Cooling Solutions for Chemical Process Plants

Heavy industrial applications such as manufacturing, chemical processing and oil-and-gas refining use cooling towers and other equipment to cool the water integral to their operations. As environmental regulations and challenging market conditions place higher demands on these industries, improved cooling technologies are emerging to help address the challenges.

cooling tower

Some modern cooling towers include modular, pre-assembled components that can be shipped “just in time” to the job site to reduce construction time and manpower requirements.

In the oil-and-gas industry, many cooling towers currently in service were built as part of the original refinery construction, and they are fast approaching the end of their service lives. In order to meet modern production demands and industry requirements, these towers must be upgraded or replaced with more efficient products, and better long-term maintenance plans must be instituted.

Cooling Tower Operation and Types

Cooling towers are specialized heat exchangers that reduce the temperature of water by bringing it in contact with air. Water, which has been heated by an industrial process, is pumped to the cooling tower through pipes. The water sprays through nozzles onto banks of heat transfer material called fill, which slows the flow of water through the cooling tower and exposes as much water surface area as possible for maximum air-water contact. As the water flows through the cooling tower, it also is exposed to air that is pulled through the tower by an electric-motor-driven fan.

When the water and air meet, a small amount of water is evaporated, creating a cooling action. The cooled water then is pumped back to the process equipment, where it absorbs heat. It then will be pumped back to the cooling tower to be cooled once again.

Different types of cooling towers are suited for different industrial cooling needs. Field-erected towers (FEP) are constructed on site, designed for large heat loads and are engineered to address the specific application.

Field-erected towers are well suited for power and heavy industrial uses, and they are frequently found in refineries and chemical processing plants.

Factory-assembled towers (FAP) are constructed in modules at a manufacturing facility and then shipped to the processing plant in as few pieces as possible for final assembly. Factory-assembled towers are available in many cooling capacities and box sizes, and they include standardized mechanical and structural components.

For refineries and chemical processing plants, open-circuit wet cooling towers — coupled with shell-and-tube or plate-and-frame heat exchangers — provide an economical method for rejecting heat. These towers are designed to wet bulb temperature and can cool water to a lower temperature than some other technologies. But, refineries and processing plants also employ other methods to achieve cooling.