Cooling towers release heat from re-circulating water or liquid used as a coolant in chillers, air conditioners, or other process equipment to the ambient air. Heat gets dissipated to the environment from cooling tower via evaporation process. This is the reason why most cooling towers, including frp cooling towers are designed to use significant amount of water.
The thermal efficiency and longevity of the cooling tower and device rely on the re-circulated water management. There are four ways in which water dissipates from the cooling tower-
- Evaporation
Evaporation is the primary function of the cooling tower and the method used to transfers 75 to 80% of their heat load from the cooling tower system to the environment. The quality of Evaporation is not limited for water efficiency efforts but it can be improving the energy efficiency of the systems you are cooling will reduce the evaporative load on your tower.
- Drift
Drift, means a droplets of water enter in the air leaving on the top of tower. Little amount of water may be carried from cooling tower in the form of small droplets or as a mist. Unlike evaporation, drift loss is small and is controlled with drift eliminators and baffles. In early time drift eliminators ware made from redwood in same structure herringbone but now a days it made from plastic and come in various shapes. Drift improve a operating efficiency of cooling tower and reduce environmental impacts.
- Blowdown
When water gets evaporated from the system, its dissolved solids like magnesium, calcium, silica, and chloride remain in the water that is being re-circulated in the system. When more water evaporates, these solids increase. When the concentration gets higher, solids can promote scaling within the system.
Another problem that may arise due to dissolved solids is the corrosion. You can control the concentration of dissolved solids by eliminating the portion of highly concentrated water and replacing it with fresh water. Also it is your responsibility to monitor and control the quality of blowdown to avail the most significant opportunity to save water in cooling tower operations.
- Overflows or leakage
If you are operating your cooling towers properly, you shall not have to face overflow or leakage issues. Always check the float control equipment to ensure the level of basin and check the system valves to ensure there are no unaccounted for losses.When water comes out predetermined level in the cooling tower then occurs overflow. Normally this water flow down via overflow pipe. The overflow of water is very difficult to understand without you can observe the tower for long time periods or meter the overflow. Also overflow is common area of the water wastage in cooling tower, usually due to poor maintenance. In some of cases, up to 40 percent of water wastage due to poor maintenance of cooling tower. So, it's very important to keep eye on the overflow and leakage of cooling tower.
Just in case you feel like to replace the worn valves, contact to suppliers or manufacturers of FRP cooling towers for replacement options. Always go for professional assistance instead of making repairing and replacement attempts by yourself. For specifics, consult with experts who acquire proper knowledge of the field.
