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Wet cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer waste heat from industrial and other
processes to the atmosphere. They are used primarily to provide
circulating cooling water in large industrial facilities. The
circulating cooling water absorbs heat by cooling and/or
condensing hot industrial process streams or by cooling hot
rotating machinery and other hot equipment within industrial
facilities. The cooling towers then transfer that absorbed heat to
the atmosphere by evaporating a small part of the circulating
water.
Common industrial applications include cooling the circulating

water used to remove waste heat from petroleum refineries,

natural gas treating plants, petrochemical and other chemical
plants, thermal power plants, and large air conditioning systems.
Small air conditioning units often use cool air (rather than water)
to remove absorbed heat and such systems are referred to as dry
cooling.
Cooling towers vary in size from small roof-top air-conditioning
units to large rectangular structures (as in Figs. 1 and 2) that can
be over 20 metres tall
and 180 metres long or
even larger
hyperboloid structures
(as in Fig. 3) that can
be up to 200 metres
tall and 150 metres in
diameter.
The hyperboloid
cooling towers are
often associated with
nuclear power plants. However, they are also used to some extent in some large industrial facilities.
Although the large hyperboloid cooling towers are very prominent, the vast majority of wet cooling towers
are quite a bit smaller.

How a cooling tower functions

Basically, a cooling tower intimately contacts a flow of warm water with a flow of ambient air which is not
saturated with water vapor (i.e., air containing less water vapor than it is capable of containing). That causes
a small part of the warm water to evaporate and the air absorbs
that evaporated water. The heat required to evaporate part of the
water is derived from the water itself and thereby causes the water
to cool. This process is known as evaporative cooling. The net
result is that the air leaving the tower is saturated with water vapor
and the unevaporated water leaving the cooling tower has been
cooled.[1] [2]
An evaporative cooling tower is referred to as a wet cooling
tower or, more often, simply as a cooling tower. Such towers can
cool water to a temperature that approaches the wet-bulb
temperature of the ambient air. The average ambient air wet-bulb
temperature chosen as the design basis essentially determines

the size of the cooling tower, and the size of a cooling tower is inversely proportional to the design wet-bulb
temperature.
To achieve better performance (i.e., more cooling), a media called fill is used to increase the contact surface
area between the air and water flows.[3] Most fill in modern cooling towers is plastic material.

Applications
As discussed earlier above, the primary use of large, industrial cooling towers is to reject the heat absorbed
in the circulating cooling water systems used in industrial facilities such as petroleum refineries, natural gas
treating plants, petrochemical and other chemical plants, and electric power plants (both thermal and
nuclear).
The circulation rate of cooling water in a typical 700 MW conventional coal-fired power plant with a cooling
tower amounts to about 71,600 cubic metres an hour (315,000 U.S. gallons per minute)[4] and the system
requires a supply water make-up rate of perhaps 5 percent (i.e., 3,600 cubic metres an hour). The largest
users of cooling water in an electric power plant are the surface condensers that condense the exhaust
steam from the large steam turbines that drive the electricity generators.
If that same plant had no cooling tower and used once-through cooling water, it would require about
100,000 cubic metres an hour[5] and that amount of water would have to be continuously returned to the
ocean, lake or river from which it was obtained and continuously re-supplied to the plant. Discharging such
large amounts of warm water may raise the temperature of the receiving body of water to an unacceptable

level for the local ecosystem. A cooling tower serves to dissipate the heat into the atmosphere where wind
and air diffusion spreads the heat over a much larger area than warm water can distribute heat in a body of
water.
Some coal-fired and nuclear power plants located in coastal areas do make use of once-through ocean
water. But even there, the offshore discharge water outlet requires very careful design to avoid
environmental problems.
Petroleum refineries also have very large cooling tower systems. A typical large refinery processing 40,000
metric tonnes of petroleum crude oil per day (300,000 U.S. barrels per day) circulates about 80,000 cubic
metres (352,000 U.S. gallons per minute) of water per hour through its cooling tower system.
This article is devoted to the large-scale cooling towers used in industrial facilities. However, much smaller
cooling towers of various types are used for the air-conditioning of office buildings, hotels, sports arenas,
food storage facilities and many other commercial establishments.

Cooling tower operational variables

Quantitatively, the material balance around a wet, evaporative

cooling tower system is governed by the operational variables
of make-up flow rate, evaporation and drift losses, blowdown
rate, and the concentration cycles:[6]
Referring to the schematic diagram in Fig. 4, water pumped
from the basin at the bottom of the cooling tower is the
cooling water routed through the process stream cooling and
condensing heat exchangers in an industrial facility. The cool
water absorbs heat from the hot process streams which need
to be cooled or condensed, and the absorbed heat warms the
circulating water (C).
The warm water returns to the top of the cooling tower and
trickles downward over the fill material inside the tower. As it
trickles down, it contacts the fan-induced upward flow of
ambient air. That contact causes a portion of the water (E) to
evaporate into water vapor that exits the tower as part of the
water saturated air. A small amount of the water also exits
with the air as entrained droplets of liquid water called drift
losses (D). The heat required to evaporate the water is
derived from the water itself, which cools the water back to
the original basin water temperature and the water is then
ready to recirculate.
The evaporated water leaves its dissolved salts behind in the bulk of the water which has not been
evaporated, thus raising the salt concentration in the circulating cooling water. To prevent the salt
concentration of the circulating water from becoming too high, a portion of the water, referred to as
blowdown (B, is drawn off for disposal. Fresh water make-up (M) is supplied to the tower basin to
compensate for the loss of evaporated water, the drift loss water and the blowdown water.
Defining the various terms:
M = Make-up water in m3/hr
C = Circulating water in m3/hr
B = Blow-down water in m3/hr (also called draw-off)
E = Evaporated water in m3/hr
D = Drift loss of water in m3/hr (also called windage)
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 (dimensionless)
ppmw = parts per million by weight
A water balance around the entire system is:
M=E+D+B

Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts, a chloride balance around the system is:
M (XM) = D (XC) + B (XC) = XC (D + B)
and, therefore:[7]
XC XM = Cycles of concentration = M (D + B) = M (M E) = 1 + [E (D + B)]
From a simplified heat balance around the cooling tower:[8]
E = C T cp HV
where:
HV = latent heat of vaporization of water, 2,260 kJ / kg
T = water temperature difference from tower top to tower bottom, in C
cp = specific heat of water, 4.184 kJ / (kg C)
Modern cooling towers have demisters known as drift eliminators to reduce the amount of drift losses (D)
from large-scale industrial cooling towers. However, some older cooling towers have no drift eliminators. In
the absence of manufacturer's data, drift losses may be assumed to be:
D = 0.3 to 1.0 percent of C for a natural draft cooling tower without drift eliminators
D = 0.1 to 0.3 percent of C for an induced draft cooling tower without drift eliminators
D = about 0.005 percent of C (or less) if the cooling tower has drift eliminators

Cycles of concentration
The cycles of concentration represent the accumulation of dissolved minerals in the recirculating cooling
water. Blowdown of a portion of the circulating water (from the tower basin) is the principal means of
controlling the buildup of these minerals.
The chemistry of the makeup water including the amount of dissolved minerals can vary widely. Makeup
waters low in dissolved minerals such as those from surface water supplies (lakes, rivers etc.) tend to be
aggressive to metals (corrosive). Makeup waters from ground water supplies (wells) are usually higher in
minerals and tend to be scaling (deposit minerals).
As the cycles of concentration increase, the water may not be able to hold the minerals in solution. When
the solubility of these minerals have been exceeded they can precipitate out as mineral solids and cause
fouling and heat exchange problems in the heat exchangers and/or in the cooling tower itself. . The
temperatures of the recirculating water, piping and heat exchange surfaces determine if and where minerals
will precipitate from the recirculating water. Often a professional water treatment consultant will evaluate the
makeup water and the operating conditions of the cooling tower and recommend an appropriate range for

the cycles of concentration. The use of water treatment chemicals, pretreatment such as water softening,
pH adjustment, and other techniques can affect the acceptable range of cycles of concentration.
Concentration cycles in the majority of cooling towers usually range from 3 to 7. In the United States the
majority of water supplies are well waters and have significant levels of dissolved solids. On the other hand,
one of the largest water supplies in the United States (located in the city of New York) has water that is quite
low in minerals and cooling towers in that city are often allowed to concentrate to 7 or more cycles of
concentration.
Besides treating the circulating cooling water in large industrial cooling tower systems to minimize scaling
and fouling, the water should be filtered and also be dosed with biocides and algacides to prevent growths
that could interfere with the continuous flow of the water.[9] Corrosion inhibitors may also be used, but
caution should be taken to meet local environmental regulations as some inhibitors use chromates which
are toxic.

Air flow generation methods

Wet cooling towers may be categorized in terms of how they generate air flow. These are the methods
commonly in use:
Natural draft, which uses the so-called stack effect in a tall enclosed structure where the warm air
inside the structure naturally rises due to the density differential between the inside warm air and the
cooler outside air. Thus, the resulting buoyancy of the inside air relative to the outside air induces an
upward flow of air through the cooling tower.[10] Hyperboloid cooling towers (as shown in Fig.3
above) have become the design standard for large natural-draft cooling towers because of their
structural strength and minimum usage of material. These designs have become popularly
associated with nuclear power plants. However, this association is misleading, as the same kind of
cooling towers are often used at large coal-fired power plants as well.
Mechanical draft, which uses motor-driven fans to either induce or force air through the tower.
Induced draft, which uses a fan at the air exit from the cooling tower to pull or draw air through
the tower.
Forced draft, which uses a fan at the air intake to the cooling tower to push or force air through

the tower.
Fan assisted natural draft , which is a hybrid type that appears like a natural draft tower, though
airflow is assisted by a fan.

Air-to-water flow arrangements

Wet cooling towers may also be categorized in terms of how they arrange the air-to-water flow.

Counter-flow
In the counter-flow design for a wet cooling tower, the flow of the air is directly opposite to the flow of the
water as depicted in Fig. 5 which is a schematic diagram of a counter-flow wet cooling tower.
The air flow first enters an open area beneath the fill material, and then flows up vertically either assisted by
a fan or by natural draft. The water is sprayed through pressurized nozzles near the top of the tower, and
then flows downward through the fill, opposite to that of the air flow.
Advantages of the counter-flow design
Using spray nozzles for water distribution makes the cooling tower more freeze resistant.
Breakup of the water into sprayed droplets makes the heat transfer more efficient.
Disadvantages of the counter-flow design
Typically higher initial and long-term cost, primarily due to the water pump requirements.

Difficult to use variable

water flow, as the spray
pattern characteristics
may be negatively
affected.

Cross-flow
In the cross-flow design for a wet cooling tower, the flow of the water is perpendicular to the flow of the air
as depicted in Fig. 6 which is a schematic diagram of a cross-flow wet cooling tower.
The air flow first enters one or more of the vertical faces of the cooling tower and flows horizontally through
the fill material. Water flows vertically downward (perpendicular to the air) through the fill material by gravity.
The air continues through the fill material (thus past the water flow) into an open plenum . Lastly, a fan
sends the air out into the atmosphere. Warm water distributor basins consisting of a deep pans with holes or
nozzles in their bottoms are located near the top of the cross-flow wet cooling tower. Gravity uniformly
distributes the water through the holes or nozzles across the fill material.
Advantages of the cross-flow design
Gravity water distribution allows less costly pumps and maintenance while in use.
Typically lower initial and long-term cost, mostly due to lesser pump requirements.
Disadvantages of the cross-flow design
More prone to freezing.

Terminology
Drift or windage: Water droplets that are carried out of the cooling tower with the exhaust air. Drift
droplets have the same concentration of impurities as the water entering the tower. The drift rate is
typically reduced by employing baffle-like devices, called drift eliminators, through which the air must
travel after leaving the fill and spray zones of the tower.
Blowdown or drawoff: The portion of the circulating water flow that is removed so as to maintain the
amount of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other impurities at an acceptable low level. Low levels of
TDS reduce the risk of scale, biological growth and corrosion. Increasing the amount of blowdown
and subsequently increasing the amount of clean make-up water is the most practical method of
lowering the TDS level in the circulating water.
Plume: The stream of water saturated exhaust air leaving the cooling tower. The plume is visible
when the water vapor it contains condenses in contact with cooler ambient air, like the saturated air
in one's breath fogs on a cold day. Under certain conditions, a cooling tower plume may present
fogging or icing hazards to its surroundings.
Make-up: The water that is added to the circulating water system to compensate for water losses by
evaporation, drift, blow-out, and blowdown.
Approach: The approach is the difference between the temperature of the cooled water exiting the

tower and the wet bulb temperature of the air entering the tower.
Range: The range is the temperature difference between the entering warm water and the exiting
cooled water.
Fill: The material installed inside the cooling tower to increase the contact surface and contact time
between the air and the water, so as to provide more efficient heat transfer. There are two types of fill
material: the film type which causes the water to spread into a thin film and the splash type which
breaks up the falling water and slows down its vertical flow..
Cycles of concentration: The ratio of the soluble pollutants in the circulating water to the soluble
pollutants in the make-up water. Each specific tower will have a designated maximum cycle of
concentration depending upon the specific make-up water analysis and other local specific
parameters.

Legionnaires disease
Legionellosis (referred to Legionnaires' disease) is a dangerous infectious disease caused by bacteria
belonging to the genus Legionella. In many outbreaks of that disease, air-conditioning cooling towers have
been found to be the source of the disease-causing bacteria. Many governmental agencies, cooling tower
manufacturers and industrial trade organizations have developed design and maintenance guidelines for
preventing or controlling the growth of Legionella in cooling towers.[11] [12] [13] [14]

References
1. ^ Larry Drbal, Kayla Westra and Pat Boston (1996), Power Plant Engineering, 1st Edition, Springer
Publishing, ISBN 0-412-06401-4
2. ^ Editors: Robert H. Perry (deceased), Don W. Green and James O. Maloney (1986), Perry's
Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill Publishing, ISBN 0-07-049479-7
3. ^ Cooling tower fill
4. ^ Cooling System Retrofit Costs , EPA Workshop on Cooling Water Intake Technologies, John
Maulbetsch and Kent Zammit, May 2003
5. ^ United States Department of Energy , Office of Fossil Energys Power Plant Water Management
R&D Program, Thomas J. Feeley, Lindsay Green, James T. Murphy, Jeffrey Hoffmann and Barbara

6.

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

14.

A. Carney, July 2005

^ Milton R.Beychok (1967), Aqueous Wastes from Petroleum and Petrochemical Plants, 1st Edition,
John Wiley and Sons, Library of Congress Control Number 67019834 (available in many university
libraries)
^ Same as reference 6
^ Same as reference 6
^ Same as reference 6
^ Editors: I. Mungan and U. Wittek (2004), Natural Draught Cooling Towers, Taylor & Francis Group,
ISBN 90-5809-642-4
^ SPX (Marley) Cooling Technologies , ASHRAE Guideline 12-2000, Minimizing the Risk of
Legionellosis
^ Technical Guidelines for Control and Prevention of Travel Associated Legionnaires' Disease ,
January 2005, European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI)
^ Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities , Procedure for Cleaning
Cooling Towers and Related Equipment (pp. 225-226), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)
^ Best Practices for Control of Legionella , Cooling Technology Institute

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