Common Issues With Cooling Towers That No One Tells You About

Cooling Tower

A cooling tower is a heat exchanger device used in many small scale or large scale industries. Cooling towers are often found in many industries like power plants, steel mills, chemical processing industries and a whole range of manufacturing industries where the cooling process is essential.

There are usually common problems with cooling towers, it may vary depending on the cooling tower maintenance and quality. Industries making frequent use of cooling towers should keep a record of the fundamental types of water handling problems. These problems will highly affect the efficiency of cooling towers in the long run even if it is a natural draft cooling tower. Let’s have a deeper look into the problems that peak out in industrial cooling towers.

Corrosion

Water is known to corrode possibly every material on earth. Water may not be the foremost offender to corrosion in cooling towers but it certainly renders the corrosive factors to progress. The combination and reaction of sodium, air and other chemical components found in the water supply are responsible for the corrosion.

It threatens the safety and efficiency of the cooling towers and the entire process unless preventive measures are taken to reduce corrosion. However, several methods can help to prevent corrosion or at the least, limit it in your cooling towers.

• Regular inspection of the framework
• Ensure to repair the damages that are already done
• Conducting proper routine maintenance
• Using corrosion-resistant materials where possible in order to prevent further corrosion and metal loss
• Solve even minor issues instantly after your cooling tower application

Fouling

Fouling means the clogging of cooling pipes or surfaces with dust, dirt and debris. This clogging stops the water from passing through the fill as designed so the air does not cool properly. This contaminates the water as well and if it is left unchecked the contaminated soiled water can bar up the water sprouts in the cooling tower which will consequently decrease its productivity and enhance energy consumption.

Fouling occurs at different areas of the cooling tower system and the fill is one of the prime locations for fouling to occur.

Necessary steps to take for prevention of fouling is to have a well-maintained filtration technique along with the chemical treatment to separate the contaminants in the water.

Scale Build-up

The scale is another very common issue in cooling towers. The scale is usually developed by the accumulation of inorganic mineral compounds that are found in water like calcium, magnesium silicate, phosphate and iron oxide. Scaling humiliates the heat transference performance since scale accumulation covers the core part of the cooling tower. Neglecting the scale accumulation can lead to extremely high energy expenses to operate the cooling tower. And in the worst-case scenario, it may also need the complete cooling system to be sealed and repaired.

The scale build-up can be prevented by monitoring and treating the calcium levels in the water. Another option is using conductive-coatings, it will allow the heat exchange to continue even with no surface where the mineral build-up can stick. And ensure to regularly monitor and clean the system to remove scale and prevent an accumulation of build-up.

Noise emission

Cooling towers are known to produce an extreme level of noise pollution. This brings up issues with strict noise regulations and laws. This forces industries to abide by the rules and ensure the noise generated by cooling towers is under control.

There are certain applications where it is imperative to reduce the sound such as residential areas, medical facilities and office buildings which can seem to be tough.

What causes noise from cooling towers?

The primary sources of noise are fans, fan motors and the airflow which is accompanied by the waterfall noises which is produced due to the droplets of the falling water hitting the basin. However, there are some noise control solutions to implement and possibly reduce noise pollution and they are:

1. Using efficient cooling fans:
   The right aerodynamic design and use of optimised blade profiles and inserts or a new cooling fan could serve in the reduction of the noise.
2. Optimizing initial design of cooling towers:
   Considering the initial design of cooling towers will help you to ensure that everything is optimised as per the size and energy that is required and preventing excess speed or power to be used since that is the cause of noise in cooling towers. Implementing absorbing silencers, creating louvered air inlets, or building sound barrier walls can reduce the intensity of sound.
3. Implementing noise reduction solutions:
   The noise of droplets of water falling in the basin can be reduced by placing noise reduction mats on the surface of the basin.

In Summary

These were some of the common problems faced with cooling towers in industries. You are more likely to manage the heat exchange process and maintain the efficiency of cooling towers if you are well aware of the problems caused to the equipment. It ultimately saves energy, time and money; and improves efficiency.