Cooling system
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What is the difference in sequence between air cooling + water cooling, and water cooling + air cooling?
Since the compressed rich gas is in a gaseous state, and the heat transfer coefficient of gaseous media is extremely poor, if air cooling is placed after water cooling, first, when the gas passes through the cooler, the heat transfer area is small, resulting in a heat transfer efficiency that is not as good as that achieved with air cooling. Secondly, the final temperature after further air cooling fails to drop, which affects the cooling efficiency. On the other hand, if air cooling is carried out before water cooling, the large heat transfer area of air cooling results in a higher film heat transfer coefficient when the cooled oil and gas undergo water cooling; moreover, the lower temperature after cooling meets the production requirements.
Generally, air cooling is carried out first and then water cooling. Think about it: if water cooling is done first, the gas phase will have already condensed into a liquid phase, and then cooling that liquid phase from the bottom doesn’t serve a significant purpose