Basics About Cooling Towers

By Author: Manish
Total Articles: 5
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Cooling Towers are widely used for lowering down of temperature of water. These are the heat sinking devices that are used to drop down the temperature of water to a significant level. These are basically the heat exchanger device where with the use of air the temperature of water is dropped down to a level so that this can be released in the ponds.

These devices are widely employed in various petrochemical industries, chemical industries, oil refineries, thermal power stations, nuclear power stations and many other manufacturing & production industries. Water is widely employed in various applications in these industries in which its temperature rises to a very level. This hot water can't be released in ponds or river as this may prove hazardous to aquatic life. This significantly enhances the temperature of pond & will definitely prove harmful to aquatic life. So, prior to discharging this in ponds, its temperature has to be lowered down to a level so that this cannot adversely affect the aquatic life. This is done with the help of cooling towers.

There working principle is simple. For proper cooling, ...
... exchange of heat is necessary. For that purpose, hot water is passed through the various chambers. This is done so as to offer contact between hot water & air so that evaporation can take place easily. The large surface area is provided so that proper exchange of heat can take place in order to lower down the temperature to a significant level.

There are certain things that adversely affect the performance of cooling towers. These are listed below.

Corrosion: Metal when comes in the contact of water then a chemical process take place which is known as rusting or corrosion. These adversely affect the performance of cooling towers. So in order to offer resistance against corrosion & rusting, PVC coating is offered in these. PVC coating is the best way to safe metal bodies form the harmful effect of rusting & corrosion.

Scaling: This is the process in which chemical precipitation occurs on the surface. These adversely affect the heat exchanging capacity. So proper filtering of water is generally done in order to avoid any mineral precipitation on the surface.

Fouling: These are the suspended particles that exist in the water after chemical application. This mainly consists of dirt, oil & other organic matter. These adversely affect the efficiency of the plant and enhance the rate of corrosion & rusting.
Manufacturers are offering these in various designs. Some of the popular categories or configurations are listed below.

Cross flow towers
Counter flow
Mechanical draft towers
Natural draft towers