One of the key uses of water in industry is cooling materials or equipment . Many times, in industrial processes, very high temperatures occur that produce unwanted heat that must be eliminated.
How does an industrial water cooling work?
There are different types of industrial refrigeration systems. The choice of one or the other will depend on the needs of the customers and the industrial processes. However, they all have in common that they use water as a cooling element.
In these systems there will be a heat exchange between the process and the refrigerant. Depending on the design they will be open or closed circuits , in the former the refrigerant will be in contact with the environment and in the latter it will go through tubes.
The final temperature will depend on the cooling system and the temperature of the coolant. In addition to water, air can also be used in these processes, but water allows a greater thermal capacity.
Other reasons for choosing water in these processes are that it is a safe and ecological fluid and that there are no physical or environmental risks in the event of a leak. In addition, it reduces costs in the event that modifications have to be made.
It is important that the cooling systems are used in suitable environmental conditions , so that corrosion does not occur on metals, impurities in the water, microbiological contamination or fouling.
What are the main cooling systems?
Among the main cooling systems are:
1- Industrial water chiller
It is a type of refrigeration machine that is used in processes where low temperatures are required. One of its main uses is to condition and air-condition large surfaces. It is a circuit of limited size where, as its name suggests, the water is cooled with the help of a coolant. In addition, some of these machines include heat pumps, so apart from cooling water, they can also heat it.
2- Cooling towers
Cooling towers are used in industrial processes to lower the temperature of water in large volumes. The temperature of the water leaving the tower will be above that of the wet bulb. This type of cooling system is efficient in the use of electrical energy and is not harmful to the environment. Cooling towers can cool water directly or indirectly; In the direct method, the water only makes its way inside the tower and, in the indirect method, there is a heat exchanger outside the tower, which is the one that carries out the heat transfer between the industrial process liquid and the tower water.
3- Aerocoolers
There are dry and adiabatic air coolers (the most efficient). The dry ones cool the water taking advantage of the dry temperature of the environment and will not require any waste of water. Adiabats have a module that allows them to cool taking advantage of the humid temperature of the environment.
In addition, adiabatic cooling is also characterized by allowing energy savings and up to 80% more water than cooling towers. This is because the process consists of incorporating water into an air mass; This water will use the heat from the air to evaporate, thus cooling it.
Air coolers, in addition to cooling water, are also used in industry to cool processes, mineral oils and other fluids.
At Intersam we manufacture up to 147 models of this cooling system, which offer multiple features and are classified into various series. The aircoolers with iDrop system they do not require water treatment or produce aerosols.
4- Evaporatives
These cooling systems are frequently used in industrial air conditioning. It stands out for the energy savings involved in its use. The heat is released through the evaporation of the water which, together with a stream of air in the heat exchanger, will produce the cooling.