Cooling Towers

AN EXTENSIVE APPROACH

Outline

Overview of heat transfer through evaporation

Overview of relevant terms related to cooling operations

Introduction to cooling towers

Basic working principle of a cooling tower

Classification of cooling towers

Major components of a cooling tower

Design of natural draft cooling tower with numerical example

Strategies to improve cooling tower performance

Importance of cooling towers in Chemical Process Industry

References

Evaporation

Evaporation is the conversion of a liquid phase of a material or

substance to a vapor phase at a specific temperature and pressure.

At normal temperature and pressure, all liquids posses a liquid and

vapor phase, which are in equilibrium with each other, if the
temperature and pressure conditions remain the same.

Rate of evaporation of a liquid is affected by the change in ambient

temperature and pressure conditions.

The change affects the vapor pressure of the liquid, causing an

increase or decrease in rate of evaporation.

Why evaporation causes cooling ?

Evaporation results in vapor escaping from the surface of the

liquid.

The vapors require energy to escape.

That energy is heat.

As vapors escape the surface, they carry with them some heat
content of the liquid, and thus cause the liquid surface to cool.

Terminologies relevant to cooling

operations

Humidity Amount of vapor associated with a unit mass of dry gas.

Relative humidity Ratio of partial pressure of vapor in gas to the partial

pressure of vapor in same gas at saturation.

Humidification Process of increasing the amount of vapor in a gas stream.

De-humidification The opposite of humidification i.e. the process of

decreasing the amount of vapor in a gas stream.

Wet-bulb temperature The lowest temperature that water theoretically

can reach by evaporation.

Factors affecting rate of

evaporation

Some major factors include

Temperature and pressure of the liquid being evaporated.

Temperature and pressure of the ambient gas which will accept the
vapors from incoming liquid.

Humidity of the ambient gas.

Flow conditions for liquid and gas.

Weather conditions in case of open-air evaporation generally

describing the temperature, pressure, and velocity of ambient air
e.g., water evaporating from a pond.

Cooling towers

As per the definition of Cooling Technology Institute (CTI), USA

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device,
which extracts waste heat to the atmosphere
though the cooling of a water stream
to a lower temperature.

Cooling towers are used in process industries to cool off effluent water from various heat
transfer equipment e.g., condensate from a condenser.

Cooling towers, in general, cool the water to a temperature below the dry-bulb and above
the wet-bulb temperature of air at the present conditions.

The cooled water is sent back to the process for reuse, thus emphasizing conservation of
water.

Basic working principle of a

cooling tower

Considering an example of an air-water system, the basic

working principle of a cooling tower can be listed as,
1.

Hot water and relatively cool ambient air enter the cooling tower.

2.

Heat transfer between the air stream and the water stream occurs.

3.

Hot water transfers its heat to the ambient air and becomes cool.

4.

Cool water is removed from the cooling tower and sent back to the
process plant.

5.

The resulting hot air rises and is, generally, removed from the top of
the tower by virtue of its low density.

Classification of cooling towers

Cooling towers are generally classified based on the following

factors,
1.

Method by which air is introduced into the tower.

2.

Flow configuration inside the tower.

3.

Method of heat transfer / heat removal.

1. Air Introduction Method

NO.

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Natural draft cooling

towers

Air movement is regulated without any help

of a mechanical fan or regulator and is
dependent on the height and size of the
tower

Mechanical draft
cooling towers

Air is regulated by means of mechanical

fans. It has two further types based on the
positioning of the fan
Induced mechanical draft where the
fan is positioned on the top side of the
tower
Forced mechanical draft where the fan
is positioned at the bottom side of the
tower

2. Flow configuration
NO.
1

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Cross flow configuration The air stream enters the tower in a

direction perpendicular to that of flow of
water e.g., air entering from the sides of the
cooling tower in association with the water
stream entering from the top of the tower

Counter-current flow
configuration

The air stream and water stream flow in

parallel but opposite direction inside the
tower e.g., air entering from below and
water entering from the top of the tower

Co-current flow
configuration

The air stream and water stream flow in

parallel and same direction inside the
tower

2. Flow Configuration (contd.)

3. Method of Heat Transfer

NO.

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Dry cooling towers

Transfer heat through a surface which

separates the working fluid from ambient air
e.g., tube to air heat exchanger. No
evaporation occurs in dry cooling towers

Wet cooling towers

Transfer heat on the principle of evaporative

cooling e.g., hyperbolic natural draft cooling
towers used in power plants

Wet-dry hybrid cooling

towers

Combination
of
an
air-cooled
heat
exchanger and a wet cooling tower to cool
off the required fluid

Evaporative condenser
cooling tower

Principle of wet cooling tower is applied to

cool a process fluid which remains isolated
from the cooling tower fluids (usually air and
water)

3. Method of Heat Transfer

(contd.)

Wet-dry cooling tower

Evaporative condenser cooling tower

Major components of a cooling

tower
NO.

NAME OF
COMPONENT

FUNCTION

MATERIAL OF
CONSTRUCTION

Frame and
casing

Supports exterior enclosures

SS 316/304,
Concrete, Fiber
glass

Fill

Increases contact between air

and water, facilitating heat
transfer. Has two types; Splash
fill and Film fill

PVC, wood,
Polypropylene

Cold water basin

Receives water at the bottom

of the tower

SS 316, Concrete

Drift eliminators

Reduce loss of water due to

windage/drift

PVC, Polypropylene

Major components of a cooling

tower (contd.)
NO.

NAME OF
COMPONENT

FUNCTION

Air inlet

Enables air to enter the tower

Louvers

Louvers equalize air flow into the fill and

retain the water within the tower

Nozzles / Spray tree

Distributes water to wet the fill

Fans

Regulate air flow in case of mechanical

draft towers

Design of a cooling tower

Design procedure of a hyperbolic natural draft cooling tower is

taken as reference.

Design of a cooling tower (contd.)

Important parameters prerequisite to design,

CLASS

MEASURED
PARAMETER
S

NO.

NAME

SYMBOL

UNITS

Wet bulb
temperature of air

Dry bulb
temperature of air

Inlet water
temperature

Outlet water
temperature

Water mass flow

rate / Water load

kg/sec

Enthalpy change
(air passing
through tower)

kJ/kg

Design of a cooling tower (contd.)

CLASS

PERFORMAN
CE
PARAMETER
S

NO
.

NAME

SYMBOL

DESCRIPTION

Range

Approach

Effectiveness

Cooling capacity

kW

Performance
coefficient

Value is usually 5.2 or

lower

UNIT
S

--

Design of a cooling tower (contd.)

CLASS

DESIGN
PARAMETE
RS

NO
.

NAME

SYMBOL

DESCRIPTION

Duty coefficient

--

Base area of tower

m2

Height of tower

Diameter of tower

Assumed values are used during

calculations to confine to a height to
diameter ratio of 3:2; in case of
hyperbolic natural draft towers

UNIT
S

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical example

Numerical example, with reference to Coulson & Richardson, Chemical

Engineering Vol.1, 6th Edition.

Q. (a) Determine the diameter and height of a hyperbolic natural draft

cooling tower handling 6500 kg/s of water under the following conditions.
Inlet water temperature = 318 K
Outlet water temperature = 313 K
Dry bulb temperature of air = 301 K
Wet bulb temperature of air = 295 K

(b) Determine the effectiveness and cooling capacity for the specified
tower.

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical solution
Available values
= 295 K
= 301 K
= 318 K
= 313 K
= 6500 kg/s

Required values

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical solution (contd.)

1.

Range = = 318 313 = 5 K

2.

Approach = = 313 295 = 18 K

3.

Mean temperature of water = = 0.5*(318 +313) = 315.5 K

4.

Using a humidity-enthalpy chart, we shall calculate values of enthalpy of

air at the mean temperature of water and at the dry bulb temperature

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical solution (contd.)

5.

The corresponding values of enthalpies at mean water temperature and

dry bulb temperature are approximately 150 kJ/kg and 83 kJ/kg

6.

Enthalpy change of passing air = = 150 83 = 67 kJ/kg

7.

Duty coefficient = = 27388

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical solution (contd.)

8.

No
.

Assuming height by hit and trial method and taking as 5.2, the
base area, diameter, and conformity of the height to diameter
ratio of the tower is calculated as,
Height
(m)

Height to diameter ratio

/ 1.5

(m2)

(m)

1
1
2
2

95
95
90
90

1709
1709
1755
1755

46.6
46.6
47.3
47.3

2.04
2.04
1.90
1.90

85

1806

47.9

1.77 1.5

80

1862

48.7

1.64 1.5

75

1923

49.5

1.51 1.5

1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5

Design of a cooling tower

Numerical solution (contd.)

9.

The acceptable value of height and diameter for the specified

tower is 75 m and 49.5 m, respectively

10.

Effectiveness of tower = = = 21.74%

11.

Cooling capacity
= 4500 (kg/s) * 4.1815 (kJ/kg K ) * 5 (K)
94083.75 kW

Strategies to improve cooling

tower performance

When designing a cooling tower, always use the highest wet-bulb temperature as
reference.

Monitor the range and approach carefully during the design.

High range and low approach leads to good performance.

Improve the quality of water to be cooled by the tower resulting in low utilization of
make-up water.

Regularly monitor the tower for scale build-up and biological impurities.

Regularly monitor the flow of water and air inside the tower

Importance of cooling tower in CPI

Cooling towers are used to cool industrial processes and

applications to ensure that the correct temperature of the
environment and the process are maintained during
manufacturing or large industrial processes.

Natural draft cooling towers require no power and are of key

importance in power plants.

References

Literature:

Dr. N.P. Cheremisinoff, Handbook of Chemical Processing

Equipment, 1st edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, USA, 2000.

J. M. Coulson, J.F. Richardson, J.H Harker, J.R. Backhurst, Chemical

Engineering Volume 1 Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer and Mass
Transfer, 6th edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, USA, 1999.

San Diego County Water Authority, Technical Information for

Cooling Towers Using Recycled Water, San Diego, USA, 2009.

Training Session on Energy Equipment, Cooling Towers, UNEP,

2006.

Websites / URLs:

http://www.cti.org/whatis/coolingtowerdetail.shtml

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/

http://www.deltacooling.com/resources/principles-of-cooling-towers/