How to prevent freezing in circulating water cooling towers in winter

As long as water is flowing, it generally won’t freeze; therefore, as long as there is continuous circulation of water in your circulating cooling tower, it won’t freeze.

During winter, especially in the northern regions, ice formation can occur in cooling towers. This should not affect their overall performance, but it’s still best to have a solution for this issue; experts, please share your advice.

Where technically feasible, appropriately raise the return water temperature.

In the design of the new tower, two preventive methods can be considered: ① The upper edge of the air inlet features a slope leading inward toward the tower, rather than being horizontal as in traditional designs； ② A water guide is installed along the bottom inside the upper horizontal beam of the air inlet, extending downward (or at an angle downward). Freezing of the columns at the air inlet of the cooling tower occurs because these columns are in direct contact with the cooling tower’s packing; some of the water flows down along the surface of the columns due to gravity. When exposed to cold air in winter, this leads to freezing. In the ice prevention renovation of old tower defenses, two methods are generally used to prevent the columns from freezing. ① More water flow (hot water) is poured onto the pillar; as the water flow increases and the heat content rises, freezing no longer occurs on the pillar. ② Ice prevention pipes are installed on the columns, by directing a portion of hot water to these pipes to prevent the columns from freezing. In the design of the new tower, the columns can also be moved inward into the tower, thereby completely solving the icing problem.

The one on the 6th floor is very professional and worth learning from*. These aspects must be thoroughly considered during the design phase; otherwise, making changes after production begins is very difficult.

Our factory just keeps operating; temperatures of over minus 20 degrees here are completely normal. The approach used on the 6th floor is good, but it’s already in use. How long will it take to complete your renovations?

Hello, brother on the 8th floor. Since it has already been put into operation, there are inevitably defects in the design that cannot be changed. There are two methods, but it’s too difficult to carry out the work without shutting off the water supply; it’s better to complete it when there’s a chance for maintenance – it takes about 2 days per tower. 1. Install a fiberglass water diversion device under the lower edge of the air inlet to direct water into the tower as much as possible, thereby reducing the likelihood of icing at the air inlet. 2. It is possible to adopt a operating mode that involves reducing the number of cooling towers in use or shutting down some of the fans; for example, two fans can be shut down while one remains operational, or three fans can be shut down while one stays running, as long as the process requirements of the installation are met. This approach helps to prevent freezing while also saving on electricity consumption. Increase the wetting density of the tower. 3. During winter operation of the cooling tower, as long as it does not affect the process requirements of the installation, the cooling water does not need to be sent to the tower; it can even be directly injected into the water to prevent freezing. 4. If icing occurs due to problems with the use and maintenance of the cooling tower. Measures such as operating the cooling tower at full capacity can be taken to increase the water spray density and melt the ice accumulated inside the tower. The above are my personal opinions; please consider the practical feasibility of them. I welcome your suggestions so that we can improve together.

I learned something new, and I can now apply it. Thank you.

The return water can be directly poured into the tank, without going through a cooling tower; moreover, water flowing in large-diameter pipes is less likely to freeze

When the temperature drops below minus 25 degrees, our factory reverses the direction of operation of the fans in order to raise the temperature; however, this makes the temperature a bit too high... Is it possible to add salt to the water?

If anyone has any other good methods, please share your opinions.

Does adding salt to water cause increased corrosion?

This method is quite good; I also learned a lot of new things. I usually don’t study this very often

Adding salt, as well as increasing the flow rate, does not make the water sound any better

Haha, everyone is right; I’ve learned a lot

Although it won’t freeze, the corrosion on the equipment is too severe to allow its use. I think a good solution is to increase the water flow rate, or raise the temperature of the return water slightly, in order to reduce splashing of the return water

In the north, where temperatures are low, water inevitably splashes out of the cooling towers. In areas with low water flow or slow water velocity, freezing is bound to occur. During shift work, I would often go to break the ice in the cold water tower as well. Later, in order to reduce icing on the cooling tower, measures were taken to insulate it, and as a result, the ice formation on the cooling tower was significantly reduced. The method is simple: enclose the cooling tower with woven fabric. In other words, it prevents water droplets from splashing to some extent and also provides a certain level of insulation; in the winters of the north, such insulation should not affect the performance of the cooling tower.