2 replies to this topic

[Quimarah]

Hello everyone! my question today is when is it better to choose a dry cooler instead of a cooling tower? (besides economic reasons)

Thanks in advance

[Pilesar]

Economic reasons are the ultimate answer. Capital costs, infrastructure costs, maintenance costs should all be considered. Cooling towers and electric transformer capacity are both expensive. Cooling tower water temperature is usually lower than air cooling. Minerals in water are less soluble at higher temperatures so air cooling may avoid some fouling issues for higher temperature processes. Cooling tower water evaporates which can be a problem where water is scarce. Water can freeze in extreme cold environments. I worked on the design of a plant near the arctic where air was used for process cooling and these systems were even put inside a building to help heat the interior. 

[shvet1]

A: When no appropriate source of water is available.

 

In some cases it is uneconomical to treat water for cooling users requirements, e.g. if only salty water is available then it may be more economical to use steam condensate for circulation and raw water for evaporation.

 

A process engineer shall calculate money and compare options (1) treating of raw water and use it for circulation and evaporation both and (2) separating clean water for circulation and raw water for evaporation. The same for case where no external source of water at all, e.g. total reuse of water in plant.

 

No a simple answer. A feasibility study is recommended otherwise money are going to be spent inefficiently.