An Inside Look at Industrial Cooling Technology
One consequence of industrial manufacturing and electricity generation is the excess thermal energy that is produced as a result. The most common cooling technology used to eliminate this excess heat is the industrial cooling tower. Heat dispersion is accomplished via one of three primary methods: wet cooling towers, dry cooling towers, and closed-circuit fluid cooling systems. All three systems work by transferring waste heat from one medium to another through some form of heat exchange.
Wet Cooling Towers
Large industrial cooling units are often used in power plants and in the petroleum refining industry to cool down super-heated water. Wet cooling towers essentially use moving air to extract heat from the hot water. Ambient air is drawn over the hot water, which results in the generation of steam. The interaction between the heated water and the ambient air results in a heat transfer which reduces the water temperature and exchanges the energy with the air through evaporation. The steam which is produced can then be discharged into the atmosphere.
Dry Cooling Towers
Dry cooling doesn’t use evaporation to dissipate heat; instead, a heat exchanger is used to transfer heat indirectly. Heat exchangers keep the heated liquid separated from the ambient air. Many heat exchangers consist of an enclosed series of tubes that are placed within a shell which contains a second fluid. The heated water is passed through the heat exchanger and the thermal energy is transferred from one fluid to the other through the tube walls, passing off the heat to the exchange medium so that it doesn’t build to dangerous levels.
Fluid Coolers
Fluid coolers are another type of closed-loop system that are similar in concept to dry cooling systems. However, they are generally considered to be a hybrid design. The fluid to be cooled is passed through a large bundle of tubes which are chilled by a liquid spray or mist. Fans are used to blow air over the tubes to help facilitate the dissipation of heat through convection. These fluid coolers are similar to wet coolers in terms of their heat extraction capabilities. They do have an important advantage over wet coolers, however. Since they protect the heated fluid from the outside air, they reduce the risk of environmental pollution and contamination.
The Last Word
Industrial cooling towers are used extensively in numerous industrial and manufacturing scenarios where large amounts of excess heat must be quickly dispersed in a short time period. The technology is frequently used in the processing of food and chemicals, as well as semiconductor and plastics manufacturing. Outside of heavy industry, cooling towers can be used in residential and commercial situations to improve the efficiency of air conditioning systems for any type of building. Regardless of the specific type of technology used, cooling towers have a wide array of applications in nearly every facet of modern society.
If you need industrial cooling requipment design, manufacture or maintenance, talk to Allied Heat Transfer. Since 2000 they’ve established themselves as a leader in the field, specialising in cooling towers, air coolers, oil coolers, industrial fans, industrila radiators and much more.
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