presentation on cooling tower

2. Khalid nawaz
cell no: (0300-7024407)
institute of chemical engineering and technology Lahore Pakistan

4. The cooling tower is one of the most important device in
chemical industries for example when the hot water come
from heat exchanger we use the cooling tower to cool it.
The purpose of cooling tower is to cool relatively warm
water by contacting with unsaturated air. The evaporation
of water mainly provides cooling.
In a typical water cooling water tower, warm water flows
countercurrent to an air stream. Typically, the warm water
enters the top of packed tower and cascades down through
the packing, leaving at the bottom.

5. Air enters at the bottom of the tower and flows upward
through the descending water. The tower packing often
consists of slats of plastic or of packed bed. The water is
distributed by troughs and overflows to cascade over slat
gratings or packing that provides large interfacial areas of
contact between the water and air in the form of droplets
and films of water. The flow of air upward through the
tower can be induced by the buoyancy of the warm air in
the tower (natural draft) or by the action of a fan.
The water cannot be cooled below the wet bulb
temperature. The driving force for the evaporation of the
water is approximately the vapor pressure of the water less
the vapor pressure it would have at the wet bulb
temperature.

6. What Does A Cooling Tower
Do?
 Cooling Towers are used to
transfer heat from cooling
water to the atmosphere.
– Promotes efficient water
usage
– Prevents environmental
damage

7. Where cooling tower used
Used in power stations, oil refineries,
petrochemical plants and natural gas plants.
Cooling water is continuously circulated through
heat exchangers to absorb heat from process
material and machinery.
Because it's cost efficient to reuse water and plants can't
dump excessive amounts of hot water into rivers and lakes,
cooling towers are used to remove the heat from the water,
so it can be recirculated.

8. How Does It Work?

9. Parts Of Cooling Tower
 Frame and casing. Most towers have structural frames that support the exterior
enclosures (casings), motors, fans, and other components. With some smaller designs,
such as some glass fiber units, the casing may essentially be the frame.
 Fill. Most towers employ fills (made of plastic or wood) to facilitate heat transfer by
maximizing water and air contact. There are two types of fill:
 Splash fill: water falls over successive layers of horizontal splash bars, continuously
breaking into smaller droplets, while also wetting the fill surface. Plastic splash fills
promote better heat transfer than wood splash fills.
 Film fill: consists of thin, closely spaced plastic surfaces over which the water spreads,
forming a thin film in contact with the air. These surfaces may be flat, corrugated,
honeycombed, or other patterns. The film type of fill is the more efficient and provides
same heat transfer in a smaller volume than the splash fill.
 Cold-water basin. The cold-water basin is located at or near the bottom of the tower,
and it receives the cooled water that flows down through the tower and fill. The basin
usually has a sump or low point for the cold-water discharge connection. In many tower
designs, the cold-water basin is beneath the entire fill. In some forced draft counter flow
design, however, the water at the bottom of the fill is channeled to a perimeter trough
that functions as the cold-water basin. Propeller fans are mounted beneath the fill to
blow the air up through the tower. With this design, the tower is mounted on legs,
providing easy access to the fans and their motors.

10. Fill:
Most towers employ fills (made of
plastic or wood) to facilitate heat
transfer by maximizing water and
air contact. Fill can either be splash
or film type.
With splash fill, water falls over
successive layers of horizontal
splash bars, continuously breaking
into smaller droplets, while also
wetting the fill surface. Plastic
splash fill promotes better heat
transfer than the wood splash fill.
Film fill consists of thin, closely
spaced plastic surfaces over which
the water spreads, forming a thin
film in contact with the air. These
surfaces may be flat, corrugated,
honeycombed, or other patterns.
The film type of fill is the more
efficient and provides same heat
transfer in a smaller volume than
the splash fill.

11.  Drift eliminators. These capture water droplets entrapped in the air stream that
otherwise would be lost to the atmosphere.
 Air inlet. This is the point of entry for the air entering a tower. The inlet may take up an
entire side of a tower (cross-flow design) or be located low on the side or the bottom of
the tower (counter-flow design).
 Louvers. Generally, cross-flow towers have inlet louvers. The purpose of louvers is to
equalize air flow into the fill and retain the water within the tower. Many counter flow
tower designs do not require louvers.
 Nozzles. These spray water to wet the fill. Uniform water distribution at the top of the fill
is essential to achieve proper wetting of the entire fill surface. Nozzles can either be fixed
and spray in a round or square patterns, or they can be part of a rotating assembly as
found in some circular cross-section towers.
 Fans. Both axial (propeller type) and centrifugal fans are used in towers. Generally,
propeller fans are used in induced draft towers and both propeller and centrifugal fans
are found in forced draft towers. Depending upon their size, the type of propeller fans
used is either fixed or variable pitch. A fan with non-automatic adjustable pitch blades
can be used over a wide kW range because the fan can be adjusted to deliver the desired
air flow at the lowest power consumption. Automatic variable pitch blades can vary air
flow in response to changing load conditions.

12. Cooling tower material
 Wood--- frame, casing, louvers, fill, and cold water
basin (or concrete)
 Galvanised steel, various grades of stainless steel,
glass fibre and concrete, aluminium and various
types of plastics for some components
 Large towers are made of CONCRETE
 Plastics are widely used for FILL, including PVC,
polypropylene and other polymers
 Plastics also find wide use in nozzle materials

13. Cooling Tower Types

Cooling
towers
fall
into
two
main
categories: Natural draft and Mechanical draft.
Mechanical draft towers are available in the
following airflow arrangements:

1.
2.
3.
Counter flows induced draft.
Counter flow forced draft.
Cross flow induced draft.

14. Cross flow
Cross flow is a design
in which the air flow is
directed
perpendicular to the
water flow (see
diagram below). Air
flow enters one or
more vertical faces of
the cooling tower to
meet the fill material.
Water flows
(perpendicular to the
air) through the fill by
gravity.

15. Counter flow
In a counter flow design the
air flow is directly opposite
of the water flow (see
diagram below). Air flow
first enters an open area
beneath the fill media and
is then drawn up vertically.
The water is sprayed
through pressurized
nozzles and flows
downward through the fill,
opposite to the air flow.

16. Natural draft, which utilizes
buoyancy via a tall chimney.
Warm, moist air naturally rises
due to the density differential to
the dry, cooler outside air. Warm
moist air is less dense than drier
air at the same temperature and
pressure. This moist air
buoyancy produces a current of
air through the tower.
This photo shows a single
natural draft cooling tower as
used at a European plant.
Natural draft towers are typically
about 400 ft (120 m) high,
depending on the differential
pressure between the cold
outside air and the hot humid air
on the inside of the tower as the
driving force. No fans are used.

17. • The natural draft or hyperbolic cooling tower makes use of the
difference in temperature between the ambient air and the hotter air
inside the tower. It works as follows:
• Hot air moves upwards through the tower (because hot air rises)
• Fresh cool air is drawn into the tower through an air inlet at the bottom.
• Due to the layout of the tower, no fan is required and there is almost no
circulation of hot air that could affect the performance. Concrete is
used for the tower shell with a height of up to 200 m. These cooling
towers are mostly only for large heat duties because large concrete
structures are expensive.

20. • Air drawn up
of Cooling Towers through falling
water
• Fill located
Natural Draft Cooling Towers tower
inside
• Air drawn across
Types
falling water
• Fill located
outside tower
Cross flow
(Gulf Coast Chemical Commercial Inc.)
Counter flow
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21. Types of natural draft cooling
tower
 There are two main types of natural draft towers:
• Cross flow tower (left figure): air is drawn across the
falling water and the fill is located outside the tower
• Counter flow tower (right figure): air is drawn up
through the falling water and the fill is therefore
located inside the tower, although design depends on
specific site conditions

22. Types of Cooling Towers
Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers
• Large fans to force air through
circulated water
• Water falls over fill surfaces:
maximum heat transfer
• Cooling rates depend on many
parameters
• Large range of capacities
• Can be grouped, e.g. 8-cell tower
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23. • Mechanical draft towers have large fans to force or draw air through circulated
water. The water falls downwards over fill surfaces, which help increase the
contact time between the water and the air - this helps maximize heat transfer
between the two.
• Cooling rates of mechanical draft towers depend upon various parameters such
as fan diameter and speed of operation, fills for system resistance etc.
• Mechanical draft towers are available in a large range of capacities. Towers can
be either factory built or field erected – for example concrete towers are only
field erected.
• Many towers are constructed so that they can be grouped together to achieve
the desired capacity. Thus, many cooling towers are assemblies of two or more
individual cooling towers or “cells.” The number of cells they have, e.g., a eightcell tower, often refers to such towers.

24. Types of Cooling Towers
Forced Draft Cooling Towers
•
•
Advantages: suited for
high air resistance & fans
are relatively quiet
•
(GEO4VA)
Air blown through tower
by centrifugal fan at air
inlet
Disadvantages:
recirculation due to high
air-entry and low air-exit
velocities
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25. A mechanical draft tower with a blower
type fan at the intake. The fan forces air
into the tower, creating high entering
and low exiting air velocities. The low
exiting velocity is much more
susceptible to recirculation. With the
fan on the air intake, the fan is more
susceptible to complications due to
freezing conditions. Another
disadvantage is that a forced draft
design typically requires more motor
horsepower than an equivalent induced
draft design. The forced draft benefit is
its ability to work with high static
pressure. They can be installed in more
confined spaces and even in some
indoor situations. This fan/fill geometry
is also known as blow-through.

26.  Forced draft cooling tower
• How it works: air is blown through the tower by a fan
located in the air inlet
• Advantages:
• Suited for high air resistance due to centrifugal blower fans
• Fans are relatively quiet
• Disadvantages: Recirculation due to high air-entry and low
air-exit velocities, which can be solved by locating towers
in plant rooms combined with discharge ducts

28. Types of Cooling Towers
Induced Draft Cooling Towers
•
Two types
• Cross flow
• Counter flow
•
Advantage: less recirculation than forced draft towers
•
Disadvantage: fans and motor drive mechanism require
weather-proofinh
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29. • Two types of induced draft cooling towers: cross flow
and counter flow
• Advantage: Less recirculation than forced draft towers
because the speed of exit air is 3-4 times higher than
entering air
• Disadvantage: Fans and the motor drive mechanism
require weather-proofing against moisture and
corrosion because they are in the path of humid exit
air

30. Types of Cooling Towers
Induced Draft Counter Flow CT
•
Hot water enters at the top
•
Air enters at bottom and exits at top
•
Uses forced and induced draft fans
(GEO4VA)
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31. Types of Cooling Towers
Induced Draft Cross Flow CT
•
Water enters top and passes over fill
•
Air enters on one side or opposite sides
•
Induced draft fan draws air across fill
(GEO4VA)
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32. Air/water systems
Dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature
wet cloth/wick
Air flow
Dry bulb temperature:
the ordinary temperature you
measure with e thermometer
Evaporation requires energy. The wick and therefore the
thermometer bulb decreases in temperature below the
dry-bulb temperature until the rate of heat transfer from
the warmer air to the wick is just equal to the rate of heat
transfer needed to provide for the evaporation of water
from the wick into the air stream.
The temperature reached is called the wet-bulb
temperature

33. Cooling tower Performance

34. Performance
 These measured parameters and then used to determine the cooling
tower performance in several ways. These are:
1. Range
2. Approach
3. Effectiveness
4. Cooling capacity
5. Evaporation loss
6. Cycles of concentration
7. Blow down losses
8. Liquid / Gas ratio
 We will now go through each of these parameters on the next slides

35. Assessment of Cooling Towers
1. Range
Hot Water Temperature (In)
Range
Difference between
cooling water inlet and
outlet temperature:
Range (°C) = CW inlet
temp – CW outlet temp
(In) to the Tower
(Out) from the
Tower
High range = good
performance
Approach
Cold Water Temperature (Out)
Wet Bulb Temperature (Ambient)
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36. • The range is the difference between the cooling tower water
inlet and outlet temperature.
• The formula for cooling tower range in degrees Celcius is
cooling water inlet temperature minus cooling water outlet
temperature
• A high CT Range means that the cooling tower has been
able to reduce the water temperature effectively, and is thus
performing well.

37. Assessment of Cooling Towers
2. Approach
Approach (°C) =
CW outlet temp – Wet
bulb temp
Low approach = good
performance
Range
Hot Water Temperature (In)
Approach
Difference between
cooling tower outlet cold
water temperature and
ambient wet bulb
temperature:
(In) to the Tower
(Out) from the
Tower
Cold Water Temperature
(Out)
Wet Bulb Temperature
(Ambient)
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38. • Approach is the difference between the cooling tower outlet
cold-water temperature and ambient wet bulb temperature.
• The formula for approach is CT Approach in degrees
Celcius is cold water outlet temperature minus the wet bulb
temperature
• The lower the approach the better the cooling tower
performance. Although, both range and approach should
be monitored, the `Approach’ is a better indicator of
cooling tower performance.

39. Assessment of Cooling Towers
3. Effectiveness
Hot Water Temperature (In)
= Range / (Range +
Approach)
Range
Effectiveness in %
High effectiveness =
good performance
Approach
= 100 x (CW temp – CW
out temp) / (CW in
temp – Wet bulb temp)
(In) to the Tower
(Out) from the
Tower
Cold Water Temperature
(Out)
Wet Bulb Temperature
(Ambient)
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40. • Cooling tower effectiveness is the ratio between the range
and the ideal range (in percentage), i.e. difference between
cooling water inlet temperature and ambient wet bulb
temperature
• Effectiveness = Range / (Range + Approach)
• The formula for cooling tower effectiveness is: CT
Effectiveness (%) = 100 x (CW temp – CW out temp) / (CW
in temp – WB temp)
• The higher this ratio, the higher the cooling tower
effectiveness.

41. Assessment of Cooling Towers
4. Cooling Capacity
= mass flow rate of water
X specific heat X
temperature difference
High cooling capacity =
good performance
Approach
Heat rejected in kCal/hr
or tons of refrigeration
(TR)
Range
Hot Water Temperature (In)
(In) to the Tower
(Out) from the
Tower
Cold Water Temperature
(Out)
Wet Bulb Temperature
(Ambient)
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42. Assessment of Cooling Towers
5. Evaporation Loss
Hot Water Temperature
(In)
= 0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation
rate (m3/hr) x (T1-T2)
Approach
= theoretically, 1.8 m3 for
every 10,000,000 kCal heat
rejected
Range
Water quantity (m3/hr)
evaporated for cooling duty
(In) to the Tower
(Out) from the
Tower
Cold Water Temperature
(Out)
Wet Bulb Temperature
(Ambient)
T1-T2 = Temp. difference
between inlet and outlet water
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43.  The main areas for improving the energy efficiency of
cooling towers are:
1. Selecting the right cooling tower (because the structural
aspects of the cooling tower cannot be changed after it is
installed)
2. Fills
3. Pumps and water distribution system
4.Fans and motors
 We will go through these one by one on the next slides.

44. • Once a cooling tower is in place it is very difficult to significantly improve its
energy performance. A number of factors are of influence on the cooling
tower’s performance and should be considered when choosing a cooling tower:
capacity, range, approach, heat load, wet bulb temperature, and the
relationship between these factors. We will start with capacity.
• Capacity, in terms of heat dissipation (in kCal/hour) and circulated flow rate
(m3/hr), are an indication of the capacity of cooling towers. However, these
design parameters are not sufficient to understand the cooling tower
performance.
• For example, a cooling tower sized to cool 4540 m3/hr through a 13.9 0C range
might be larger than a cooling tower to cool 4540 m3/hr through 19.5 0C range.
Therefore other design parameters are also needed.

45. Factors affecting Cooling tower performance
Wet Bulb Temperature

WBT of air entering the cooling tower determines
operating temperature levels throughout the plant,
process or system.

Recirculation raises the effective WBT of the air
entering the tower with corresponding increase in
cold water temperature.

46. 

•
•
•
•
•
Wet bulb temperature is an important factor in performance of evaporative water cooling equipment, because it is the
lowest temperature to which water can be cooled. For this reason, the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the
cooling tower determines the minimum operating temperature level throughout the plant, process, or system.
The following should be considered when pre-selecting a cooling tower based on the wet bulb temperature:
Theoretically, a cooling tower will cool water to the entering wet bulb temperature. In practice, however, water is
cooled to a temperature higher than the wet bulb temperature because heat needs to be rejected from the cooling
tower.
A pre-selection of towers based on the design wet bulb temperature must consider conditions at the tower site. The
design wet bulb temperature also should not be exceeded for more than 5 percent of the time. In general, the design
temperature selected is close to the average maximum wet bulb temperature in summer.
Confirm whether the wet bulb temperature is specified as ambient (the temperature in the cooling tower area) or inlet
(the temperature of the air entering the tower, which is often affected by discharge vapors recirculated into the tower).
As the impact of recirculation cannot be known in advance, the ambient wet bulb temperature is preferred.
Confirm with the supplier if the cooling tower is able to deal with the effects of increased wet bulb temperatures.
The cold-water temperature must be low enough to exchange heat or to condense vapors at the optimum temperature
level. The quantity and temperature of heat exchanged can be considered when choosing the right size cooling tower
and heat exchangers at the lowest costs. .

47. Factors affecting Cooling tower performance
Fill Media Effects

Function: Heat exchange between air and water is influenced
by surface area of heat exchange, time of heat exchange and
turbulence in water effecting thoroughness of intermixing.

Due to fewer requirements of air and pumping head, there is a
tremendous saving in power with the intervention of film fill.

Recently, low clog film fills with higher flute sizes have been
developed to handle high turbid waters. (sea water)

48. Facts
 The flow rate through a cooling tower in a typical
700 MW power plant is about 315,000 gal/min.
 Cooling towers have 95% efficiency, losing only
5% of circulating water to evaporation.
 Power consumption is minimal due to few moving
parts.
 Cooling towers save plants thousands to millions
of dollars per year in water consumption and
recycling costs.

49. Energy Saving Opportunities in Cooling Towers
Follow manufacturer’s recommended clearances around cooling towers and
relocate or modify structures that interfere with the air intake or exhaust.
Optimise cooling tower fan blade angle on a seasonal and/or load basis.
Correct excessive and/or uneven fan blade tip clearance and poor fan balance.
On old counter-flow cooling towers, replace old spray type nozzles with new
square spray ABS practically non-clogging nozzles.
Replace splash bars with self-extinguishing PVC cellular film fill.
Install new nozzles to obtain a more uniform water pattern
Periodically clean plugged cooling tower distribution nozzles.
Balance flow to cooling tower hot water basins.
Cover hot water basins to minimise algae growth that contributes to fouling.
Optimise blow down flow rate, as per COC limit.
Replace slat type drift eliminators with low pressure drop, self extinguishing,
PVC cellular units.
Restrict flows through large loads to design values.