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FRP COOLING TOWER

Cooling towers dissipate heat from recirculating water used to cool chillers, air conditioners, or other process equipment to the ambient air. Heat is rejected to the environment from cooling towers through the process of evaporation. Therefore, by design, cooling towers use significant amounts of water.

Overview

The thermal efficiency and longevity of the cooling tower and equipment depend on the proper management of recirculated water. Water leaves a cooling tower system in one of four ways.

Evaporation: The primary function of the tower and the method that transfers heat from the cooling tower system to the environment.

Drift: A small quantity of water may be carried from the tower as mist or small droplets. Drift loss is small compared to evaporation and blowdown and is controlled with baffles and drift eliminators.

Blowdown: When water evaporates from the tower, dissolved solids (such as calcium, magnesium, chloride, and silica) remain in the recirculating water. As more water evaporates, the concentration of dissolved solids increases. If the concentration gets too high, the solids can cause scale to form within the system. The dissolved solids can also lead to corrosion problems. The concentration of dissolved solids is controlled by removing a portion of the highly concentrated water and replacing it with fresh make-up water. Carefully monitoring and controlling the quantity of blowdown provides the most significant opportunity to conserve water in cooling tower operations.

Basin leaks or overflows: Properly operated towers should not have leaks or overflows. Check float control equipment to ensure the basin level is being maintained properly, and check system valves to make sure there are no unaccounted for losses.

Air handler condensate (water that collects when warm, moist air passes over the cooling coils in air handler units). This reuse is particularly appropriate because the condensate has a low mineral content and is typically generated in greatest quantities when cooling tower loads are the highest