CW System,

Condensers & Cooling

Towers
• Main Function of Condenser
– To remove latent heat from exhaust steam
producing a liquid enabling return to the system
– It must be capable of producing the design back
pressure over a range of conditions
– It must be capable of dealing with 100% steam
from the steam by-pass system.

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• Condenser Position
– Under-slung – axial or transverse
– Pannier Condenser
– Integral Condenser.

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• Condenser may have a number of CW passes
– E.g Double flow or triple flow
• Depends upon such factors as available CW
temperatures, required CW velocity, temperature
pick-up.

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• Design aspects
– Tubes – Brass, Stainless Steel, Titanium
depending upon service requirements
– Tube bundles
– Air Removal suction connections
– Minimum pressure drop
– Required condensate temperature.

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Tube bundles
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Typical Pannier
Condenser Lay-Out:

37 Support Plate

38 Condenser tube bundle

39 Air cooler tube bundle

43 Drain plate

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Pannier Condenser Arrangement 10
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Radial Condenser

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Air Cooled
Condenser :

Cheap to Build
Fans Often Belt
Driven, Maintenance
Costs to Consider
Works Power
Consumption
Similar to CW Pump

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Air Cooled Condenser (2/3) :
Performance Dependant
Upon Ambient
Temperature
Good For Arid Areas
Which have Relatively
Constant Ambient
Conditions
Becoming More Popular
In UK & Europe

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Air Cooled Condenser

SRC = Single Row Condenser 14

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Typical Air Cooled Condenser Installation

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• Condenser Tube Leak
– Conductivity reading before and after
column
– Normal operation before is 6 micro-seimen
– Normal operation after is 0.1 micro-siemen
– In the event of a leak CW mixes with
condensate.

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• Condenser Tube Leak
– cooling water contains, for example, NaCl and
K2SO4
– Sodium Chloride and Potassium Sulphate
– Water leaving the cation column contains HCl and
H2SO4
– Hydrochloric Acid and Sulphuric Acid
– The after column value will increase about 5 times
greater than before.

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Tapprogge Systems

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 Cooling Water Systems

• So far as designs are concerned there are

two main options:

• Once through system (sea or river)

• Re-circulation systems

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Once Through Coastal Cooling Water System

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Syphonic Once Through Cooling Water System

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Indirect Cooling Tower System:

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Hybrid Cooling Tower – Combines wet and dry cooling features

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Natural Draught Cooling Tower:

• Most Efficient Type of Cooling Tower

• Seldom Suffers Plume Lift Problems
• Prone to Structural & Frost Damage
• Expensive to Build
• High Environmental Impact
• Large Area of Land Required

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Cooling Tower Packing:

• Splash Packing Most Durable

• Timber Treated With Arsenic
• Film Packing Most Efficient
• Subject to Sludge Build Up

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Cooling Tower Design-Environmental Aspects

• Current demands with respective to technical

and commercial impact
– Low overall heights of cooling towers requested
– Make up water availability
– No or low plumage appearance permitted
– Low noise limits
– Minimum drift loss.

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• Low overall heights
– Lower priced mechanical draft CT’s
– Incur higher power and maintenance costs
– Possible problem of re-circulation where
part of the exit warm air enters cold air inlet
of other Cooling Tower
– A problem where banks of Cooling Towers
are built.

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• Make Up Water Problems
– Unavailability of water quantities or high cost
– Leads to choice of ACC and subsequent higher
back pressure operation – less efficient than wet
type CT
– ACC has higher capital cost.

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• No Plume
– Produces requirement for Hybrid Cooling
Tower (HCT) - cost is higher than wet
cooling tower type
– Water savings of approximately 10 to 20%
can put into cost equation.

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• Low Noise Limits
– Larger fans may need expensive silencers at
air inlets and outlets.

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• Minimum Drift Loss
– Target for all evaporative CT’s to save water
and prevent neighbourhood from droplet
and freezing rain droplets in winter.
– High efficient plastic drift eliminators,
internal wind bafflesd and effective water
deflectors at the air inlets have to be
installed.

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Simple Single Effect Ejector

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Multi-effect Ejector System

Greater Efficiency
Achieved By Condensing
Original Steam & Cooling
The Air
Second Stage Ejector
Draws Greater Vacuum
For Same Mass of Air

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Liquid Ring Pump :

Positive Displacement
Pump
Carries a Bubble of
Gasses Through
Water Seal
Water Flashes Off if
High Vacuum Occurs

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Liquid Ring Pump :

Sealing Water
System:
Carries away
Gasses
Cools the Pump
Makes up
Evaporation Losses

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Under-Cooling The Condenser
Condensate is Cooled Below Exhaust Steam Saturation Temperature

Some Air Ingress

No Air Ingress
30 mb Steam + 5mb Air;
30 mb Steam; ts = 24.1oC
ts = 26.7oC

Air Suction
Temp 24.1oC

Condensate
Temp 24.1oC

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