Abstract
Bamboo grid packing (BGP) is a new kind of cooling packing, used in some Chinese hyperbolic cooling towers, which has excellent potential to complement or replace cooling packing made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cement, and glass fiber-reinforced plastic. For bamboo applications, mechanical properties and service life are matters of concern; this is strongly associated with bamboo’s chemical composition and mass loss. To better understand the mechanics of mechanical property deterioration and service life reduction, this study investigated the effects of hygrothermal environments in cooling towers on the chemical and elemental composition, mass loss, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, and color changes of BGP. The results showed that BGP that had been in service for nine years in cooling towers exhibited major decreases in content of hemicellulose and benzene-ethanol extractives, as well as a significant increases in the content of α-cellulose and lignin. Exposure to the hygrothermal environment led to a decrease of oxygen content and around 8% mass loss, as well as an increase in carbon content compared to control samples. The hot water flow in cooling towers not only hydrolyzed hemicellulose, but also degraded some functional groups in cellulose and lignin. The lightness (L*) and chromaticity (a* and b*) parameters of the used BGP all decreased, except for the a* value of the outer skin. The total color change (ΔE*) of the inner skin of used BGP exceeded that of the outer skin.
Highlights
A hyperbolic cooling tower is a device wherein hot water from the system is cooled by the ambient air with the assistance of cooling packing [1], and it is widely used in industries due to its high capacity for heat rejection and energy saving [2]
The structure of bamboo is stable because the natural tissues of the cell walls are composed of three bio-based chemicals—cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin
The results of this study confirmed that the hygrothermal environment in cooling towers influenced the chemical and elemental composition, mass loss, chemical structure, and color changes of Bamboo grid packing (BGP)
Summary
A hyperbolic cooling tower is a device wherein hot water from the system is cooled by the ambient air with the assistance of cooling packing [1], and it is widely used in industries due to its high capacity for heat rejection and energy saving [2]. As the core component of a cooling tower, good cooling packing increases effective contact between air and water, which promotes heat and mass transfer, and provides less resistance to the movement of air to reduce pressure drop [3]. In order to improve heat dissipation efficiency and reduce cost, many different materials have been used as cooling packing, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cement, and glass fiber-reinforced plastic. PVC packing with smooth- and cross-ribbing is the most popular kind due to its outstanding cooling performance and lightness in weight. It is used in 96% of cooling towers [4]. PVC packing has lots of disadvantages, such as short service life, poor anti-fouling properties, environmental burdens, etc
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