Cooling tower plume abatement using a coaxial plume structure

Li, Shuo; Moradi, Ali; Vickers, B.; Flynn, M. R.

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2017.12.040

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Another possible advantage of the coaxial plume structure is that the onset of condensation may be delayed compared to the conventional uniform plume structure [91]. For a uniform plume (unsaturated at the source) under adverse ambient conditions, the fan to ambient mix-line starts in the unsaturated region then crosses the saturation curve and reaches the supersaturation region-see e.g.…”

Section: Side Viewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Li et al [91], indicate that visible plumes can be partially or completely eliminated even with partial mixing within the plenum chamber. Using the approach of Li et al [91], fewer internal mixing devices are required and the moist air discharged to the environment is "shielded" by a sheath of buoyant but much drier air in the manner of Houx Jr et al [57].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cooling tower plume abatement and plume modeling: a review

Flynn

2021

Environ Fluid Mech

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Visible plumes above wet cooling towers are of great concern due to the associated aesthetic and environmental impacts. The parallel path wet/dry cooling tower is one of the most commonly used approaches for plume abatement, however, the associated capital cost is usually high due to the addition of the dry coils. Recently, passive technologies, which make use of free solar energy or the latent heat of the hot, moist air rising through the cooling tower fill, have been proposed to minimize or abate the visible plume and/or conserve water. In this review, we contrast established versus novel technologies and give a perspective on the relative merits and demerits of each. Of course, no assessment of the severity of a visible plume can be made without first understanding its atmospheric trajectory. To this end, numerous attempts, being either theoretical or numerical or experimental, have been proposed to predict plume behavior in atmospheres that are either uniform versus density-stratified or still versus windy (whether highly-turbulent or not). Problems of particular interests are plume rise/deflection, condensation and drift deposition, the latter consideration being a concern of public health due to the possible transport and spread of Legionella bacteria.

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Section: Side Viewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooling tower plume abatement and plume modeling: a review

Flynn

2021

Environ Fluid Mech

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“…They divided plume evolution into two stages: a jet-dominated region (JDR) that is characterized by high levels of momentum in the plume, and an ambient-dominated region (ADR) that is driven by atmospheric boundary layer turbulence. Li et al [20] formulated a novel analytical model of coaxial plumes, which can be used to control and abate cooling tower plumes. This model included a resistance factor, which is the ratio of the average non-dimensional velocity to the average relative humidity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Design of a Vapor-Condensing Plume Abatement System and Devices for Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers

Zhu

Wang

et al. 2020

Water

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Cooling towers are widely used in many fields, but the generation of visible plumes has a serious impact on the environment. Moreover, the evaporation losses also cause a great waste of water. In this paper, a vapor-condensing plume abatement system was designed for a mechanical-draft cooling tower based on the mechanism of vapor plume generation. An effective method to achieve water-saving and eliminate the water fog generated in the cooling tower was proposed, and its feasibility was verified by using thermodynamic analysis. Next, the vapor-condensing plume abatement device was designed and used for both the confined space cooling tower (CSCT) and the free space cooling tower (FSCT). The surface type heat exchanger was adopted to design the vapor-condensing plume abatement device. Then a basic calculation flow and method were proposed to obtain thermodynamic operating parameters. According to the comparison between the results of theoretical calculation and practical engineering application, it was found that the designed vapor-condensing plume abatement system obviously benefits the water-saving of a mechanical-draft cooling tower and considerable economic benefits can be obtained. The contents presented provide the theoretical basis and technical support for the upgrade of the cooling tower and the design of the new cooling tower.

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“…Furthermore, the coalescence of multiple plumes widely exists in natural and artificial systems, e.g., multiple hydrothermal plumes released from clustered submarine vents, [43][44][45][46] moist air discharged from adjacent cooling towers and condensed by entraining cold air, 47,48 and air circulations caused by multiple heat sources located at various positions within a naturally ventilated building. 49,50 However, there are relatively few studies focusing on interactions between multiple plumes, which include semi-empirical models, [51][52][53][54] numerical simulations, 55 and experimental observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%