ChE Plus Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 3

ChE Plus Subscriber - Click Here for a Printable Version

Not a subscriber to ChE Plus?  Join now for a one time fee of $34.99 USD or learn more

This issue of the ChE Plus Newsletter is sponsored by:

In this issue:
 New articles New Articles Available
available
 MS Excel The More You Know: Process Safety Information (PSI)
Content From our guest author, Mike McCue, learn the basics of process safety
Winner information management.  Read the full article.
 Cooling Tower
Equations
Steam Tracing with MS Excel
 Website
Wondering who won the 2005 Spreadsheet Competition here at
Spotlight Cheresources.com?  Read this in-depth article from Andre de Lange as he
 ChE Links add details the brains behind this years winning spreadsheet, "Steam Tracing".  Read
new category the full article.
 Overheard in
the Online Download the spreadsheet here.
Forum
 Software
Results of the MS Excel Spreadsheet Content
Spotlight -
While weEzze Aire impressive entries for our spreadsheet competition,
had many
we could have only
 Discount ofone winner.  As shown above, Andre de Lange of
South Africa was the winner of our $100 prize for his impressive work on
CE Credits
modeling steamTrade
 FREE tracing.  We received too many entries to feature
everyone's work, but these particular entries are available for download
Publications
here at the site.  We'd like to thank everyone for participating.  Stay
 Advertise with
tuned for more promotions and chance to win from
Us
Cheresources.com.

Vapor Pressures
Publish Your
from Antoine Coefficients
Article
- by Chetan Here
Mittal
Column Diameter and HETP Calculation
- by Joyy Dass
Packed Column Scrubber Design Calculation
- by Joyy Dass
Reactor Particle Size and Velocity Calculation
- by Miguel Larocca
Condensate Line Sizing
- by V. Velmurugan
** To download, right-click and select "Save As"

Cooling Tower Equations

Cooling Towers: Design and Operation Considerations

More on Cooling Towers from Cheresources.com:

FREE Resources
Article: Cooling Tower Equations
Experienced-Based Rules for Cooling Towers
ChE Links: Search for "Cooling Towers"
Students: Ask a Question in our Forums
Professionals: Ask a Question in our Forums
Purchase / Subscription Resources
Online Store: Cooling Tower Specification Sheet
CE Course Online: Cooling Towers: Design and Operation
Considerations

    Cooling towers are a very important part of many chemical plants.  They represent a
relatively inexpensive and dependable means of removing low grade heat from cooling
water.

        Figure 1: Closed Loop Cooling Tower System

   The make-up water source is used to replenish water lost to evaporation.  Hot water
from heat exchangers is sent to the cooling tower.   The water exits the cooling tower and
is sent back to the exchangers or to other units for further cooling.

Types of Cooling Towers

    Cooling towers fall into two main sub-divisions:  natural draft and mechanical draft. 
Natural draft designs use very large concrete chimneys to introduce air through the
media.  Due to the tremendous size of these towers (500

ft high and 400 ft in diameter at the base) they are generally used for water flowrates
above 200,000 gal/min.  Usually these types of towers are only used by utility power
stations in the United States.  Mechanical draft cooling
towers are much more widely used.  These towers utilize
large fans to force air through circulated water.   The water falls downward over fill
surfaces which help increase the contact time between the water and the air.  This helps
maximize heat transfer between the two.

Types of Mechanical Draft Towers

   Figure 2: Mechanical Draft Counterflow Tower                 Figure 3: Mechanical Draft Crossflow Tower

   Mechanical draft towers offer control of cooling rates in their fan diameter and speed of
operation.  These towers often contain several areas (each with their own fan) called
cells.

Cooling Tower Theory

   Heat is transferred from water drops to the surrounding air by the transfer of sensible
and latent heat.
 Figure 4: Water Drop with Interfacial Film

   This movement of heat can be modeled with a relation known as the Merkel Equation:

                                                                        (1)

        where:
                KaV/L = tower characteristic
                    K = mass transfer coefficient (lb water/h ft2)
                    a = contact area/tower volume
                    V = active cooling volume/plan area
                    L = water rate (lb/h ft2)
                T1 = hot water temperature (0F or 0C)
                T2 = cold water temperature (0F or 0C)
                T = bulk water temperature (0F or 0C)
                hw = enthalpy of air-water vapor mixture at bulk water temperature
                        (J/kg dry air or Btu/lb dry air)
                ha = enthalpy of air-water vapor mixture at wet bulb temperature
                        (J/kg dry air or Btu/lb dry air)

    Thermodynamics also dictate that the heat removed from the water must be equal to
the heat absorbed by the surrounding air:
                                                                    (2)

                                                                     (3)

where:
     L/G = liquid to gas mass flow ratio (lb/lb or kg/kg)
     T1 = hot water temperature (0F or 0C)
     T2 = cold water temperature (0F or 0C)
      h2 = enthalpy of air-water
vapor mixture at exhaust wet-
bulb temperature (same units
as above)
     h1 = enthalpy of air-water
vapor mixture at inlet wet-bulb
temperature (same units as
above)

The tower characteristic value can be calculated by solving Equation 1 with the
Chebyshev numberical method:

                    (4)

Figure 5: Graphical Representation of Tower Characteristic

   The following represents a key to Figure 5:
C' = Entering air enthalpy at wet-bulb temperature, Twb
BC = Initial enthalpy driving force
CD = Air operating line with slope L/G
DEF = Projecting the exiting air point onto the water operating line and then onto the
            temperature axis shows the outlet air web-bulb temperature

    As shown by Equation 1, by finding the area between ABCD in Figure 5, one can find
the tower characteristic.  An increase in heat load would have the following effects on the
diagram in Figure 5:
1.  Increase in the length of line CD, and a CD line shift to the right
2.  Increases in hot and cold water temperatures
3.  Increases in range and approach areas
    The increased heat load causes the hot water temperature to increase considerably
faster than does the cold water temperature.  Although the area ABCD should remain
constant, it actually decreases about 2% for every 10 0F increase in hot water temperature
above 100 0F.  To account for this decrease, an "adjusted hot water temperature" is usd in
cooling tower design.

Figure 6: Graph of Adjusted Hot Water Temperatures

   The area ABCD is expected to change with a change in L/G, this is very key in the
design of cooling towers.
Cooling Tower Design
    Although KaV/L can be calculated, designers typically use charts found in the Cooling
Tower Institute Blue Book to estimate KaV/L for given design conditions.  It is important
to recall three key points in cooling tower design:
1.  A change in wet bulb temperature (due to atmospheric conditions) will not
change the tower characteristic (KaV/L)
2.  A change in the cooling range will not change KaV/L
3.  Only a change in the L/G ratio will change KaV/L

Figure 7: A Typical Set of Tower Characteristic Curves

   The straight line shown in Figure 7 is a plot of L/G vs KaV/L at a constant airflow. 
The slope of this line is dependent on the tower packing, but can often be assumed to be -
0.60.  Figure 7 represents a typical graph supplied by a manufacturer to the purchasing
company.  From this graph, the plant engineer can see that the proposed tower will be
capable of cooling the water to a temperature that is 10 0F above the wet-bulb
temperature.  This is another key point in cooling tower design.
    Cooling towers are designed according to the highest geographic wet bulb
temperatures.  This temperature will dictate the minimum performance available by the
tower.  As the wet bulb temperature decreases, so will the available cooling water
temperature.  For example, in the cooling tower represented by Figure 7, if the wet bulb
temperature dropped to 75 0F, the cooling water would still be exiting 10 0F above this
temperature (85 0F) due to the tower design.
    Below is the summary of steps in the cooling tower design process in industry.  More
detail on these steps will be given later.
1.  Plant engineer defines the cooling water flowrate, and the inlet and outlet water
temperatures for the tower.
2.  Manufacturer designs the tower to be able to meet this criteria on a "worst case
scenario" (ie. during the hottest months).  The tower characteristic curves and the
estimate is given to the plant engineer.
3.  Plant engineer reviews bids and makes a selection

Design Considerations
   Once a tower characteristic has been established between the plant engineer and the
manufacturer, the manufacturer must design a tower that matches this value.  The
required tower size will be a function of:
1.  Cooling range
2.  Approach to wet bulb temperature
3.  Mass flowrate of water
4.  Web bulb temperature
5.  Air velocity through tower or individual tower cell
6.  Tower height
    In short, nomographs such as the one shown on page 12-15 of Perry's Chemical
Engineers' Handbook 6th Ed. utilize the cold water temperature, wet bulb temperature,
and hot water temperature to find the water concentration in gal/min ft2.   The tower area
can then be calculated by dividing the water circulated by the water concentration. 
General rules are usually used to determine tower height depending on the necessary time
of contact:

Approach to Wet Bulb (0F) Cooling Range (0F) Tower Height (ft)
15-20 25-35 15-20
10-15 25-35 25-30
5-10 25-35 35-40

    Other design characteristics to consider are fan horsepower, pump horsepower, make-
up water source, fogging abatement, and drift eliminators. 

Operation Considerations

Water Make-up
    Water losses include evaporation, drift (water entrained in discharge vapor), and
blowdown (water released to discard solids).  Drift losses are estimated to be between 0.1
and 0.2% of water supply.
Evaporation Loss = 0.00085 * water flowrate(T1-T2)                                 (5)
Blowdown Loss = Evaporation Loss/(cycles-1)                                          (6)
    where cycles is the ratio of solids in the circulating water to the
    solids in the make-up water
Total Losses = Drift Losses + Evaporation Losses + Blowdown Losses      (7)

Cold Weather Operation

    Even during cold weather months, the plant engineer should maintain the design water
flowrate and heat load in each cell of the cooling tower.   If less water is needed due to
temperature changes (ie. the water is colder), one or more cells should be turned off to
maintain the design flow in the other cells.   The water in the base of the tower should be
maintained between 60 and 70 0F by adjusting air volume if necessary.  Usual practice is
to run the fans at half speed or turn them off during colder months to maintain this
temperature range.

You can download a small DOS program that will calculate the tower characteristic or
cold water temperature for a given tower based on a few inputs.  Download here!

Cooling Tower Equations

Cooling towers are part of nearly every chemical processing facility.  Here are some crucial
equations used to understand what is happening in your cooling tower.  These equations were
submitted by Mr. Milton Beychok.  You can read more about cooling towers here at
Cheresourc.com in our article titled "Cooling Towers: Design and Operation Considerations".

Here are the governing relationships for the makeup flow rate, the evaporation and windage losses, the
draw-off rate, and the concentration cycles in an evaporative cooling tower system:

 
 M = Make-up water in gal/min
C = Circulating water in gal/min
D = Draw-off water in gal/min
E = Evaporated water in gal/min
W = Windage loss of water in gal/min
X = Concentration in ppmw (of any completely soluble salts … usually chlorides)

XM = Concentration of chlorides in make-up water (M), in ppmw

XC = Concentration of chlorides in circulating water (C), in ppmw
Cycles = Cycles of concentration = XC / XM
ppmw = parts per million by weight

A water balance around the entire system is:

M=E+D+W

Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts, a chloride balance around the system is:

M (XM) = D (XC) + W (XC) = XC (D + W)

and, therefore:

XC / Xm = Cycles = M / (D + W) = M / (M – E) = 1 + {E / (D + W)}

From a simplified heat balance around the cooling tower:

(E) = (C) (DT) (cp) / HV

where: HV = latent heat of vaporization of water = ca. 1,000 Btu/pound

DT = temperature difference from tower top to tower bottom, in °0F

cp = specific heat of water = 1 Btu/pound/°F

Windage losses (W), in the absence of manufacturer's data, may be assumed to be:

W = 0.3 to 1.0 percent of C for a natural draft cooling tower

W = 0.1 to 0.3 percent of C for an induced draft cooling tower

W = about 0.01 percent of C if the cooling tower has windage drift eliminators

Concentration cycles in petroleum refinery cooling towers usually range from 3 to 7. In some
large power plants, the cooling tower concentration cycles may be much higher.

Website Spotlight
Looking for another great engineering website?   Checkout XCalcs.com.  They feature a list of
useful calculations online in real time from their site.   Calculations include beams, vessel, plates,
pipes, and others.

New Category Available in ChE Links

Dr. Bernhard Spang has added a new category to ChE Links.  Stop by and visit some of the new
sites listed under "Nanotechnology".   Some of the new sites include an Introduction to
Nanotechnology, Friction at the Nano-Scale, What is Nanotechnology, and several others.

Overheard in the Online Forum

Learn How to Use BB Code to Enhance Your Posting

One of our loyal message board participates (Milton Beychok) has posted a guide to use BB code
to properly format your messages.  Read it here.

Reboilers: Kettle versus Thermosiphon Designs

"I would like some guidance on the relative benefits of kettle vs. vertical thermosiphon reboilers in
NGL (DeC3 and DeC4) service.  Specifically we are looking at a turndown of 4:1 and some are
concerned that a thermosiphon would not turndown well.  I am unconviced as the drive
mechanism is based on relative densities and would therefore (I think) be independent of flow
through the exchanger. Alternatively does anyone forsee turndown issues with a kettle?"

Read the replies to this message

Software Spotlight

EZZE AIRE is a utility designed to replace (supplement) the Psychrometric charts used by
Engineers and HVAC specialists in heating, drying and air conditioning design and operations
applications.  Currently, to determine air properties one needs to know two properties to
determine the other 5 properties by using a ruler to extrapolate their values on two paper
psychrometric charts.   This is a very confusing and inconsistent means of determining values to
use in your design or process calculations.  EZZE AIRE removes inconsistencies by transforming
the two Psychrometric charts into a paperless electronic chart which with a few key strokes
produces air property values quickly and with good reproducibility.   In addition, there are sample
problems which cover the most common process and air conditioning applications solved using
EZZE AIRE.   The interface is extremely user-friendly and can be previewed here.

When you're ready to get your copy of EZZE AIRE, you can purchase from the online store and
download the software immediately.
Discounts on CE Credits

Did you know that you can get a 10% discount on a variety of online CE courses offered by
RedVector.com?  Visit the CE Credit section of our online store for instructions.   Remember,
don't put the course in your "basket", use the link provided with each course description to order
from RedVector.com.

FREE Trade Publications

Sign up for our FREE Trade Publications.

Advertise with Us

Our traffic is booming!  Approximately 18,000 people around the globe receive our newsletter and
nearly 80,000 unique visitors a month visit our site.  See our advertising options.