Process Cooling

Overview
Process cooling can be an expensive. In general, we use the following guidelines when
trying to reduce cooling costs.
1. Eliminate "once-through" cooling.
. !se cooling towers rather than chillers when feasible.
". #pply for sewer exemption on cooling tower ma$e-up water.
%. !se gas-powered chillers rather than electric chillers when cost-effective.
Cooling Towers
Tower Performance
# cooling tower is a counter-flow or cross-flow heat exchanger that removes heat from
water and transfers it to air. &ooling towers come in many configurations. Induced-draft
cooling towers, such as the one shown below, generally use less fan power and have short
circuit less air than forced-draft cooling towers.
'igure 1. Induced-draft cross-flow cooling tower ()ource* #)+,#E +andboo$* +-#&
)ystems and [Link], ///0
1he temperature difference of water through a tower, d1 2 1w1-1w, is determined by
the load, 3l, and the mass flow rate of water, mw. 4either the si5e of the tower nor the
state of the outside air influences the temperature difference6 however, larger towers or
lower outdoor air wet-bulb temperatures will decrease the exit water temperature, 1w.
1
1ypically, most towers are si5ed for a 1/ ' temperature difference and about .% gpm7ton
of cooling. 'an motor hp is about /.1 hp7ton and air flow rates are about ,/// cfm7hp.
1he temperature of water from a cooling tower, 1w, can be calculated based on tower
performance data such as that shown below, water flow rate, cooling load, and the
ambient wet-bulb temperature. 1his process can be automated in software to predict
cooling tower performance with varying ambient conditions. 'or example, &ool)im
(8issoc$, 199:0 calculates exit water temperatures, and the fraction of time that a cooling
tower can deliver water at a target temperature, based on entering water temperature,
1w1, and 1;< weather data. 1his information is useful in determining how often a
cooling tower can replace a chiller in cooling applications.
'igure . 1ypical cooling tower performance curve ()ource* #)+,#E +andboo$*
+-#& )ystems and [Link], ///0.
Sensible and Latent Cooling
=epending on the entering air and water temperatures, the water may be cooled by
sensible and latent cooling of the air, or simply by latent cooling of the air. In either case,
latent, i.e. evaporative, cooling is dominant. 'or example, consider the case in which the
air enters at a lower temperature than the water ('igure "a0. 1he air will leave
completely saturated and the cooling is part sensible and part latent. 1he sensible portion
occurs as the air temperature increases by absorbing heat from the water. 1he latent
portion occurs as some of the water evaporates, which draws energy out of the water.

If the air enters at the same wet bulb temperature as before, but at a higher dry-bulb
temperature than the water, then the air will cool as it saturates ('igure "b0. 1hus, the
sensible cooling component is negative, and the all the cooling is due to evaporation. In
general, cooling is dominated by latent cooling.
'igure ". Psychrometric process lines for air through a cooling tower, if the entering air
temperature is a0 less than the entering water temperature, and b0 greater than the
entering water temperature.
1he total cooling, ma (ha > ha10 is the same for both cases since enthalpy is a function
of wet-bulb temperature alone. +owever, the dry-bulb temperature significantly
influences the evaporation rate, mwe 2 ma (wa-wa10. 1he rate of evaporation increases
as the dry-bulb temperature increases for a given wet-bulb temperature.
"
Evaporation Rate
#s discussed in the previous section, cooling in cooling towers is dominated by
evaporation. 1he evaporation rate can be calculated from the pyschrometric relations in
the previous section, if the inlet and exit conditions of the air are $nown. 'or example,
consider the case in which the cooling load, 3l, mass flow rate of air, ma, (which can be
calculated based on the fan cfm and specific volume of the inlet air0, and inlet conditions
of air are $nown. 1he enthalpy of the exit air, ha, can be calculated from an energy
balance.
3l 2 ma (ha > ha10
ha 2 ha1? 3l 7 ma
1he state of the exit air can be fixed by assuming that it is 1//@ saturated with an
enthalpy ha. 1he evaporation rate, mwe, can be determined by a water mass balance on
the air.
mwe 2 ma (wa- wa10
1he fraction of water evaporated is*
mwe 7 mw
!sing this method for entering air temperatures from A/ ' to 9/ ', we determined that the
fraction of water evaporated typically ranges from about /.A@ to 1@, with an average
value of about /.:A@.
#nother way to estimate the fraction of water evaporated is to assume that all cooling, 3l,
is from evaporation, 3evap. 1he cooling load 3l, is the product of the water flow rate,
mw, specific heat, cp, and temperature difference, d1. 1he evaporative cooling rate is the
product of the water evaporated, mwe, and the latent heat of cooling, hfg.
3l 2 3evap
mw cp d1 2 mwe hfg
#ssuming the latent heat of evaporation of water, hfg, is 1,/// Btu7lb, and the
temperature difference of water through the tower, d1, is 1/ ', the fraction of water
evaporated is*
mwe 7 mw 2 cp d1 7 hfg 2 1 (Btu7lb-'0 x 1/ ('0 7 1/// (Btu7lb0 2 1@
If on average, :A@ of the cooling were from evaporation and A@ from sensible cooling,
then the evaporation rate would be*
:A@ x 1@ 2 /.:A@
%
1hus, both methods suggest that /.:A@ is a good estimate of for the rate of evaporation6
however, we have seen manufacturer data indicating average evaporation rates as low as
/."/@. Cater lost to evaporation should not be subDected to sewer charges. 1ypical
sewer charges are about E./ per hundred cubic feet.
)ome water may be lost as water droplets are blown from the tower by oversi5ed fans or
wind. 1his type of water loss is called FdriftG. =rift rates are typically about /.@ of
flow (#)+,#E +andboo$, +-#& )ystems and [Link], ///06 however, we
generally assume that drift losses are included in the /.:A@ evaporation rate.
Water Treatment and Blow Down Rate
&ooling tower water must be treated to prevent bacterial growth and maintain the
concentration of dissolved solids at acceptable levels to prevent scale and corrosion.
Bacterial Hrowth
1he typical method of controlling bacterial growth is to add biocides at prescribed
intervals and to $eep the cooling tower water circulating. If the tower will not be
operated for a sustained period of time, then the cooling water should be drained.
=issolved )olids
Cater evaporated from a cooling tower does not contain dissolved solids. 1hus, the
concentration of dissolved solids will increase over time if only enough water is added to
the tower to compensate for evaporation. 1o maintain the dissolved solids at acceptable
levels, most towers periodically discharge some water and replace it with fresh water.
1his process is called blow down. It the level of dissolve solids increases too high, scale
will be begin to form, and7or the water may become corrosive and damage piping,
pumps, cooling tower surfaces and heat exchangers. !sually, the primary dissolved solid
to control is calcium carbonate &a&I
"
.
Blow down can be accomplished by continuously adding and removing a small .uantity
of water, periodically draining and refilling the cooling tower reservoir, or by metering
the conductivity of water and adding fresh water only when needed. By far the most
efficient method is to meter the conductivity of water, which increases in proportion to
the level of dissolved solids, and add fresh water only when needed.
1he [Link] .uantity of blow down water depends on the acceptable .uantity of
dissolved solids in the tower water, PP;target, the .uantity of dissolved solids in the
ma$eup water, PP;mu, and the evaporation rate, mwe. 1he target level of dissolved
solids is typically .uantified in cycles, where*
&ycles 2 PP;target 7 PP;mu
'or example, if the .uantity of dissolved &a&I
"
in the ma$eup water, PP;mu, is :: ppm
and the maximum level to prevent scaling, PP;target, is "1, then the cooling tower
water must be maintained at three cycles*
A
&ycles 2 PP;target 7 PP;mu 2 "1 ppm 7 :: ppm 2 "
By applying mass balances, it can be shown that the blow down water [Link] to
maintain a certain number of cycles is
mwbd 2 mwe 7 (&ycles >10
1he total ma$eup water [Link] mwmu, is the sum of the water added for evaporation
and blow down*
mwmu 2 mwe ? mwbd
'or example for a 1,/// gpm tower with a /.:A@ evaporation rate and &a&I
"
concentration at " &ycles, the .uantity of ma$eup water [Link] would be about*
mwe 2 (mwe7mw0 x mw 2 /.:A@ x 1,/// gpm 2 :.A gpm
mwbd 2 mwe 7 (&ycles >10 2 :.A gpm 7 (" > 10 2 ".:A gpm
mwmu 2 mwe ? mwbd 2 :.A gpm ? ".:A gpm 2 11.A gpm
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