Evaporative Cooling Towers

Warm water cascades through the cooling tower while air flows upward through the tower. As the water comes in direct contact with the air, a small amount (about 1%) continually evaporates. The evaporation cools the remaining water in the system. Cooling tower fans turn on and off as needed to regulate the water temperature.

The cooling tower is connected to a water source to replenish the evaporated water. Because exposure to the air causes some debris accumulation in the water, and evaporation causes minerals to concentrate, evaporative cooling towers require a water monitoring and treatment program.

Open evaporative cooling towers use fans to draw air over the warm water that cascades down through the tower.

Closed-circuit evaporative cooling towers include a tubular heat exchanger coil mounted inside the tower. Process fluid flows through the heat exchanger, remaining separate from the potentially corrosive tower water. The tower water is retained in the tower basin, and a spray pump circulates it to the top of the tower and over the tube heat exchanger.

Evaporative cooling towers provide cooling with the minimal initial investment and offer significant water savings when compared with using once-through cooling solutions.