Cooling towers-or cooling towers used to cool process water by direct or indirect exchange with ambient air.
They are used as heat disposal systems in those industrial or air conditioning processes where thermal cycles are present (such as hospitals, steel mills, food industries...) for which it is essential, in order for the cycle itself to be completed and industrial production to continue, that the process water be cooled and reintegrated into the production cycle.
Their operation is based on the natural principle of evaporative cooling, which, through exchange with ambient air, reduces the temperature of process water by evaporating a small part of it.
There are different types of cooling towers, although they all operate on the same basic principle:
The most common type is counter flow (whether forced or induced) because it provides greater operating efficiency.
Read more in the article What is an cooling tower and how does it work?
Industrial cooling towers are usually placed near refrigeration plants, as they are a component of them.
A cooling tower can be found within commercial, hospital, civil or industrial air conditioning(HVAC), power generation and industries(process cooling of steel mills, automotive, food, plastics, chemical-pharmaceutical industries... ).
The cooling tower works as a water-to-air heat exchanger in which the water mass is cooled by exchange with the ambient air.
In the case of cooling towers at open circuit, the direct encounter of air with process water allows a small amount of water to evaporate and the remaining part to cool to a lower temperature, which will be recirculated in the industrial process.
In closed-circuitcooling towers , while still relying on the principle of evaporative cooling, process water remains inside a heat exchanger without coming into contact with ambient air, thus remaining free from possible contamination.
Read more in the article What is an cooling tower and how does it work?
An cooling tower consists of several sections:
There are different types of industrial cooling towers:
Both can in turn be:
Adequate water treatment for cooling towers towers keeps the tower circulation water within optimal limits, preventing corrosion of collection tank surfaces, localized or diffuse scaling, and the development of biofilms, legionella, or other micro-bacteria. This is a treatment carried out by specialists with chemicals that are not harmful to humans but very effective in preventing these negative phenomena within the cooling system.
Considering that there is no single water treatment but this has to be configured according to numerous aspects (including the size of the plant, the quality of water, the specifics of the evaporative tower, etc.) it is very important, when involving water treatment specialists, to provide them with all the necessary guidance to study the most appropriate treatments for the purpose. In this regard, to learn more and know the main chemical and physical values accepted by Decsa cooling towers according to the materials used in their construction read the article,"Legionella in cooling towers: how to avoid it?"
An evaporative condenser is a heat exchanger with a shell-and-tube coil that, by means of the principle of evaporative cooling of water, allows a refrigerant gas to be cooled and condensed.
Read the article"What is and how does an evaporative condenser work" for more details.
By performing proper cleaning and maintenance of the cooling tower, the proliferation of bacteria, including legionella, can be prevented. High water temperature inside the system and humidity can result in the profiling of bacteria that are very dangerous to humans. Good maintenance and appropriate water treatment programs help preserve cooling tower and keep it safe and efficient in performance.
Read the article Legionella in Cooling Towers to learn more, or contact our Service Department to request assistance and define a scheduled maintenance on your tower.
Choosing original components in cooling towers ensures the proper operation of the equipment over time, while ensuring the thermal performance provided at the design stage. Original spare parts make it possible to:
For more details on maintenance and spare parts for cooling towers and evaporative condensers, visit the service page.
Do you need assistance? Contact us to request assistance from our Service Team.
