What is the entropy loses of energy from a typical power plant cooling tower?

Entropy

Just to recap, entropy is non-work producing form of energy, in other words, it is also considered as
the energy that gets consumed when an ordered system turns disordered. In thermodynamics,
entropy is therefore, associated with the amount of order, disorder, or chaos in a thermodynamic
system.

Thermodynamics

1st law: Q [heat] = [IE + Work]. IE is internal energy. Energy supplied to heat engine increases IE and
does mechanical work.

2nd law: Q = ΔS [Entropy change] x T [Temp]. Energy supplied to heat engine also gets consumed in
entropy creation. All energy is not available for work.

What increases entropy?

There are five situations listed below would increase entropy. There would be gain in entropy in
opposite situations.

[1] More energy put into a system excites the molecules and increase kinetic energy

[2] As a gas expands in a system, entropy increases. If an atom has more space to bounce around, it
will bounce more.

[3] When a solid becomes a liquid, its entropy increases

[4] When a liquid becomes a gas, its entropy increases

[5] Any chemical reaction that increases the number of gas molecules also increases entropy

Three basic questions: A power station generates 1000 MW of electricity at 35% efficiency, (a)
How much heat transfer occurs to the environment in a day? (b) If heat transfer in cooling tower
is from 35C water into local air mass, which increases air temp from 18 to 20C, what is total
increase in entropy? (c) How much energy becomes unavailable to do work because of increase in
entropy?

Very briefly, a thermal power station consists of a boiler which supplies steam to turbine at high
pressure. Steam runs the turbine by its isentropic expansion. Low pressure steam from turbine is
condensed in a condenser and condensate is reused in boiler feed water. A cooling tower absorbs
the heat rejected by condenser and finally rejects the heat to environment.

Let power generated by boiler and delivered to power station = X MW, Efficiency = [Power
generated by power plant in MW]/ [Power delivered by boiler to power plant]. This comes to 0.35 =
1000/X, X = 1000/0.35 = 2857 MW. Boiler generates 2857 MW

1 MW = 1000 kj/sec, Heat transfer from boiler to power station in 24 hrs. in kj =

2857(MW)*1000(kj)*1000(j)*60(sec)*60(min)*24(hrs) = 2.47*10^14 Joule

Power delivered by boiler to power plant= 2857 MW, Power generated by power plant = 1000 MW

Difference, heat in MW is rejected in 24 hrs, by turbine via condenser and cooling tower to
environment = (2857-1000)MW*1000(kj)*1000(j)*60(sec)*60(min)*24(hrs)

= 1.6 J*10^14 Joule. This is loss of heat to environment.

Heat transfer in cooling tower from 35 degc water to air, entropy decrease = - Q / T = - 1.6 *10^14
Joule /(273+35)k = - 5.21*10^11Joule/k

CT water rejects heat to air, air temp goes up from 18 to 20C, and air entropy rises.

Entropy increase in air at 20 C = + Q/T = +1.6 *10^14 Joule /(273+20)k = 5.47*10^11 Joule/k

Total entropy increase = - 5.21*10^11 + 5.47*10^11 = 2.67*10^10 Joule/k

Total entropy creation = 2.67*10^10 Joule/k. Work unavailable in the form of entropy at 35C, Q =
ΔS x T = 2.67*10^10j/k * (273+35)k = 8.2*10^12 Joule

Loss of energy in form of entropy as % of energy input from boiler = 8.2*10^12 Joule/2.47*10^11
Joule x 100 = 3.23%