A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger that removes waste heat from a system (like an industrial process or an HVAC system) by transferring it to the atmosphere through the cooling of water. It uses evaporation to cool down water, which is then reused in the process.
How It Works (Basic Principle)
- Hot water from an industrial process or air conditioning condenser is pumped to the cooling tower.
- The water is distributed over fill material (packing) inside the tower to increase surface area.
- Air is drawn through the tower (by fans or natural draft), flowing over and through the water.
- A small portion of the water evaporates, removing latent heat from the remaining water.
- Cooled water is collected at the bottom and returned to the process to absorb heat again.