How should a circulating water system that transports water to high elevations be designed?
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The more than a dozen coolers in the facility are located at high elevations and are cooled using circulating water. The amount of circulating water required for these coolers at high positions accounts for over 80% of the total circulating water volume. The facility has two cooling towers with a capacity of 600 tons per hour each. If these cooling towers were designed at a ground level of ±0.00 meters, the head required by the circulating water pumps would be relatively high, around 50 meters. As the return water from these coolers at high elevations flows back to the cooling towers, this results in high power consumption for the circulating water pumps. Thus, the high head requirement of these pumps leads to energy waste. How can it be designed to be more energy-efficient while keeping the cooler at a high position? One approach is to place the cooling tower at a high elevation as well, but where exactly should that cooling tower be located at such a high height? If it is used together with the main unit, how are issues such as floor load capacity and water leakage from the cooling tower addressed? Are there any other better design options? Please share your suggestions; thank you!
It is not practical to place the cooling tower at a high location, and the head capacity of the circulation pump can only be determined based on the most demanding conditions. If the volume is very small, could we consider adding another pump? 80% of the usage occurs at high levels, so there isn’t much waste.
1. A pipeline pump can be considered for use in conjunction with this, to pump the circulating water from a higher location upward； 2. If conditions permit, on the plane where the condenser is located, a small-scale circulation system for the water used in the condenser should be employed; this water is cooled by air cooling (with a small amount of water sprayed) ； 3. If the process permits, the condenser can be modified to use air cooling for cooling (by spraying a small amount of water).
With the water usage already at a high level, there’s nothing left to waste. Placing a cooling pool at a high place is simply not practical. If the pump head is 50 meters high, the kinetic energy loss of the return water is also significant; it might be advisable to replace the fan in the cooling tower with a turbine driven by the pressure of the return water. It can save electricity used by the fan.