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8. COOLING TOWER
• The first natural draft type of cooling tower were built in 1920-30.
These cooling towers were often called atmospheric type of towers.
• After a time the forced draft and induced draft towers were developed.
Cooling Tower
Advantage
• Corrosion and scaling of cooling equipment is not as severe as with
untreated river or well water
• The large lines, pumps, and sewer used to transfer water from river
to a unit and back to the river would very expensive
Fundamentals Governing Cooling
• Fluids require heat to change from a liquid state to a gaseous state and
they give up heat in changing from a gas to a liquid. (When water is
vaporized the liquid is cooled)
1. Natural draft
Also called atmospheric or open type, is one in which the air
movement through the tower is dependent only upon atmospheric
condition
2. Forced draft
A mechanical-draft tower in which the fans located at the inlet or
base of the tower and is forced upward through the top at lower
velocity
3. Induced draft
A mechanical draft cooling tower is a mechanical draft tower having
one or more fans installed at the air outlet of the tower
Cooling Tower: Mechanism of Heat Transfer
2. Water flow
• Water is pumped through plant cooling equipment
• The returning hot water flows to the top of the tower through
the return system piping
• The hot water flows into the hot water basin through the
distribution box at the top of the tower. The hot water basin is
perforated to allow the water to drip through the tower in
many small flow streams
Mechanical Draft Tower
• The space below the hot water basin is packed with “fill” which
consists of staggered rows of perforated plates. The purpose
of the fill is to expose as much water surface to the cooling
action of the air flow as possible.
3. Cooling tower
• Illustrated tower design is called “cross flow” because the air
crosses the path of the water
• Water cascades down through the fill section
• Air is pulled across the flowing water and exhausted out the
top of the tower.
• The water is cooled by contacting with the air
Cooling is accomplished primarily by evaporation of a
small portion (2/3 % of the circulating water)
Temperature of water reduced by 25/30 oF
Evaporation loss account to about 75 % of make up
water.
Cooling Water Management Fundamentals
1. Cycles of Concentration
2. Make Up
- The loss of water by evaporation, blowdown, and
windage requires that water be added to the system
3. Blowdown
- Because of the loss of water from evaporation, the
dissolved solids in the water are concentrated.
- This would cause mineral deposits in the system if a portion of the
water were not drained off and replaced with fresh water. This drain
off is called blowdown.
- This blowdown prevents the solids from building up in the water
and coating or fouling the cooler surface
Cooling Water System Problems
Deposit Sources
The sources of potential depositing material may be:
1. External to the system
1. Water supply itself
- suspended solid such as silt
- soluble or precipitated iron
- manganese
- carryover from clarifier or other pretreatment unit
2. Air particularly in an open recirculating cooling system with
cooling tower. Cooling towers act as large air scrubbers
capturing
- dust
- microbes
- debris
Deposit Control
Deposit Sources
external to the system con’t:
5. Miscellaneous external sources
- water used in pumps
- lubricant applied to valves, pump glands and bearing
that leak into system.
Deposit Control
1. Threshold Inhibitors
This includes sequestering agents such as polyphosphates,
organophosphorous compounds, and polymers (ie polyacrylates)
These exerts a “threshold effect” reducing the potential for precipitation
of calcium compounds, iron and maganese. Threshold inhibition causes
a delay in precipitation by application of substoichiometric amount of
Inhibitor. This threshold dosage is possible because chemical adsorbs
Only on the surface of the incipient precipitate, so that only a small
Fraction of the precipitating material consumes the active inhibitor.
(con’t)
2. Dispersants
Organic dispersants include organophosphorous compound and
Polyelectrolytes. Polyelectrolytes will disperse suspended solids by
Adsorbing to their surfaces, adding electrostatic charge to each
particle, causing mutual repulsion.
Other dispersants condition the surfaces of the suspended solids in
other ways to keep them from coagulating and settling.
3. Surfactants
They are surface active chemicals. Those that penetrate and dispere
Biomasses are called biodispersants. Some are surface active agents
are effective wetting agents and anti foulants which help fluidize solids
and keep them moving with the flowing water. Others emulsify
hydrocarbon and removed by blowdown.
(con’t)
4. Crystal modifiers
Presence of particulates induces precipitation of scale from
supersaturated solution. Scale is often one of the fraction of a deposit.
Although precipitation is not prevented by crystal modifier, the resultant
material that precipitates is structurally weak – more like a foulant than
scale.
Corrosion
Corrosion is the deterioration of a substance (usually meta) or its
properties by either chemical or electro-chemical reaction with a
given environment.
Fe2+
OH- O2
2e-
anode cathode
Corrosion Rate
• As noted before, 3 basic steps are necessary for corrosion to
proceed. If any step is prevented from occurring, then corrosion
stops. The slowest of the 3 steps determines the rate of the overall
corrosion process. The cathodic reaction (step 3) is the slowest, so
it determines rate of corrosion. This is due to difficulty of oxygen
encounters in diffusing through water.
• One factor in increasing corrosion then is increasing water
temperature, which reduce its viscosity and speed the diffusion of
oxygen.
• A large cathodic surface area relative to the anodic area allows
more oxygen, water, and electrons to react. Increasing the flow of
electrons from the anode to corrode it more rapidly.
• Conversely, as the cathodic area becomes smaller relative to the
anodic area, the corrosion rate decreases.
Polarization/Depolarization
Polarization
• As noted earlier, hydroxyl ions (OH-), hydrogen gas (H2) or both, are
produced at the cathode as a result of the corrosion reaction
• If these products remain at the cathode they produce a barrier that
slows the movement of oxygen gas or hydrogen ions to the cathode
• This barrier becomes a corrosion inhibitor because it insulates or
physically separates oxygen in the water and the electrons at the
metal surface
Depolarization
• The removal or disruption of this barrier exposes the cathode and
corrosion resumes
Polarization/Depolarization
(con’t)
Depolarization
• Barrier removal is enhanced by two factors:
1. Lowering the ph of water. This increases the concentration of the
hydrogen ions reacting with hydroxyl ions to form water, thereby
eliminating the hydroxyl barrier
2. Increasing water velocity into the turbulent flow region tends to
sweep away hydroxyl ions and hydrogen from the surface of the
cathode, therby depolarizing it.
(con’t)
Metal surface is covered with innumerable small anodes and cathodes
develop from:
1. Surface irregularities from forming, extruding and other metalwork
operations
2. Stresses from welding, forming, or other work
3. Compositional differences at the metal surface
(different microstructure)
Types/Form of Corrosion
1. Galvanic corrosion
2. Concentration cell corrosion
3. Stress corrosion cracking
4. Caustic embrittlerment
5. Chloride induced stress corrosion cracking
6. Corrosion fatique cracking
7. Tuberculation
8. Impingement attack
Type/Form of Corrosion
Galvanic corrosion
• Two dissimilar metals are connected and exposed to water
environment
• One metal becomes cathodic, other becomes anode
example – copper and steel, steel becomes the anode. It is said to
be anodic to copper w/c is the cathode
• Fixed concentration of water
Type/Form of Corrosion
Caustic Embrittlement
• Type of stress corrosion that sometimes accurs in boilers
• Caused by high concentration of NaOH in boiler water
• High stress such as where the boiler tubes are rolled into the
drum
• Water must contain silica, which directs the attack to grain
boundaries leading to intercrystalline attack
Type/Form of Corrosion
Impingement attack
• A form of selective corrosion involving both physical and chemical
conditions, which produce a high rate of metal loss and penetration
in a localized area.
1. It occurs when a physical force is applied to the metal surface by
suspended solids, gas bubbles, or the liquid itself, with sufficient
force to wear away the natural or applied passivation film of the
metal
2. Process occurs repeatedly and each occurrence results in the
removal of successive metal oxidation layers
3. Cavitation is a form of impingement attack often found in pump
impellers. This is caused by collapse of air or vapor bubbles on
metal surface with sufficient force to produce rapid, local metal
loss.
Type/Form of Corrosion
Dezincification
• Type of corrosion usually limited to brass
• Two forms – general (large surface of affected) and plug type
(highly localized)
• Occurs when:
1. Zinc and copper are solubilized at the liquid-metal interface
2. Zinc is carried off in the liquid medium, while copper replates
3. The replated copper is soft and lacks the mechanical strength
of the original metal
Corrosion Inhibition
Note:
Level of corrosion = metal loss in mils per year
1 mil = 0.001 in = 0.0025 cm
1mpy = 0.025 mm/yr
In cooling system, an acceptable loss may as much as 10 to 15 mpy
In supercritical boiler it might be zero
Corrosion Inhibition
Material of construction
• Use of corrosion- resistant materials such as copper, stainless steel,
copper-nickel alloy, concrete, and plastic may offer advantages over
carbon steel
• Coating and lining
• Use of insulation if joining of dissimilar metal which can lead to
galvanic corrosion can not be avoided
e.i. – insulating aluminum equipment from steel piping to prevent
galvanic attack
Corrosion Inhibition
Applied Chemical Inhibitors
• Any chemical applied to the water to stop anodic reaction will stop
corrosion
• Any material added to reduce the rate-determining cathodic reaction
will reduce corrosion.
• Typical corrosion inhibitors
Orthophosphate Polyphosphate
Silicate
Monitoring Results
1. Corrosion coupon
- Pre-weighed metal specimens put into system for 30 to 90 days
- Following removal, they are cleaned, reweighed, and observed
- Metal loss and type of attack (general, pitting) is then determine
2. Corrosion nipples
- Similar to coupons in concept, but not preweighed and only
visually evaluated
3. Corrosion meter
- The meter works by measuring an electrical potential across
electrodes made of the metal being evaluated
Control of Microbial Activity
A. Bacteria
1. Slime forming bacteria Form dense, sticky slime with
subsequent fouling. Water flows
can be impeded and promotion of
other organism growth occurs.
A. Bacteria
3. Iron depositing bacteria Cause the oxidation and
subsequent deposition of
insoluble iron from soluble iron
A. Bacteria
6. Anaerobic corrosive Create corrosive localized
bacteria environments by secreting
corrosive wastes. They are
always found underneath other
deposits in oxygen deficient
locations.
B. Fungi
1. Yeasts and molds Cause the degradation of wood in
contact with the water system.
Cause spots on paper products.
Typical Microorganisms and their Associated Problems
Type of Organism Type of Problem
Notes:
In water treatment bacteria is grouped according to its preferred
environment
1. Aerobic bacteria – group that require oxygen. Found in aerated
water such as in cooling water basin.
2. Anaerobic bacteria – don’t use oxygen. Found in oxygen deficient
areas such as under deposits, in crevices
and in sludges.
Physical Factors Affecting Microbe Growth
1. Temperature
• Species of microbes indigenous to soil, water and
vertebrates organisms thrive in broad temperature range
of 10 to 45oC.
• But nature has also produced select organism that can
live at temperature as low as 0oC and as high as 100 oC.
• Scientists also report finding life in hot springs and
adjacent to ocean vents on the sea floor at temperature of
over 200oC.
• Denaturation of protein, which causes coagulation within
cell occurs below 70oC.
• Commercial pasteurization (a de-naturation process) of
milk is done at 63oC holding temperature for 30 minutes
or at 72oC, process is completed in only 15 seconds. This
kills all disease producing (pathogenic) organism.
Physical Factors Affecting Microbe Growth
1. Temperature
• Most actively growing microbes of interest in water
treatment technology are killed at 70 oC.
• At 0 to 5oC organisms becomes dormant. Freezing kills
many cells, but those that survive are capable of complete
recovery from the shock
• Dry heat results in dehydration of all cellular matter and
oxidation of intracellular constituents
Physical Factors Affecting Microbe Growth
2. Moisture
• moisture is required for microorganism to grow actively. Many
species of pathogenic organisms are killed quickly by drying
• Organisms in the spore or cyst state can survive low moisture
environment. If transported to a location where moisture levels
suit them, they survive and form new colonies.
3. Radiation
• organisms containing chlorophyll are able to use the radiant
energy or artificial lighting to convert CO2 to carbohydrates,
which they need for cell synthesis
• Not all radiant energy are useful to cells and certain
frequencies of radiation are harmful. Radiation is therefore
one
method of microbe control.
Physical Factors Affecting Microbe Growth
4. Osmosis
• The diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane
separating 2 solutions of different solute concentrations. The
water flows in a direction to equalize the concentration.
• When microbes are placed in salt solution, the water inside
the cells is extracted by the surrounding medium. This
dehydrates the cell so they are unable to grow or are killed.
Technique is used to preserve food.
Chemical Factors Affecting Microbial Growth
Law showing the relationship for all chemical biocides that expresses
effectiveness, measured as percent kill or inactivation, concentration
of biocide applied to the water, and time of contact of the biocide
with the organism or virus.