What is cooling tower?
A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that removes waste heat from water (or another process fluid) by transferring it to the atmosphere, usually through evaporation.
In simple terms:
- Hot water (from industrial processes, power plants, HVAC systems, etc.) is circulated into the cooling tower.
- Inside, the water is distributed over fill material, which increases surface area and improves heat transfer.
- Air flows through the tower (naturally or by fans), causing a small portion of the water to evaporate.
- This evaporation removes heat from the remaining water, cooling it down.
- The cooled water is then re circulated back into the system.
Types of Cooling Towers:
- Natural Draft – Use the chimney effect to draw air upward (commonly seen as huge hyperboloid towers in power plants).
- Mechanical Draft – Use fans to force or draw air through (common in HVAC and smaller plants).
- Forced draft: Fans push air in.
- Induced draft: Fans pull air out.
Applications:
- Power plants (dissipating turbine condenser heat)
- Oil refineries and petrochemical plants
- HVAC systems for large buildings
- Manufacturing and steel plants