Cooling towers are structures designed to provide cooling water in industrial facilities and living spaces. In the water cooling towers, the hot water coming from the system is sprayed on the filling and the heat is given to the atmosphere. Thus, the heat is removed from the environment and the process water is reduced to the wet bulb temperature.
Types of Water Cooling Towers
Water cooling towers are divided into two as counter flow and cross flow towers according to their working principles. In counter-flow water cooling towers, the air moves from the bottom up while the water is filtered from top to bottom. In cross-flow cooling towers, the airflow is horizontal as the water descends from the top. In recent years, counter-flow towers have been preferred more frequently.
How Cooling Towers Work
In counter-flow water cooling towers, the hot water coming from the facility is sprayed homogeneously from top to bottom over the entire section of the tower with the help of a specially manufactured water distribution system and sprinklers. The sprayed water bodies are broken up by filtering through the tower fills. The air with the humidity of the outside environment is sucked from the bottom up over the fillings with the help of the engine fan group. The water, which meets the air on the filling cooling surface, cools by giving heat to the air and a small part of it evaporates. The cooled water is collected in the cold water pool of the tower and sent back to the operation. As a result of the evaporation of the water, the air whose humidity is increased (close to the saturation rate) is thrown into the atmosphere from the fan chimney at the top of the tower.
Cooling Tower Usage Areas
Water cooling towers are generally used in the following industries:
- Iron & Steel Industry
- Petro Chemical Plants
- Energy sector
- Textile sector
- Food and Beverage Industry
- Automotive Industry
- Glass Industry
- Mining & Chemical Industry
- Plastic & Packaging Industry
- Business and Shopping Centers
- Hotels and Social Facilities
- Air handling units