Parametric study of heat/mass transfer performance of seawater–air two‐phase counterflow in packing in seawater cooling towers

Abstract

AbstractA large amount of waste heat generated in industrial production needs to be discharged by circulating cooling water systems. To save freshwater resources, freshwater cooling towers have been widely replaced by seawater cooling towers in coastal areas, but research on the thermal performance of seawater cooling towers is still relatively less. In this study, a detailed calculation model based on the heat/mass transfer process of seawater–air two‐phase counterflow was established, and the reliability of the proposed model was verified. The computer program developed under the VC++ framework was used for the numerical solution of the model. The effects of five inlet parameters on the cooling efficiency and heat dissipation were studied. The simulation results showed that with the increase of salinity, the cooling performance was reduced. When the salinity increased by 10 g/kg, the outlet water temperature rose by about 0.13°C. The wet‐bulb temperature increased by 1°C and the cooling efficiency increased by about 0.77%, while total heat dissipation was reduced by about 36.37 kW. When the air–water ratio increased, the cooling performance was improved, but the maximum cooling efficiency was affected by heat load. The change of dry‐bulb temperature had little effect on the cooling performance. With the increase of water temperature, the cooling efficiency and heat dissipation increased. The calculation model and simulation results can provide practical guidance for the operation of seawater cooling towers.