Cooling water system - Warmed Water Treatment

Open recirculating cooling water systems are open to the atmosphere and continuously recycle and reuse the cooling water. These systems are composed of an evaporator unit, a cooling tower, or an evaporative condenser. These units mix air and water and allow some of the water to evaporate, cooling the balance of the water volume. The cooled water is then circulated to heat exchangers or chillers, where heat is added to the cooling water thereby removing heat from the process flow stream. The warmed water is then circulated to the cooling tower, where the cycle is repeated. Water is lost from the system primarily through evaporation; however, a portion of the cooling water must be discharged as waste (i.e., blowdown) to maintain a suitable water quality within the system. All water lost from the system is replaced by makeup water. Recirculating cooling water systems are found in most air conditioning chiller operations, as well as many heat exchange operations.