Often overlooked, under-performing evaporative cooling towers should be replaced to restore evaporator capacity.

Cooling towers circulate water so that it comes into contact with air, which can slightly cool the water by the process of evaporative cooling, similar to perspiration.

Evaporative cooling towers are widely used to transfer waste heat from an evaporation process to the ambient air. Out of sight, out of mind, these units are located outdoors and are frequently operating outside of the optimum conditions required by the evaporator.

An off-shoot of the main processing line, plant operators may not have eyes on their cooling tower units very often. Exposed to the elements, cooling towers can have a shorter useful life than other evaporation equipment.

Common problem areas to watch for:

• Infrequent inspections and cleanings — if you’re not regularly inspecting/cleaning your cooling towers, debris and plugging issues may ensue
• Leaks — leaks can be detected with flowmeters
• Mechanical Damage — over time the cooling tower packing can be damaged, reducing effective contact of water and air
• Biofilms — biofilms can be a problem due to outside airborne contaminants getting into the recirculating water
• Out-of-date controls — controls that no longer meet your needs will make proper function a challenge
• Improper sizing — have you made changes to your system for increased capacity or new product processing? Your cooling tower configuration may need to be adjusted to keep up.

Newer cooling towers are made from corrosion-resistant materials, including engineered plastics. Energy and water savings can also be a benefit of newer units.

If your evaporator is operating at higher than desired temperatures or having trouble maintaining vacuum conditions, Caloris recommends an assessment of the evaporation system, including the cooling towers, to gauge performance. Ignoring the issue means reduced capacity for your evaporator, and possibly exposing product to elevated temperatures, with implications for overall system performance.

Read more about evaporator vacuum issues or watch our related webinar.

Ready for an Evaporator Assessment?

Contact Caloris today by calling 410-822-6900 or send email to problem.solved@caloris.com to speak with one of our engineers about an evaporator assessment for your facility.