Facts At Your Fingertips
Cooling Tower Basics
Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
M
ost modern chemical pro-
cesses require some means
of rejecting heat for maintain-
ing process efficiency, product qual-
ity and plant safety. Examples of heat
rejection include cooling crystalliza-
tion liquid, cooling reactor effluent,
condensing material from a distil-
lation column and cooling steps in
manufacturing processes.
Heat-transfer fluids, including water,
can absorb heat from machinery or
heated process material in circulating
cooling systems in industrial facilities,
but the water must be cooled before
it can be recirculated through the
system. Cooling towers provide a
means to release this excess heat into
the atmosphere, allowing the water
to return to a suitable temperature for
reuse in the process. This one-page
reference reviews the basic operating
principles and performance parameters
for industrial cooling towers.
Evaporative cooling
Industrial cooling towers are special
types of heat-transfer equipment
designed to reject heat from water to
air by direct contact. Water is usually
chosen as the cooling medium
because it is the least expensive and
most widely available option. Cooling
towers receive warm water from the
process and return cooled water
at a specific design temperature.
The water’s temperature is lowered
via evaporative cooling, where
evaporating liquid carries heat away
from the bulk liquid. Contact between
warm water and cooler air releases
the latent heat of vaporization,
causing the water to cool. Ambient air
carries the evaporated water out of
the cooling tower.
The warm water is often sprayed
to increase air-to-water contact and
evaporation. The sprayed water
contacts ambient air, evaporation
occurs and and the humidity of the
outgoing air increases (Figure 1).
Maximizing the water-to-air weight
ratio increases the evaporation of the
water.
Since an increased quantity of water
evaporating generates more cooling,
22
Hot air and water vapor
airflow in the cooling tower is
an important parameter. In me-
chanically induced-draft cooling Fan
towers, a fan is used to force air Hot
water in
upward through the fill media. Nozzles
Natural-draft cooling towers use
natural convective flow to circu-
late air. Fill media
Cooling-tower elements Cool
There are several different com- air in
Cool water
monly used cooling tower ar- basin
rangements. But most have the Cool
water out
following basic components.
Distribution system: Spray
nozzles distribute warmed wa- Makeup water Blowdown
ter over the fill media. FIGURE 1. Cooling towers provide a means of releasing excess heat
Fill media: Fill media are struc- to the environment so cooling water can be recirculated through
a system
tured materials designed to
maximize the contact area between air ing temperature of the tower and is the
and water. Often made from polyvinyl most important parameter in deter-
chloride (PVC) or other materials, such mining both tower size and cost.
as stainless steel, polypropylene or fi- Dry-bulb temperature. Dry-bulb tem-
berglass, the fill media provide a high perature is the ambient air temperature.
surface area for air-water contact. Wet-bulb temperature. The wet-
Cooled water basin: After passing bulb temperature is lowest possible
through the fill media, cooled water is temperature the air can reach when
collected in a basin at the bottom of air and water come into contact with
the cooling tower. each other, and is an indication of the
Fans. Fans are often used in cooling heat content of the air.
towers to induce airflow and increase Relative humidity. Relative humidity
the rate of evaporation. (RH) is the ratio between the amount
Drift eliminator: Drift eliminators are of water vapor actually present in
parallel blades arranged on the air- the air, and the maximum amount
discharge side of the cooling tower. of moisture the air can hold at that
They are designed to reduce the loss temperature. At 100% RH, no more
of entrained water exiting the cooling water can evaporate into the air from
tower with the airstream. Air passes the surrounding environment.
through drift eliminators relatively L/G ratio. This is the liquid (water) to
unhindered, but water droplets contact gas (air) mass flow ratio.
the blades and drip back to the basin. Blowdown: As cooling-tower water
is circulated and water evaporates,
Cooling tower key terms total dissolved solids, including salts
The following terms are relevant for and scaling minerals concentrate in
describing cooling-tower operation the water. Before the concentration
and performance. gets too high, some water is removed
Cooling range. Cooling range is the and replaced with fresh water. This
difference in temperature between process is termed blowdown.
the hot water entering the tower and Drift. Drift refers to the water entrained
the cooled water leaving the tower. in the airflow and discharged into
Approach. The approach represents the atmosphere. Drift loss does not
the difference between the temper- include water lost by evaporation.
ature of the cooled water leaving the Makeup water. Makeup water is the
tower and the wet-bulb temperature amount of water required to replace
of the surrounding air. The establish- normal losses caused by bleed-off,
ment of the approach fixes the operat- drift and evaporation. n
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