Notes p. 89 (1,385 words) · Problem Set p. 94 (492 words) · Answer Key p. 96 (458 words)
Narrative sections: Carbonate Equilibrium · The Weight of Carbonate · Carbonate Does Not Arrive. It Evolves. · Carbonation: The First Move · The Four Levers · Gas Meets Rock: Natural Water Stability · Why Cooling Towers Break the Balance · Where Alkalinity Goes in Boilers · How We Interrupt the Cycle · Managing Carbonate
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Carbonate System Recap · Concentrations Expressed “mg/L as Calcium Carbonate” · P- and M-alkalinity Speciation · Estimating pH from OH-Alkalinity · CO₂ Generation in Boilers (Rule-of-Thumb)
6. Destructive Oxidation · p. 98
Hub · Narrative p. 98 (2,027 words) · Engineering Notes p. 105 (1,003 words) · Problem Set p. 109 (548 words) · Answer Key p. 111 (515 words)
Narrative sections: Familiar Oxidation · The First Rule of Destructive Reactions… · Destructive Oxidation · One Mechanism, Two Outcomes · Oxygen: The Main Antagonist · How Oxygen Gets in Water · The Temperature Paradox · When Oxygen Finally Reacts
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Fundamentals of Redox Reactions · Transactional vs. Destructive Oxidation · The 4 Requirements for Electrochemical Corrosion · Oxidation Potential and ORP · Industrial Oxidizers & Reduction Potentials · Oxygen Behavior in Water · The Temperature Paradox of Oxygen · Critical Monitoring Parameters
7. Corrosion · p. 113
Hub · Narrative p. 113 (4,556 words) · Engineering Notes p. 128 (874 words) · Problem Set p. 131 (560 words) · Answer Key p. 133 (573 words)
Narrative sections: Corrosion in Isolation · The Restless Nature of Metals · The Corrosion Cell · The Completed Circuit · Passivation: Metal’s Brief Defense · Breaking the Ceasefire · Film Saboteurs · Quantifying the Sabotage · Supercharging the Corrosion Cell · From Supercharging to Suppression · Corrosion Protection: Interrupting the Circuit · Choosing the Lever · The Two Ends of Thermodynamics
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · The Corrosion Cell · Circuit Logic (Ohm’s Law) · Oxygen Differentials · Measuring corrosion · The Larson-Skold Index · Galvanic Corrosion
8. Scale · p. 135
Hub · Narrative p. 135 (3,161 words) · Engineering Notes p. 145 (1,265 words) · Problem Set p. 149 (423 words) · Answer Key p. 151 (576 words)
Narrative sections: Dissolved Solids · A Dynamic Balance · Bias, Not Drive · Concentration: The Cost of Disorder · The Thermodynamic Tipping Point · Supersaturation: Permission, Not Speed · Scale Indices: Estimating Thermodynamic Pressure · Scale Formation · Crystal Growth: Why Order Feeds on Itself · Aggregation: When Small Solids Become Big Problems · Scale Inhibitors · How Scale Inhibitors Work · Buying Time, Not Immunity · Managing the Inevitable
Engineering Notes sections: Why this matters in the field · Core Tools & Constants · Predicting Scale: The Indices · The Langelier Saturation Index · The Ryznar Stability Index · The Puckorius Scaling Index · The Scaling Salts
9. Microbiology · p. 153
Hub · Narrative p. 153 (3,659 words) · Engineering Notes p. 165 (699 words) · Problem Set p. 168 (631 words) · Answer Key p. 170 (1,188 words)
Narrative sections: The One Problem Chemistry Cannot Solve Alone · The Advantage of Being Alive · The Infrastructure of Biofilm · Why This Matters for Water Treatment · When Biology Meets Metal · Biocides: The Access Problem · What Biocides Are Good At · Heat: The Honest Biocide · Reconnaissance: Monitoring the Unseen · The Human Impact: Legionella · Why Legionella Changes the Stakes · The Closing Truth
Engineering Notes sections: Measuring Biological Activity · Chlorine Chemistry and pH · Biocide Program Design · Thermal Kill Reference · Legionella Risk Factors
10. Suspended Solids · p. 174
Hub · Narrative p. 174 (2,379 words) · Engineering Notes p. 182 (897 words) · Problem Set p. 185 (693 words) · Answer Key p. 188 (1,125 words)
Narrative sections: The Problem with Dirt · Two Kinds of Cargo · Where Suspended Solids Come From · The Quiet Amplifier · The Compounding Effect · Controlling the Amplifier · When Systems Are Clean · The Takeaway
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters · Measuring Suspended Solids · Turbidity Guidelines · Common filter types · Sidestream Filtration Sizing · Settling Velocity (First-Order Estimate) · The Cost of Dirty
11. The Pillars of Water Treatment · p. 192
Hub · Narrative p. 192 (2,278 words) · Engineering Notes p. 200 (1,435 words) · Problem Set p. 205 (699 words) · Answer Key p. 208 (872 words)
Narrative sections: From Parts to Patterns · The Four Pillars · Connected Failure Modes · Mass Balance · Free Body Diagrams · Example: Boiler Feedwater Conductivity Is High · The Most Common Diagnostic Error · Worked Cascade: pH Drift in a Cooling Tower · So What Do We Actually Do?
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Bulk Water versus Surface Conditions · Pillar Interaction Matrix · Common Diagnostic Cascades · Mass Balance Calculations · Free Body Diagram: Field Guide
12. Cooling Things Down · p. 211
Hub · Narrative p. 211 (3,507 words) · Engineering Notes p. 222 (2,404 words) · Problem Set p. 230 (892 words) · Answer Key p. 233 (1,193 words)
Narrative sections: The Problem of Heat · Moving Heat · The Scale of the Problem · When Chillers Become Inevitable · What a Chiller Actually Does · The Four Components of a Chiller · The Cooling Tower: The Chiller’s Exit Strategy · When the Cycle Breaks Down · The Cooling Tower Mass Balance · Cycles of Concentration · When the Balance Lies · Why Every Gallon Matters · The Complete Picture of Cooling
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Tower Performance: Range and Approach · Refrigeration Tons vs. Cooling Tower Tons · The Cooling Tower Mass Balance Equations · Water Savings vs. Cycles · Condenser Performance and Approach Temperature · Worked Cooling Tower Mass Balance
13. Heating Things Up · p. 237
Hub · Narrative p. 237 (4,844 words) · Engineering Notes p. 252 (1,111 words) · Problem Set p. 256 (649 words) · Answer Key p. 258 (859 words)
Narrative sections: The Heat Machine · Why Steam · The Expansion · The Boiler Circuit · Pretreatment: Removing Hardness · Ion Exchange: The Swap · The Brine Tank · The Feedwater Tank: Removing Oxygen · The Deaerator: The Mechanical Workhorse · Oxygen Scavengers: The Chemical Insurance · Inside the Boiler · Concentration and Cycles · Carryover: When Boiler Water Escapes with the Steam · The Steam-Condensate Loop: Liquid Gold · Carbonic Acid: The Threat · Amines: The Defense · Steam Traps: The Separators · The Perfect Storm · The Complete Circuit
Engineering Notes sections: Why This Matters in the Field · Core Tools & Constants · Cycles of Concentration (Boiler) · Feedwater and Boiler Water Guidelines · Oxygen Scavenger Stoichiometry: Sodium Sulfite · Condensate Energy Value · Blowdown and Fuel Penalty · Sensor Verification
14. The Blueprint · p. 261
Hub · Narrative p. 261 (2,239 words)
Missing: Engineering Notes, Problem Set, Answer Key
Narrative sections: The Purpose of a Blueprint · What You Now Possess · The Shift · The Responsibility · Wisdom · The Blueprint Method: · Returning to the Mechanical Room
Total book text: 82,470 words, approximately 267 pages at 325 words per page, plus front matter i to xi (narrative 45,727 · engineering notes 16,467 · problem set 7,536 · answer key 9,433 · front matter 3,307).