Have you ever noticed that you feel cold right after a hot shower? Well, in order to explain why, you need to understand that when we take a shower, our skin is damp and not as easily exposed to the air. We have a cooling effect as soon as we walk out of the shower because the water on our skin starts to evaporate, removing heat from our bodies. Cooling towers use a similar evaporative cooling procedure to dissipate hot equipment with a constant supply of water.
In this blog, you will learn everything about cooling towers, their types, functions, and their development in recent years. So, keep on reading.
What Exactly Is a Cooling Tower?
A cooling tower's purpose is to dissipate heat from a facility by forcing water downward into the tower and transferring the heat to the interior of that facility. Air enters the tower from the sides and flows through the falling water. Heat is exchanged as the air moves through the water, and some of the water dries up. This heat and the evaporating water exit the tower's top as a fine mist like a cloud. The chilled water is collected at the base of the tower and pumped back into the building or factory for further usage.
According to Extrapolate, in 2021, the cooling towers market was worth $4.53 billion USD and the market is expected to expand by USD 5.23 billion in 2030. As construction activity in the residential and commercial sectors soars in developing countries, it is projected that the need for cooling towers would rise significantly.
Shortly Classifying the Cooling Towers
Over the period of time, new different methods are used by cooling towers in a variety of distinctive designs to cool process water. Given below are the types of different types of cooling towers including different places of fan positioning:
Crossflow Cooling Tower
The name "crossflow" comes from the fact that the air used in crossflow cooling towers crosses the water flow perpendicularly. Incoming air can flow horizontally through the cooling tower using splash fills in crossflow towers. Gravity causes hot water to flow down from distribution basins at the top of the tower at the same time. Induced draft crossflow towers are well-represented by the AXS cooling towers from EVAPCO.
Counterflow Cooling Tower
Similar to a crossflow cooling tower, in a counterflow cooling tower water flow down from the top of the tower. But in this particular case, the air also travels through the splash fill vertically, from the base of the tower to the top. Since gravity-flow basins cannot be used in counterflow towers due to the upward wind, these towers instead use pressurized spray nozzles to distribute water over the splash fill. The counterflow tower from BAC's Series V line is an excellent example.
Induced Draft Cooling Tower
Induced draft cooling towers circulate air inside the tower using mechanical means, such as fan systems. Fans are frequently found on top of the air outlet in induced draft towers. These fans push cool air through the tower. Their name is derived from the discharge outlet's induction of warm, humid air. Induced draft counterflow towers, such as the SUN and AT cooling towers from EVAPCO and the PT2 cooling towers from BAC, are good examples.
Natural Draft Cooling Tower
The tower in the natural draft cooling tower naturally circulates air and variations in air density lead to certain movement patterns. The hot air naturally rises while the cold air falls down because the warm, moist air that has come into touch with the hot water is less dense than the cold air that is entering the tower. Incoming water is chilled and heat is released due to the steady, regular pattern of air circulation created by these movements. To improve the natural vertical flow of air, natural draft towers frequently include steep chimney construction. The perfect example of a natural draft manufacturer is Enexio.
Forced Draft Cooling Tower
While a forced draft tower and an induced draft tower work similarly, they differ in the position of their fans. Typically, fans in a forced draft tower are placed in the air intake rather than the air outflow. Since they withstand high pressure so efficiently, forced draft cooling towers are highly beneficial in indoor buildings. Forced draft counterflow towers, such as the LSTE and LPT cooling towers from EVAPCO, are excellent examples.
Russia constructed its tallest cooling tower which can withstand 100 years
In Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, at Kursk II Russia, designed and built a cooling tower that has a service life of 100 years, which took two years and 10 months. Andrey Osharin, the first deputy director said, they raised the height in order to boost power. Even during the hottest part of the summer, the 179-meter-high design will ensure that the power unit operates steadily without diminishing energy output. Up to 160,000 cubic meters of water can be cooled each hour by the replacement station's evaporative cooling tower.
Have you Wondered How Cooling Towers Can Reduce Pollution?
Evaporative cooling, which evaporates tiny droplets of water without inflicting any harm, is unquestionably used by the majority of cooling towers. Nevertheless, liquid droplets that carry contaminants that harm the environment are not present.
Drift eliminators, which are useful parts of cooling towers, can nonetheless contribute to pollution. Drift eliminators are built in such a way as to catch water droplets that enter the cooling tower's air steamer. Recycling not only protects the environment but also helps to conserve water.
The drift eliminator captures them by altering their direction and velocity when they come into contact with the distinctive blade walls. The water droplets are pushed back by the walls' various patterns. They also aid in removing pollutants like chemicals that are harmful to the environment through filters inside. While the special seal on the drift eliminator stops water vapor from accessing the atmosphere.
What Kind of Future Cooling Towers Holds?
Future advances in cooling tower technology will likely result in more effective, dependable, and affordable cooling solutions for a variety of applications. In order to solve energy efficiency issues, the sector is anticipated to see a greater emphasis on energy-efficient technology, with advancements in cooling tower maintenance technology resulting in more efficiency and reduced downtime in the future.
