Cooling towers

Cooling tower is used to reduce the temperature of water close to wet

bulb temperature of air through evaporation of water. Different types of
cooling Cooling tower is used to reduce the temperature of water close
to wet bulb temperature of air through evaporation of water. Different
types of cooling.
Standards components
1. Management The industry shall undertake the following:
and control A. Install automatic/ thermostatic controller in cooling tower to switch off cooling tower fans
automatically when the temperatures of return water and supply water are almost same.
B. Install variable frequency drive (VFD) for varying cooling demands in the process.
C. Use cellular PVC (poly vinyl chloride) drift eliminators in place of wooden blade drift
eliminators.
D. Use PVC fills in place of wooden bars.
E. Ensure proper functioning of drift eliminators to control drift losses within limits as provided in
Table.
F. Maintain cycle of concentration (COC) within the limit as provided in Table to minimize make-
up water consumption in cooling water.
G. Use on-line monitoring for centralized large system and periodical measurement for
decentralized smaller cooling tower.
2. Measurement The industry shall measure and record the following:
and recording A. Quantity of make-up water addition used towards compensation of water losses, such as
evaporation loss, drift loss, blowdown loss, etc., on daily basis.
B. Electricity consumption of the cooling tower (includes associated fans and pumps with
dedicated energy meter in place.
C. Inlet and outlet temperatures of water, water flow rate and its pressure on daily basis.
D. Ambient conditions that include dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, and relative
humidity.
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3. Maintenance The industry shall undertake the following:
and inspection A. Undertake visual inspection of fills in the cooling tower once in three months to
ensure proper distribution of water.
B. Carry out chemical disinfection of cooling water sump to avoid micro-organism
growth.
4. Necessary The industry shall consider the following:
measures when A. Undertake load assessment for selection of suitable cooling tower system.
installing new B. Install cooling tower with moulded FRP fans of aerofoil design.
facilities C. Install multiple cooling tower systems in parallel in place of a single large system
to meet higher volume requirements of cooling water.

Target The industry shall:

components A. Maintain cycle of concentration (COC) of 8 to 10 for optimum performance.
B. Maintain an approach of 4 °C – 5 °C.
C. Control the drift loss 0.001% – 0.005% of circulating flow rate.
Common monitorable parameters and performance assessment
The industry shall monitor the following common monitorable parameters as shown in Table to
assess the performance of cooling tower.
The performance of cooling tower can be assessed using following formula.

Range = Entering cooling water temperature (return from process) – Leaving water temperature (supply to
process)
Approach = Cooling water temperature (supply to process) –Ambient wet bulb temperature

The industry shall refer to the typical performance indicators of cooling towers as provided in the following Table