Problems with air-cooled tower fillers

This post was last edited by Pei Qinghua on 2017-7-14 at 10:42. Based on experience from other industries, when this type of filler reaches such a state, it is due to aging issues; no maintenance can resolve the problem, and any attempt at maintenance results in its disposal. So, given your situation, it’s better to replace it if you have the time

Is it hard to control the temperature? What is the temperature difference at the cold end of the air-cooled tower? It is usually within 1°C; if it exceeds 2°C, the reason needs to be investigated. We have been using our air-cooling tower for 6 years without replacing the packing, but we conduct inspections of the tower during each maintenance session, including the wire mesh demister, water distributor, packing, and air inlet distributor ； It’s mostly because the water distributor is covered with sludge, which gets washed away when water is applied; it hasn’t been acid-washed yet. It is recommended that the poster analyze the trend of the temperature difference at the cold end of the air-cooled tower, along with any changes in the tower’s resistance, in order to predict potential problems. Air-cooled towers generally do not suffer from scaling, except in the high-temperature area at the bottom (with the exception of low-temperature scaling), as the water entering the tower is filtered first ； Will pickling reduce the strength of the filler?

What is the basis for a one-degree temperature difference? The air-cooled tower features two-stage heat exchange; the low-temperature water supplied by the chiller ensures a constant temperature and flow rate, whereas the temperature of the normal-temperature water changes as the temperature of the circulating water changes. Therefore, in my opinion, whether the temperature difference should be within 1 degree or within 2–3 degrees depends on the temperature of the circulating water, and there is a certain threshold value for this~~

The water quality in chemical plants and steel mills is really not satisfactory; it can easily lead to clogging of distribution tanks and fillers, as well as scaling on these fillers. By comparing data from previous years, an increase in temperature difference usually indicates that there is blockage inside the air cooling towers~~

The temperature difference design for the cold end (low-temperature section) of air-cooled towers is currently generally set at within 1°C; for actual installations, the values from the time of initial operation should be used as a reference； As long as the amount of water and air are matched, the effect of water temperature will not affect this temperature difference ； The low-temperature water with a chiller is not necessarily at a constant temperature and flow rate; this depends on the feed and operation of the water cooling tower.

Building on the original poster’s question, I would like to ask further: in the past, the packing used in air-cooling towers was divided into three categories based on their temperature resistance levels – stainless steel, ordinary polypropylene, and reinforced polypropylene – with three types of packing rings available: stepped rings, Boll rings, and conjugate rings； In recent years, the packing used in the air-cooled towers of air separation units has mostly been the Baffle Ring type. What are the considerations behind this?

This depends on the water quality; it’s sufficient to check it each time there are major or medium-scale repairs. Check if it has not aged, and then continue using it.

It’s simply a matter of considering factors such as performance and cost-effectiveness~~ The Bower ring is the most suitable choice~~

It’s simply a matter of considering factors such as performance and cost-effectiveness~~ The Bower ring is the most suitable choice~~