Chapter 1.

INTRODUCTION

Energy Conservation and energy efficiency in all operations is a Top Management

priority for the unit and an Energy Policy is in place. The existing cooling tower is
the evaporative cooling tower in which the atmospheric air is used to carry the heat
away from the hot water as latent heat. The water is wasted in evaporation in
which the water vapour is carried away by the air. Thus the average consumption
of water by a single cooling tower is more. In existing cooling towers water is
wasted in the evaporative cooling process.

In canteen-floor cleaning where the water is used for cleaning through the hose
pipe. In hand washing areas where the water is wasted by the use of threaded taps.
In test bed where more compressed air is used up to wash the engine for checking
the leaks.

Hence energy efficient alternatives, methods, work practices and eco-friendly

technologies are considered in order to conserve the energy resources in the plant.

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 Chapter 2. LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1 COOLING TOWER

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device, which extracts waste heat to the
atmosphere though the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature. The type
of heat rejection in a cooling tower is termed "evaporative" in that it allows a small
portion of the water being cooled to evaporate into a moving air stream to provide
significant cooling to the rest of that water stream. The heat from the water stream
transferred to the air stream raises the air's temperature and its relative humidity to
100%, and this air is discharged to the atmosphere. Evaporative heat rejection
devices such as cooling towers are commonly used to provide significantly lower
water temperatures than achievable with "air cooled" or "dry" heat rejection
devices, like the radiator in a car, thereby achieving more cost-effective and energy
efficient operation of systems in need of cooling. Think of the times you've seen
something hot be rapidly cooled by putting water on it, which evaporates, cooling
rapidly, such as an overheated car radiator. The cooling potential of a wet surface
is much better than a dry one.

Common applications for cooling towers are providing cooled water for air-
conditioning, manufacturing and electric power generation. The smallest cooling
towers are designed to handle water streams of only a few gallons of water per
minute supplied in small pipes like those might see in a residence, while the largest
cool hundreds of thousands of gallons per minute supplied in pipes as much as 15
feet (about 5 meters) in diameter on a large power plant.

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The generic term "cooling tower" is used to describe both direct (open circuit) and
indirect (closed circuit) heat rejection equipment. While most think of a "cooling
tower" as an open direct contact heat rejection device, the indirect cooling tower,
sometimes referred to as a "closed circuit cooling tower" is nonetheless also a
cooling tower.

A direct or open circuit cooling tower is an enclosed structure with internal means
to distribute the warm water fed to it over a labyrinth-like packing or "fill." The fill
provides a vastly expanded air-water interface for heating of the air and
evaporation to take place. The water is cooled as it descends through the fill by
gravity while in direct contact with air that passes over it. The cooled water is then
collected in a cold water basin below the fill from which it is pumped back through
the process to absorb more heat. The heated and moisture laden air leaving the fill
is discharged to the atmosphere at a point remote enough from the air inlets to
prevent its being drawn back into the cooling tower.

The fill may consist of multiple, mainly vertical, wetted surfaces upon which a thin
film of water spreads (film fill), or several levels of horizontal splash elements
which create a cascade of many small droplets that have a large combined surface
area (splash fill).

An indirect or closed circuit cooling tower involves no direct contact of the air and
the fluid, usually water or a glycol mixture, being cooled. Unlike the open cooling
tower, the indirect cooling tower has two separate fluid circuits. One is an external
circuit in which water is recirculated on the outside of the second circuit, which is
tube bundles (closed coils) which are connected to the process for the hot fluid
being cooled and returned in a closed circuit. Air is drawn through the recirculating
water cascading over the outside of the hot tubes, providing evaporative cooling

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similar to an open cooling tower. In operation the heat flows from the internal fluid
circuit, through the tube walls of the coils, to the external circuit and then by
heating of the air and evaporation of some of the water, to the atmosphere.
Operation of the indirect cooling towers is therefore very similar to the open
cooling tower with one exception. The process fluid being cooled is contained in a
"closed" circuit and is not directly exposed to the atmosphere or the recirculated
external water.

In a counter-flow cooling tower air travels upward through the fill or tube bundles,
opposite to the downward motion of the water. In a cross-flow cooling tower air
moves horizontally through the fill as the water moves downward.

Cooling towers are also characterized by the means by which air is moved.
Mechanical-draft cooling towers rely on power-driven fans to draw or force the air
through the tower. Natural-draft cooling towers use the buoyancy of the exhaust air
rising in a tall chimney to provide the draft. A fan-assisted natural-draft cooling
tower employs mechanical draft to augment the buoyancy effect. Many early
cooling towers relied only on prevailing wind to generate the draft of air.

If cooled water is returned from the cooling tower to be reused, some water must
be added to replace, or make-up, the portion of the flow that evaporates. Because
evaporation consists of pure water, the concentration of dissolved minerals and
other solids in circulating water will tend to increase unless some means of
dissolved-solids control, such as blow-down, is provided. Some water is also lost
by droplets being carried out with the exhaust air (drift), but this is typically
reduced to a very small amount by installing baffle-like devices, called drift
eliminators, to collect the droplets. The make-up amount must equal the total of the

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evaporation, blow-down, drift, and other water losses such as wind blowout and
leakage, to maintain a steady water level.

Some useful terms, commonly used in the cooling tower:

Drift - Water droplets that are carried out of the cooling tower with the exhaust air.
Drift droplets have the same concentration of impurities as the water entering the
tower. The drift rate is typically reduced by employing baffle-like devices, called
drift eliminators, through which the air must travel after leaving the fill and spray
zones of the tower.

Blow-out - Water droplets blown out of the cooling tower by wind, generally at the
air inlet openings. Water may also be lost, in the absence of wind, through
splashing or misting. Devices such as wind screens, louvers, splash deflectors and
water diverters are used to limit these losses.

Plume - The stream of saturated exhaust air leaving the cooling tower. The plume
is visible when water vapor it contains condenses in contact with cooler ambient
air, like the saturated air in one's breath fogs on a cold day. Under certain
conditions, a cooling tower plume may present fogging or icing hazards to its
surroundings. Note that the water evaporated in the cooling process is "pure"
water, in contrast to the very small percentage of drift droplets or water blown out
of the air inlets.

Blow-down - The portion of the circulating water flow that is removed in order to
maintain the amount of dissolved solids and other impurities at an acceptable level.

Leaching - The loss of wood preservative chemicals by the washing action of the
water flowing through a wood structure cooling tower.

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Noise - Sound energy emitted by a cooling tower and heard (recorded) at a given
distance and direction. The sound is generated by the impact of falling water, by
the movement of air by fans, the fan blades moving in the structure, and the
motors, gearboxes or drive belts.

A mechanical induced-draft cooling tower

Natural draft wet cooling hyperbolic towers at Didcot Power Station, UK

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2.1.1. CLASSIFICATION BY USE

HVAC

An HVAC cooling tower is a subcategory rejecting heat from a chiller. Water-

cooled chillers are normally more energy efficient than air-cooled chillers due to
heat rejection to tower water at or near wet-bulb temperatures. Air-cooled chillers
must reject heat at the dry-bulb temperature, and thus have a lower average
reverse-Carnot cycle effectiveness. Large office buildings, hospitals, and schools
typically use one or more cooling towers as part of their air conditioning systems.
Generally, industrial cooling towers are much larger than HVAC towers.

HVAC use of a cooling tower pairs the cooling tower with a water-cooled chiller
or water-cooled condenser. A ton of air-conditioning is the removal of
12,000 Btu/hour (3517 W). The equivalent ton on the cooling tower side actually
rejects about 15,000 Btu/hour (4396 W) due to the heat-equivalent of the energy
needed to drive the chiller's compressor. This equivalent ton is defined as the heat
rejection in cooling 3 U.S. gallons/minute (1,500 pound/hour) of water 10 °F (5.56
°C), which amounts to 15,000 Btu/hour, or a chiller coefficient-of-performance
(COP) of 4.0. This COP is equivalent to an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 13.65.

Cooling towers are also used in HVAC systems that have multiple water source
heat pumps that share a common piping "loop". In this type of system the cooling
tower is used to remove the heat that is generated whenever the heat pumps are in
the cooling mode.

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 Mechanical draft cross flow cooling tower used in an HVAC application

Industrial cooling towers

Industrial cooling towers can be used to remove heat from various sources such as
machinery or heated process material. The primary use of large, industrial cooling
towers is to remove the heat absorbed in the circulating cooling water systems used
in power plants, petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing
plants, food processing plants, semi-conductor plants, and for other industrial
facilities such as in condensers of distillation columns, for cooling liquid in
crystallization, etc. The circulation rate of cooling water in a typical 700 MW coal-
fired power plant with a cooling tower amounts to about 71,600 cubic metres an
hour (315,000 U.S. gallons per minute)  and the circulating water requires a supply
water make-up rate of perhaps 5 percent (i.e., 3,600 cubic metres an hour).

If that same plant had no cooling tower and used once-through cooling water, it

would require about 100,000 cubic metres an hour [4] and that amount of water
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would have to be continuously returned to the ocean, lake or river from which it
was obtained and continuously re-supplied to the plant. Furthermore, discharging
large amounts of hot water may raise the temperature of the receiving river or lake
to an unacceptable level for the local ecosystem. Elevated water temperatures can
kill fish and other aquatic organisms. (See thermal pollution.) A cooling tower
serves to dissipate the heat into the atmosphere instead and wind and air diffusion
spreads the heat over a much larger area than hot water can distribute heat in a
body of water. Some coal-fired and nuclear power plants located in coastal areas
do make use of once-through ocean water. But even there, the offshore discharge
water outlet requires very careful design to avoid environmental problems.

Petroleum refineries also have very large cooling tower systems. A typical large
refinery processing 40,000 metric tonnes of crude oil per day (300,000 barrels per
day) circulates about 80,000 cubic metres of water per hour through its cooling
tower system.

The world's tallest cooling tower is the 200 metre tall cooling tower
of Niederaussem Power Station.

2.1.2. HEAT TRANSFER METHODS

With respect to the heat transfer mechanism employed, the main types are:

 Wet cooling towers or simply cooling towers operate on the principle

of evaporation. The working fluid and the evaporated fluid (usually H 2O) are
one and the same.
 Dry coolers operate by heat transfer through a surface that separates the
working fluid from ambient air, such as in a heat exchanger, utilizing
convective heat transfer. They do not use evaporation.

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 Fluid coolers are hybrids that pass the working fluid through a tube bundle,
upon which clean water is sprayed and a fan-induced draft applied. The
resulting heat transfer performance is much closer to that of a wet cooling
tower, with the advantage provided by a dry cooler of protecting the working
fluid from environmental exposure.

In a wet cooling tower, the warm water can be cooled to a temperature lower than
the ambient air dry-bulb temperature, if the air is relatively dry. (see: dew
point and psychrometrics). As ambient air is drawn past a flow of water,
evaporation occurs. Evaporation results in saturated air conditions, lowering the
temperature of the water to the wet bulb air temperature, which is lower than the
ambient dry bulb air temperature, the difference determined by the humidity of the
ambient air.

To achieve better performance (more cooling), a medium called fill is used to

increase the surface area between the air and water flows.Splash fill consists of
material placed to interrupt the water flow causing splashing. Film fill is composed
of thin sheets of material upon which the water flows. Both methods create
increased surface area.

2.1.3. AIR FLOW GENERATION METHODS

With respect to drawing air through the tower, there are three types of cooling
towers:

 Natural draft, which utilizes buoyancy via a tall chimney. Warm, moist
air naturally rises due to the density differential to the dry, cooler outside air.
Warm moist air is less dense than drier air at the same pressure. This moist air
buoyancy produces a current of air through the tower.

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 Mechanical draft, which uses power driven fan motors to force or draw air
through the tower.
 Induced draft: A mechanical draft tower with a fan at the discharge which
pulls air through tower. The fan induces hot moist air out the discharge. This
produces low entering and high exiting air velocities, reducing the
possibility of recirculation in which discharged air flows back into the air
intake. This fan/fin arrangement is also known as draw-through. (see Image
2, 3)
 Forced draft: A mechanical draft tower with a blower type fan at the intake.
The fan forces air into the tower, creating high entering and low exiting air
velocities. The low exiting velocity is much more susceptible to
recirculation. With the fan on the air intake, the fan is more susceptible to
complications due to freezing conditions. Another disadvantage is that a
forced draft design typically requires more motor horsepower than an
equivalent induced draft design. The forced draft benefit is its ability to work
with high static pressure. They can be installed in more confined spaces and
even in some indoor situations. This fan/fill geometry is also known
as blow-through. (see Image 4)
 Fan assisted natural draft. A hybrid type that appears like a natural draft
though airflow is assisted by a fan.

Hyperboloid (a.k.a. hyperbolic) cooling towers (Image 1) have become the design

standard for all natural-draft cooling towers because of their structural strength and
minimum usage of material. The hyperboloid shape also aids in accelerating the
upward convective air flow, improving cooling efficiency. They are popularly
associated with nuclear power plants. However, this association is misleading, as
the same kind of cooling towers are often used at large coal-fired power plants as

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well. Similarly, not all nuclear power plants have cooling towers, instead cooling
their heat exchangers with lake, river or ocean water.

2.1.4. CATEGORIZATION BY AIR-TO-WATER FLOW

Crossflow

Crossflow is a design in which the air flow is directed perpendicular to the water
flow (see diagram below). Air flow enters one or more vertical faces of the cooling
tower to meet the fill material. Water flows (perpendicular to the air) through the
fill by gravity. The air continues through the fill and thus past the water flow into
an open plenum area. A distribution or hot water basin consisting of a deep pan
with holes or nozzlesin the bottom is utilized in a crossflow tower. Gravity
distributes the water through the nozzles uniformly across the fill material.

Figure-1: Cross flow type design

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Counterflow

In a counter flow design the air flow is directly opposite to the water flow (see
diagram below). Air flow first enters an open area beneath the fill media and is
then drawn up vertically. The water is sprayed through pressurized nozzles and
flows downward through the fill, opposite to the air flow.

Figure-2: Counterflow type design

Common to both designs:

 The interactions of the air and water flow allow a partial equalization and
evaporation of water.
 The air, now saturated with water vapor, is discharged from the cooling
tower.

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 A collection or cold water basin is used to contain the water after its
interaction with the air flow.

Both crossflow and counterflow designs can be used in natural draft and
mechanical draft cooling towers.

WET COOLING TOWER SYSTEM

Figure-3: Cooling tower system

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2.2. AIR AMPLIFIER

Air Amplifiers are efficient air movers that put the surrounding ambient air to work
in order to solve common industrial problems. Air Amplifiers can be used to vent
welding smoke, cool hot parts, clean machined parts, distribute heat in
molds/ovens, ventilate confined areas, exhaust tank fumes and wipe hose, wire,
and fiber optics.

Air Amplifiers pull in large volumes of surrounding room air to create output
airflows that are up to 25 times that of the compressed air consumption rate, while
still being quiet.

The airflow and velocity of an Air Amplifier are infinitely controllable. Large or
small volumes of air are easily obtained by controlling the amount of compressed
air usage with a pressure regulator.

High Temperature Air Amplifiers are very efficient for pushing high volumes of
hot air to points that typically remain cool. These special Air Amplifiers can
handle temperatures up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit and have a special coated
surface.

Super Air Amplifiers have the highest ratios of amplification and are the most
efficient. They have been designed so that a precise amount of compressed air is
released at exactly the right time toward the center of the Super Air Amplifier. This
creates a constant, high velocity outlet flow across the entire area. They are
typically three times quieter than other Air Amplifiers.

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Adjustable Air Amplifiers have very good amplification also, but allow you to
adjust the air gap. This adjustment allows you to have an outlet flow from a
"breeze" to a "blast". Adjustable Air Amplifiers are manufactured in aluminum or
stainless steel, with the stainless steel allowing them to be used in food service and
corrosive environments, and at higher temperatures.

Simple and low cost Air Amplifiers offer distinct advantages over blowers and
fans. Energy conscious plants might think a blower to be a better choice due to its
slightly lower electrical consumption compared to a compressor. In reality, a
blower is an expensive capital expenditure that requires frequent downtime and
costly maintenance of filters, belts and bearings.

Air Amplifiers offer the following advantages:

 Compact, lightweight and portable

 Use no electricity
 Allow variable force and flow for a variety of operations
 High temperature models are available for temperatures up to 700 degrees
Fahrenheit. The bearings in blowers typically start to fail around 125 degrees
Fahrenheit.
 No moving parts to wear out, assuring low maintenance during operation
 No internal obstructions

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2.2.1. WORKING OF AIR AMPLIFIER

Figure-4: Working of air amplifier

Compressed air flows from the supply inlet (1) into an annular chamber (2) and
then throttled by an annular gap (3) resulting in high velocity air which adheres to
the Coanda profile (4) which directs the flow outward. The low pressure area at (5)
draws in a high volume of surrounding air (6) producing high volume, high
velocity output flow.

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AIR AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

Replace fans, used for blow-off, cleaning, drying, cooling and conveying.
 Automotive: 
Remove water, coolant, dust, and scrap in parts manufacturing/assembly
operations. Cool enamel and water based paints in parts manufacturing, auto
body shops or assembly lines.
 Bottling: 
Blow off of water from the tops of cans, bottles prior to labeling, ink jetting,
palletizing or packaging. Conveying light materials.
 Chemicals: 
Blow off of chemicals or water prior to labeling or packaging.
 Food: 
Remove water from product or packaging.
 General manufacturing:
Part ejection, fume removal, dust and liquid blow off from all types of parts,
conveying away waste, ideal for replacing fans in some cooling operations
such as tempering glass.
 Metals: 
Coolant and other liquid removal on process lines from Aluminum, Steel,
Brass or other materials. Dry metals prior to other operations such as plating or
polishing. Cool metal parts prior to coating or painting. Coolant mist removal.
Boost vacuum systems to remove grinding dust. Cool steel forgings.

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 Paper&lumber
Sawdust removal and control by boosting the vacuum system, dust removal.
Trim removal in converting applications.
 Plastic: 
Dust and scrap blow off. Cool moldings after extrusion, then blow off and dry
prior to forming.
 Printing: 
Cooling to set some inks, scrap blow off.
 Pharmaceutical: 
Remove liquid prior to labeling or packaging waste removal for solid
materials. Extract unfilled capsules by vacuum as they pass on a conveyor.
 Textile: 
Scrap and trim removal on textiles to eliminate expensive vacuum systems.

2.2.2. ADJUSTABLE AIR AMPLIFIER

Adjustable Air Amplifier is used for a variety of applications - either coated

aluminum or stainless steel for high temperature and corrosive environments.
Adjustable Air Amplifier is easy to mount and maintain. Compressed
air consumption and noise levels are reduced. Adjustable Air Amplifier takes
energy from a small volume of compressed air to produce high velocity, high
volume, low pressure output airflow.

Adjustable Air Amplifier is quiet, efficient and can amplify flows up to 20 times
their input air consumption rate.

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Working of adjustable air amplifier

Figure-5: Working of adjustable air amplifier

1. Annular air collection chamber

2. Adjustable nozzle ring gap
3. Coanda profile
4. Entrained air
5. Lock ring for adjustment

The compressed air is piped through the threaded inlet port in to the (1) annular
collection chamber (2) where it forced through the nozzle ring gap at very high
velocity. The air follows the coanda profile (3) creating a vacuum like effect
pulling the external air (4) into the funnel converting pressure into flow

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resulting in a very powerful jet stream. The lock ring (5) secures the adjustment
made to the nozzle ring gap.

2.3. RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Advantages of rain water harvesting

• Promotes adequacy of underground water.

• Mitigates the effect of drought.

• Reduces soil erosion as surface run-off is reduced.

• Decreases load on storm water disposal system.

• Reduces flood hazards.

• Improves ground water quality / decreases salinity (by dilution).

• Prevents ingress of sea water in subsurface aquifers in coastal areas.

• Improves ground water table, thus saving energy (to lift water).

• The cost of recharging subsurface aquifer is lower than surface reservoirs.

• The subsurface aquifer also serves as storage and distribution system.

• No land is wasted for storage purpose and no population displacement is

involved.

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STORAGE FOR DIRECT USE:

Figure-6: Rain water harvesting

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 2.4. PRESSMATIC TAP

Pressmatic tap

These taps have to pressed and they then dispense water. After sometime the
spring pushes the cap back on top and the water flow is arrested. To turn water
back on, one has to press the cap down again. We are not sure if it is a very
practical thing for homes, but if you have water shortage, you could consider these.

Usage of threaded taps leads to wastage of water, due to leakage and other ways.
So instead of those taps we proposed pressmatic taps which is open for 6 seconds
and then automatically closes. This time is found to be comfortable for hand
washing.

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2.4. TRIGGER NOZZLE

A nozzle fitted to the end of the hose controlled by:

• A trigger which must be depressed continuously, or locked in the ‘on’ position,

by hand for water to flow; or

• A discrete switch which can be turned off or on by hand, with a single movement.

Water saving tips for using a trigger nozzle:

1. Remember to turn off the water at the tap after use.

2. Shut off the water in between rinses when washing your car, or when moving

from plant to plant when watering your garden.

3. Check your hose and fittings to make sure they are in good condition, and

replace with quality fittings if required. Worn hoses and fittings are more likely

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to leak or result in tap ‘blow-offs’ (water pressure causes the hose to detach

from the tap).

REFERENCES

1. Air amplifier information at: www.nex-flow.com.

2. Cooling System Retrofit Costs EPA Workshop on Cooling Water Intake
Technologies, John Maulbetsch, Maulbetsch Consulting, May 2003.
3. NFPA 214, Standard on Water-Cooling Towers. Section A1.1.
4. www.wikipedia.com.
5. Google book search, site: www.google.com.

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