Why FRP is Superior to Wood, Aluminum, Steel, and Concrete

March 19, 2018
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Why Are Cooling Towers Made Of Wood? While the type of materials that make up industrial cooling towers probably isn’t something that you find yourself pondering in your spare time, it’s nonetheless something that you’ll have to be aware of when it comes to getting a new cooling tower. Whether you’re installing a new system entirely or replacing some of your older industrial cooling towers, investing in the right material will go a long way.

Why Are Cooling Towers Made Of Wood

At Industrial Cooling Solutions, it’s no secret that we believe FRP (fiberglass reinforced polymer) is the best choice for your cooling towers. Wood, steel, concrete, and aluminum are all materials that cooling towers can be made with, but we believe that FRP is far and away the best choice, for several reasons.

Corrosion Resistance

Corrosion, in the context of cooling towers, is the gradual decay or deterioration of its material due to the surrounding environment. Since industrial cooling towers spend 100 percent of their time exposed to the elements, it’s important to consider a material that will hold up well.

Wood: Wood can warp, rot, or decay from exposure to water and other elements. It is also susceptible to insect damage (such as termites). Due to these weaknesses, it’s customary to apply preservative coatings over the tower, which, unfortunately, aren’t very environmentally friendly.

Steel and Aluminum: Both of these are metals, making them susceptible to oxidation and corrosion via rust. These require painting, galvanizing, or anodizing.

Concrete: Concrete doesn’t naturally decay very easily, but it is porous, making it an easy target for dirt and bioforms to accumulate, which requires copious amounts of cleaning and maintenance in the future.

FRP: FRP is completely resistant to water and moisture, and has strong resistance to a wide variety of chemicals. Being a synthetic material, it holds its own against the elements much more efficiently than the other materials do.

Strength and Flexibility

Strength and flexibility are important when it comes to cooling towers, especially when it regards their longevity. They need to be able to take an appropriate amount of stress, and weather attacks from mother nature, such as hurricanes or earthquakes.

Wood: Wood is weaker than FRP in just about every measurable aspect. FRP is stronger, and has higher flexural strength. Overall, wood doesn’t have a strong argument here.

Steel: Steel is, unsurprisingly, extremely heavy, weighing 75 percent more than FRP. It carries so much weight that heavy listing equipment is often needed just to be able to move it around. Furthermore, steel is flexible under heavy pressure, and it doesn’t like to bend back to its original shape once it has been transformed.

Aluminum: Aluminum is appealing due to its famously light weight. But guess what? FRP is still lighter, clocking in at about 75 percent of aluminum’s weight. While aluminum is technically stronger than FRP in sheer numbers, FRP is overall stronger when you consider it on a pound-for-pound basis.

Concrete: The yield strength of concrete is absurdly high, but concrete also suffers from having no flexibility, making it rather brittle in the face of damage. Earthquakes are a dangerous threat for concrete towers; even the smallest one can cause a concrete tower to break into pieces.

FRP: FRP is highly elastic but engineered in such a way to where it doesn’t permanently deform. It’s also extremely lightweight, making it the easiest material to handle and install. When it comes to weight to strength ratio, it’s the strongest of them all.

Electrical Conductivity

Although most cooling towers are engineered to withstand the effects of errant electricity, it’s nonetheless important to keep them protected from it to the best of your ability. Cooling towers are closely tied with your water flow, and given the conductivity of water, it’s generally good advice to just protect your towers from lightning as much as possible.

Wood, Steel, and Aluminum: All three of these materials are conductive, particularly the latter two, though those have potential for grounding. Wood is most conductive when it’s wet, but in the case of a lightning strike, this is highly likely due to the presence of rain.

Concrete: Concrete isn’t conductive, putting it on equal ground with FRP in this category, but it is still more susceptible to environmental damages as a whole.

FRP: FRP is completely non-conductive, and has high dielectric capability. There’s not much more to say here — it doesn’t conduct electricity at all, so that’s a problem you’ll never have to worry yourself about.

Cost

An important factor for any business owner is cost — of course superior options always exist, but are they worth the extra price? Fortunately, an FRP industrial cooling tower is quite affordable.

Wood: Wood has a lower initial cost than FRP, but almost always requires long-term maintenance and a shorter product life. Wood gradually corrodes and is susceptible to insect damage. While the upfront cost is cheaper, you save more in the long-run with FRP by avoiding the repeat costs that wood incurs.

Concrete: Concrete is much costlier in the long-term, especially since they’re particularly vulnerable to cracking. Installation costs more with concrete industrial towers, due to the process of engineering, casting, and drying that’s tailor made for your business. Concrete takes a long time to set, which also lengthens the installation process significantly.

Steel: Steel has a lower cost for the initial materials, but the installation is significantly more expensive, and like the other materials, is subject to much more long-term maintenance costs than FRP.

Aluminum: Aluminum is the one material that slightly edges out FRP in the cost department. FRP tooling costs and price per lineal foot are marginally higher.

FRP: FRP edges out all of the other materials save for aluminum in cost. And, despite aluminum’s cheaper price tag, it could be argued that FRP is still a better deal due to the various other advantages that it has.

Conclusion

Overall, when you look at the big picture, FRP edges out all of the other materials when it comes to high-quality industrial cooling towers. It lasts longer, it’s stronger and yet more elastic, it’s cheaper, safer, and it’s easier to maintain and install. It’s hard to argue that FRP isn’t the best solution by far, and that’s why, at Industrial Cooling Solutions, we offer FRP in spades.

Whether you’re repairing an FRP tower and need parts, installing a new tower entirely, or replacing an older obsolete one, you can’t really go wrong with FRP industrial cooling towers. Having a functioning cooling system in your plant and factory is supremely important, and we want to make sure everybody has a functional and reliable solution. We will happily provide you with industrial cooling tower solutions, or provide you with the parts you need to make repairs on our own. Whatever your need is, we can cover it, so if you’re in the need for Industrial Cooling Solutions, contact us today for a free quote!

Counterflow Vs. Crossflow

February 28, 2018
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Cooling towers are manufactured in many different configurations and sizes to match a wide range of applications across many different industries. Understanding that different configurations may have different advantages and disadvantages is important for you to be able to decide which one will be most efficient and cost-effective for your company. In this blog, we’re going to discuss the difference between a crossflow and a counterflow cooling tower.

What is a Cooling Tower?

What is a Cooling Tower

A cooling tower’s main purpose is to remove heat from whatever it is that needs to be cooled. This is done through the process of evaporation which occurs when air and water are brought together inside of a cooling tower. A cooling tower is needed in many cases because it maximizes the surface area of the water, resulting in more evaporation. There are two configuration designs of cooling towers: counterflow and crossflow towers.

Crossflow Cooling Towers

With a crossflow tower, hot water flows downward from a distribution basin while air flows horizontally. They are filled with splash, hybrid or film type fill and can be applied when water has higher suspended particles, when plan area is tight or just per owner preference. At Industrial Cooling Solutions (ICS), we offer crossflow towers in concrete, FRP, and wood structure as well as splash fill, film fill and low fouling fill materials. ICS cooling towers are built to withstand the most demanding of situations and provide the most cost-effective solution for you.
Benefits:

High Performance
Low Maintenance
High tolerance for particulates, oils and contamination in the water. Well suited for Fertilizer, Steel, Food Processing or other industries which have high particulate loads or other water contaminators.
Low Noise
Optimized Power Consumption
Easy maintenance access inside the tower

Disadvantages:

Higher potential for re-circulation due to the air inlets being open to the hot water deck.
Water noise harder to control due to the large open inlet areas.
Low water loading per M2

Counterflow Cooling Towers

A counterflow mechanism is a newer and quite popular design in which water flows vertically through the fill or packing from the top while air enters the bottom of the tower and flows upwards. In a counterflow cooling tower, there is an induced draught fan that is attached to the motor. This fan pulls in air to draft it upward resulting in air that is exhausted faster than it is pulled in. In turn, you’ll see lower pressure and re-circulation.

Benefits:

Low Power Consumption
Low Fouling Film, Hybrid or Splash fills
Plume Abated Systems
Low Pumphead
High Performance with Minimal Maintenance
Optimized Footprint
FRP Wood or Concrete Structures

Which one should you choose?

The type of cooling tower you choose will depend entirely on the industry and the application. What works for one company may not be effective for another. Another factor that is taken into consideration is the typical climate on your site. ICS’s cooling tower experts can assist you in selecting the correct tower configuration for your industry, site and project needs.

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Steps To A More Energy Efficient Cooling Tower

January 9, 2018
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Steps To A More Energy Efficient Cooling Tower

We live in a world that is constantly in need of more and more energy in order to meet consumer demands or government regulations. So it’s not surprising that people are looking for a way to make industrial cooling systems more advanced and energy efficient, not only for the sake of the environment but in order to be able to satisfy everyone’s demands. Additionally, more efficiency means more money that your company will be saving.

Many industrial environments need cooling systems to custom fit their size and design, so it’s important to consider your situation in order to determine what will be most important. The electronic and chemical industries are some that may need precision control of heat and humidity in order to avoid bad chemical reactions or bacterial growth. This can damage items and lead to inefficient business practices, so it’s important to have the right cooling solutions to avoid the chance of damage. For many corporations, this can result in cooling systems running at full power all the time, eating away at the company’s budget, and harming the environment.

In this blog, we’re going to talk about how you can make your cooling towers more efficient so that you don’t have to worry about if you’re saving enough money or not. Here are several ways to save money with your industrial cooling tower.

GREEN Energy Management System (GEMS)

Cooling towers are designed to meet cooling demands on the hottest days of the year and therefore rarely need to be running at full power to maintain design cold water output. In fact, most of the time, a properly designed and maintained cooling tower is over performing at off-peak weather conditions & in evening or early morning hours. ICS’s intelligent GEMS System is designed to modulate the cooling tower energy consumption and therefore performance to keep the cold water temperatures within a predetermined temperature range. This results in substantial energy savings and reduced wear on mechanical equipment & lower noise emissions during off-peak operations.

GEMS will help you save money by optimizing the cooling tower operations and reduce fan energy. If you have any questions about how to save money and increase efficiency with your cooling tower, don’t hesitate to contact Industrial Cooling Solutions today. GEMS can help make your plant operations more energy efficient & environmentally friendly. A Win-Win solution for you and the planet.

Having the Right Filtration System

Like a standard in-home HVAC system, industrial cooling towers require a good filtration system in order to be energy efficient. Once water is evaporated in a cooling tower, dissolved solids are left behind. These solids include magnesium, calcium, silica, and more. If these aren’t removed properly or avoided with a good filtration system, they can start to take a toll on your cooling tower efficiency and even damage it. In the long run, this could result in thousands of dollars worth of damages. In addition to taking a look at your water treatment company to see if they’re providing you with an adequate water supply, you should consider an alternate filtration system like a side stream sand filter.

Consider All the Cooling Tower Options Available

You always want to choose a cooling tower that meets ASHRAE 90.1 standards. This standard provides the minimum energy-efficiency requirements for whatever building you’re trying to cool. Not only should you be complying with the regulations, but it can help you run a more efficient cooling tower if that’s ever a concern to you. If you have any questions about this process, you should contact Industrial Cooling Solutions. We offer complete evaporative cooling tower services ranging from cooling tower engineering to tower repair that is custom fit to each customer’s needs. Contact us today to learn more and start saving money for your company.

ICS specializes in providing leading edge engineering, construction, thermal upgrades, and replacement parts for your cooling towers, worldwide. There are a lot of different types of towers that could prove to be more of an asset to certain industries than others. When you choose a cooling tower or need replacement parts, it’s important to know exactly what you need. We have wood, fiberglass and concrete cooling towers in addition to counterflow and crossflow towers, so contact us today for a consultation.

Comparing Concrete Vs. FRP Cooling Towers

March 29, 2017
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Which Material is Right for Your Cooling Tower?

At Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we want to make industrial cooling tower design as easy as possible. We realize that, for the most part, our clients are interested in two things: efficiency and installation cost. To help provide some more information on these particular concerns, we are going to spend today’s post explaining the difference between two of the most common cooling tower construction materials, concrete and FRP and why we feel that FRP outperforms concrete in almost every category. Continue reading below to learn more.

FRP Materials Offer Certain Benefits Over Concrete

Designing, installing, and outfitting an industrial cooling tower for a project takes time, energy, and effort. Because of this, the best material must be chosen for the job. Once installed, cooling towers become an integral part of the facility they are built for. Ideally, the towers will provide a long service life and are durable enough to withstand harsh weather conditions. In that regard, two main materials are used for cooling towers – concrete and FRP.

This guide will help you compare the two materials concerning quality, strength, construction, and other factors to make the best decision for your project. Let’s get started.

1. Quality

Quality is of the utmost importance when constructing a cooling tower. FRP structural components are produced by an off-site factory that inspects and certifies each component before it leaves the factory. An additional inspection is performed before the components are put in place to double-check that the materials are up to our standards.

Concrete, on the other hand, is poured into place on-site and cannot be accurately inspected until the concrete has cured. This makes certifying the structural integrity of concrete cooling towers much more challenging than FRP towers. Additionally, because all FRP structural components are pre-drilled at the factory, the overall dimensional accuracy of the tower can be better gauged than concrete towers, which must be constantly measured to ensure that their dimensions are accurate and that they are level.

2. Construction

In most cases, an industrial cooling tower must be completed promptly. Designing and building an FRP cooling tower can be done quicker and simpler than a concrete cooling tower because once the overall design is completed, the structure can immediately be put into production.

Concrete cooling towers require a great deal of engineering and communication to finalize the design. Before the cooling tower can even be constructed, large concrete foundations and extensive piling must be set to handle the weight. The construction process for concrete cooling towers is further slowed by the fact that each tower segment must be allowed to dry before another segment can be placed. Because FRP cooling tower segments are lightweight and pre-molded, the basic framework of the tower can be completed in as little as a few days compared to the weeks to months required for concrete towers.

3. Strength And Flexibility

For areas that suffer from earthquakes, the durability of FRP cooling towers is incomparable to concrete. Fiberglass is stronger and more flexible than concrete, making it better equipped to endure seismic activity. This makes inspections after an earthquake easier, since there’s no need for specialists—the tower can be quickly inspected for any damage.

On the other hand, concrete towers involve steel reinforcements to help keep their shape and strength. Poor support of the concrete cooling tower or inadequate reinforcement can result in damage, even with small earthquakes. After an earthquake, a thorough inspection from a qualified engineer is necessary to detect any hidden areas of damage.

4. Cleaning

For FRP cooling towers, washing or brushing is usually enough to remove algae or biofilms that may have grown. Concrete cooling towers require more laborious scrubbing to get rid of dirt and biofilm due to their porous nature. This makes FRP cooling towers much easier and more time efficient to clean. Scrubbing can also cause damage to concrete towers and reduce their longevity. Thus, FRP cooling towers offer longer-lasting performance with less fuss.

5. Erection

The fiberglass cooling tower is designed to be assembled quickly and easily with minimal equipment and scaffolding, making the overall construction process much simpler than a comparably sized cast-in-place concrete cooling tower. The basic framework can typically be completed within days rather than weeks.

In contrast, designing and erecting a concrete cooling tower involves extensive engineering and communication between the supplier and concrete supplier to size and locate all components. Foundations must be built to accommodate the tower’s weight, and scaffolding is needed to form the concrete. The progress of erection is slowed due to the required curing times for poured concrete before additional work can proceed.

6. Maintenance

No special attention is required for FRP cooling towers. Any damaged components can be easily replaced with readily available parts if the need arises. This type of repair can typically be completed within a few hours.

The cost of long-term maintenance for concrete cooling towers is higher than that of fiberglass, as concrete tower structure may become cracked or corroded over time and require difficult and costly repairs. This is especially true for seawater cooling towers which are especially prone to spalling due to chloride intrusions into the rebar. These repairs can take several days to cure fully.

7. Safety

To ensure safe access to the cooling tower, FRP cooling towers have safety ladders and handrails available in various colors and never need painting. The decking on an FRP cooling tower is also supplied with a non-skid surface for safe walking even in wet conditions.

Concrete cooling tower fan decks can be slippery when wet and require extra maintenance for the paint to remain in good condition. Special non-skid safety coatings must also be painted on the concrete cooling tower fan deck, requiring additional work.

8. Fire Protection

For those looking for additional fire protection, FRP allows ordering fire retardant additives designed to prevent or put out any fires quickly. Furthermore, damaged components can be easily identified and replaced with commonly stocked, locally available shapes.

The survival rate of concrete cooling tower structures under fire is much higher than that of most other materials. However, damage to the concrete must be carefully assessed. This is due to the effects of firefighting which can cause some areas of the structure to cool faster than others. Losses in ductility in the reinforcing steel may remain hidden from view and hot water distribution system may also be affected.

9. Permanence

Moving a concrete cooling tower is nearly impossible, making them a permanent part of the facility where they are installed. Conversely, FRP cooling towers can be disassembled and transported to another site should circumstances require it. Furthermore, cells on FRP towers can be easily expanded in 1.8m increments. This flexible design makes upgrades and modifications much easier than concrete cooling towers.

10. Cost

Concrete cooling towers may appear to be a more cost-effective option however when you add in the added costs of extensive piling and reinforced basins and the extra engineering and design manhours, the concrete towers are more costly. FRP cooling towers are often an economically sounder choice over time as well since they require less maintenance and repairs in the long run. Plus, their flexible design facilitates future updates, making them capable of meeting ever-evolving market demands.

11. Environmentally Friendly

FRP cooling towers are more environmentally friendly because their construction uses fewer resources and materials than concrete cooling towers. Additionally, their lightweight build makes them easier to transport and set up due to reduced fuel consumption. In contrast, concrete coolers consume substantially more energy for production and transportation.

Consult Us For Your Cooling Tower Projects

Comparing concrete and FRP cooling towers for your project? Join us again as we dive deeper into why FRP materials are the preferred choice for your industrial cooling tower design. We have the expertise and resources to manage any project you may have – so don’t hesitate to reach out for a consultation today. From design to installation, we have the tools and experience to get you the best outcome for your project. Let us help you make the right decision with cooling tower materials. Contact us today!

January 31, 2017
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Industrial Cooling Towers are Made From Many Materials

Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we have a wealth of experience in building industrial cooling towers. These towers are vital to a wide range of businesses including, but not limited to, power generation, chemical plants, metal processing plants, and fertilizer production. With such a wide range of businesses in need of industrial cooling solutions, options had to be made available to fit each application’s needs. A cooling tower that may be perfect for a geothermal power plant might not work as well for a plant the specializes in producing industrial chemicals. In today’s post, we are going to go over the different types of materials used in the construction of industrial cooling tower and the advantages and disadvantages that they offer.

Industry and Environment Greatly Affect Industrial Cooling Tower Design

When determining what materials to use in constructing our industrial cooling towers, we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. consider a wide range of variables. To select the right materials, our team of engineers consider factors such as usage of the tower, the climate of the area the tower will be located, type of exposure to corrosive agents, imposed loads, cost, and the availability of materials in relation to the construction site. Once we have done this research, we determine what type of tower will best suit the needs and budget of our clients. Most commonly, we build towers out of three types of material.

Wood: Most early cooling towers were built out of wood. At the time, wood was cost-effective, resilient, and, most importantly, easier to work with. In the modern world of industrial cooling towers, wood towers are less common because they are susceptible to environmental factors and are less durable than other types of towers. Despite these drawbacks, wood towers can be desirable for certain projects because they can be constructed quickly and at a lower cost than other cooling tower types.

Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer: In recent years, fiberglass reinforced polymer, or FRP, has become an increasingly popular choice for industrial cooling tower construction. FRP is praised for its reliability and durability and is also highly cost effective. FRP towers are chemically resistant, lightweight, inorganic, and able to resist rot and decay. Additionally, FRP is sometimes desired in place of wood because it is naturally fire retardant, stronger than wood, and more flexible than wood. This flexibility is especially important in areas that experience heavy storms or an excessive amount of ice build up.

Concrete: Although concrete towers have many benefits, depending on the country, location of the construction site, and the availability of materials to both mix and reinforce the concrete, concrete may or may not be a cost-effective material choice. However, if concrete is deemed to be the best material to use on a project, it comes with a plethora of benefits. Concrete is long lasting, fireproof, requires very low maintenance, and is an ideal material to use in areas where the industrial cooling tower will be exposed to harsh elements. Though the initial cost may be higher than other materials, concrete is a great material to use if longevity and durability are a main focus in the tower’s design.

We hope that this blog has helped to shed a little more light on the materials used in industrial cooling tower construction projects, why certain materials are used over others, and the advantages that these materials offer to our clients. Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we handle every project with a level of care and dedication that sets us apart from the competition. We have built a wide variety of industrial cooling towers in a wide range of conditions and environments, allowing us to gain experience that we can pass onto our clients. We complete our projects in a timely, safe, and efficient manner, helping your industry get back to business with as little interruption or downtime as possible.
When you are ready to plan your next industrial cooling tower construction project, contact the experts at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. We have the knowledge, experience, and resources to deliver high-quality industrial cooling towers to a wide range of industries. Don’t settle for second best, contact us today and get your project rolling.

January 24, 2017
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Industrial Cooling Towers Are Essential in the Middle East

If you have been following along with our blog, you probably know just how much we enjoy talking about industrial cooling towers. These towers are essential for a wide range of industries and make it possible for many of the products that we know and love to be produced in an effective and environmentally safe way. Without industrial cooling towers, excessive heat build up would prevent many factories and plants from operating and this is especially true for industries that are located in extremely warm climates. In today’s post, we are going to focus on the benefits that industrial cooling towers have had on the growing industrial sector in the Middle East.

The Middle East Has a Wide Range of Industries

When the average person thinks of the economy of the Middle East, their thoughts most likely go to one essential exported good: oil. While it cannot be denied that oil is one of the most important economics for a multitude of countries in the Middle East, the last few decades have seen a large growth in the industrial sector as well. Anyone who has been paying attention to trends in the energy sector knows that oil is on its way out. While this resource will not be completely phased out anytime soon, the growth of the renewable energy sector shows that the world, as a whole, is ready to shed the shackles of oil dependence. While this move to renewable energy will be a net positive for the planet, it is undoubtedly going to cause some ripples in the world’s major oil producing nations. As a result of this shift in the energy sector, many oil producing nations are looking for alternative ways to ensure that the economy of their country still thrives. This has resulted in an increased presence of industries in the Middle East and, as a result, an increased need for industrial cooling towers.

The Middle East is Hot. Cooling Towers Help With That

Like the vast majority of industrial cooling towers, the ones located in the Middle East use water as their preferred choice of heat transfer medium. The most common uses of industrial cooling applications in the Middle East are central air conditioning plants, process cooling, industrial refrigeration, chemical plants, and textile manufacturers. While all of these plants are present in other countries, they pose a particular issue when they are located in the Middle East. You see, while water is the most effective method for dissipating heat for industrial applications, that becomes an issue if your plant is located in the middle of a desert. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and the UAE all must make use of industrial cooling towers to effectively run their industrial plants, but that can be difficult when water is not a resource that is abundant in your country. To combat this issue, industrial cooling tower technology has had to find effective ways to cool a factory in an area where water is a precious commodity.

The Middle East is Changing the Industrial Cooling Tower Game

So, how does an entire sector of industry keep up with the demand for cooling towers that can effectively eliminate heat in areas where water is scarce? Simply put, they innovate. The Middle East’s need for effective industrial cooling towers has spurred a renewed sense of innovation in the industry. Industrial cooling tower manufacturers are not going to ignore an entire sector of the globe and, as a result, have come up with more efficient ways for their cooling towers to operate. Advancements in FRP towers, better fill material, and increased water efficiency have largely resulted from having to come up with an effective way to cool plants and factories in areas of the world that have a hot climate. Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we are dedicated to helping the world, the whole world, come up with effective means to responsibly eliminate heat from industrial processes.
To learn more about our industrial cooling towers and the services that we offer, contact us today at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. We are a global leader in industrial cooling tower construction and design and have worked on projects all over the world. Visit our website today and see why we are the best choice to handle your industrial cooling needs.

January 9, 2017
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Industrial Cooling Towers are Only as Good as Their Contractors

Hello, and welcome back to our blog. Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we have a reputation for producing high-quality, durable, and efficient industrial cooling towers. For many industries, cooling towers can be a large expense. With this in mind, we feel it is important that our current and future clients understand what it takes to produce quality industrial cooling towers. In today’s post, we are going to go over some of the qualities that you will need to look for in your cooling tower contractor to ensure you are getting the best cooling tower for your money.

A Good Contractor Remains Updated and Connected

Like nearly every industry, industrial cooling towers are constantly changing and evolving. When choosing a contractor for your next job, it is important to choose one that keeps up with the latest trends and developments in the industrial cooling tower world. This means that they need to attend events and seminars relating to cooling towers in order for them to gauge the pulse of their customer base. By keeping up with what the customer wants, contractors are able to incorporate new elements or designs in their industrial cooling towers that may be preferable to their customer base.

Contractors Must Have Integrity

When choosing a contractor to construct your counterflow or crossflow cooling tower, it is important to find one that you feel produces quality work and has a reputation for integrity. Most industrial cooling tower jobs range in the millions of dollars, and it is important that you feel this money isn’t being wasted on frivolous materials or extra construction time. Additionally, being confident in the quality of your contractor’s work should be high on your list of priorities. Because of the investment required for an industrial cooling tower job, you don’t want to later find out that your contractor charged you for a quality product when in fact they delivered sub-par work.

Demand Reasonable Rates

While all industrial cooling tower jobs are different, you should expect a reasonable rate from your contractor. If you feel that they are charging you more than they should for the job you require, you are probably right in questioning their pricing. When determining if their estimate for your job is reasonable or not, be sure to consider the conditions that the tower will be constructed in, the climate, and how easy it is to bring in raw materials and workers to the job site. As an added measure of safety, we recommend that you get quotes from multiple contractors to ensure that you are receiving a rate that is pretty standard across the industry as a whole.
By following these simple safety steps, we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., feel that you will have the resources necessary to make an informed decision when choosing your next industrial cooling tower contractor. On a final note, we recommend that you give us a call for your next industrial cooling tower job. Our knowledgeable and experienced staff have an excellent track record of producing high-quality cooling towers in a plethora of conditions and environments.

January 4, 2017
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Making Power is Hot Work

At Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we find all forms of industrial cooling interesting. While we mostly focus on our counterflow and crossflow cooling towers, today we wanted to talk about another form of industrial cooling. Water cooling is an important process for thousands of industrial plants across the nation, but are most important in their application of cooling industrial power plants. Generating power produces a lot of heat and that heat has to be mitigated in a safe, responsible, and cost-effective way. To learn more about how power plants use water cooling systems, continue reading below.

Thermoelectric Power Plants Require Industrial Cooling

In the United States, we get about 90 percent of our electricity from thermoelectric plants. Thermoelectric plants are plants that utilize coal, natural gas, oil, or nuclear rods to produce power. To create power, these plants use their respective energy sources to boil water and generate steam. This steam is then fed through turbines, generating electricity. Once the steam has passed through the turbines it must be cooled again so that it can be recycled back into the plant’s power generation system. To cool this rising steam, thermoelectric plants utilize three main methods.
Once-through: In this method of industrial cooling, systems use water from a nearby source and circulate it through pipes to absorb the steam’s heat in systems called condensers. Once the water has effectively cooled the steam, it is discharged back into a local water source where it will naturally cool. This method of industrial cooling was initially the most popular form of cooling available to plants, because of the simplicity of the system and the low cost to run it. While this type of industrial cooling is still widespread along the eastern United States, most new power plants do not use this system to cool steam. This shift away from once-through systems is due largely to the fact that these systems can cause some major disruptions to the local ecosystems around the plant. Siphoning water from local water sources and then reintroducing warm water into the same system can cause damage local rivers, lakes, and aquifers.
Closed-loop: Closed-loop systems are the main reason that cooling towers even exist. In this method of industrial cooling, heated water is run through a second cycle instead of being discharged back into the original water source. In most closed-loop systems, cooling towers are used to lower the temperature of the water by exposing it to the outside air. While some of the water does evaporate, the effective use of fill media allows most cooling towers to reclaim the vast majority of water that is funneled into them. While this type of industrial cooling system withdraws less water from local sources than once-through systems, it tends to have a considerably higher rate of water consumption.
Dry-Cooling: In this type of industrial cooling, air is used instead of water to cool the steam as it exits the turbine of a thermoelectric plant. This system dissipates heat by routing the steam towards an array of A-framed tubes while a fan blows the steam directly across the tubes. As the steam passes over the metal tubes it condenses, and the cooled water is collected to be reused. While dry-cooling systems use no water and can decrease a power plant’s water consumption by up to 90 percent, they require a higher initial cost, higher auxiliary operating power, and can result in overall lower plant performance and efficiency. Lower plant efficiency means that a plant must use more fuel to produce the same amount of electricity, and can lead to a greater impact on the environment. As a result, most dry-cooling systems are only used in small scale thermoelectric plants.
While we obviously have a preference for closed-loop cooling systems (because they require cooling towers), we can appreciate the other methods of effectively cooling steam as it exits thermoelectric power plants. Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we have a track record for fast, professional, and safe industrial cooling tower installations, conversions, and upgrades. To learn more about our industrial cooling tower services, visit our website or contact us today. Let us show you the wonders of industrial cooling towers.

November 30, 2016
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Cooling Towers Love The Environment Too

As you are probably already aware, we here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. are experts on industrial cooling towers. Our knowledge and experience has given us valuable insight into the world of cooling towers, and today we’re going to talk about a subject that many people find concerning: The environment. In a world that seems to be going through some pretty heavy environmental changes, we want to help clear the air in regard to industrial cooling towers. While it may seem like these towers are releasing a lot of harmful stuff to the average person, cooling towers are actually designed to reduce pollution as much as possible. To learn more about the steps taken to reduce pollution in industrial cooling applications continue reading below.

Drift Is Bad, That’s Why We Eliminate It

As we discussed in our previous post, drift is an unavoidable side effect of industrial cooling tower performance. Drift occurs when water droplets that are caught in the rising steam escape the tower. Drift is an environmental concern, because it allows potentially harmful chemicals to unintentionally escape the cooling tower. While most chemicals are too heavy to be carried by steam alone, water droplets serve as a convenient vessel for these chemicals to latch onto. While this sounds like quite an environmental issue, drift can be effectively mitigated through the use of drift eliminators in cooling towers. By forcing the rising steam to pass through a drift eliminator, the water droplets in the steam collect along the surface, merge together, and fall back into the cooling tower’s water basin. So, the next time you see steam escaping a cooling tower, remember that steps have been taken to ensure that the steam is as clean as possible.

Blowdown is Necessary, But Not Necessarily Bad

Most industrial cooling towers these days use water to eliminate heat. As water naturally evaporates from the cooling process and escapes the tower, the remaining water becomes saturated with chemicals, dissolved minerals, and other undesirable elements. Over time, this dirty water must be flushed from the cooling tower to ensure proper performance is maintained. This process, known as blowdown, has raised concerns in the past from environmental groups because of the potential release of these chemicals into the surrounding environment. However, these concerns are largely unfounded. As any industry knows, running afoul of the Environmental Protection Agency is a sure fire way to gain negative publicity and potential fines. As a result, industries use water treatment and removal services that are well-versed in EPA regulations, and take the necessary steps to treat and dispose of the blowdown in a way that is not detrimental to the environment.

Eliminate Cross-Contamination With Proper Maintenance

One of the biggest environmental concerns in regard to industrial cooling towers is cross-contamination. Cross-contamination occurs when leaks from process equipment attached to a cooling tower introduce chemicals to the system that would otherwise not be present. In layman’s terms, cross-contamination happens when something leaks into a tower that shouldn’t. Most often, cross-contamination occurs when a faulty heat exchanger starts to leak chemicals into a tower, causing the water medium to become saturated with chemicals that it was never intended to handle. While this is always a concern, cross-contamination can be effectively eliminated by routinely checking tower components for faults or leaks. Again, because no industry wants to get on the EPA’s bad side, redundant maintenance checks are put in place to ensure that all components of the tower are doing their job without leaking unwanted substances into the tower itself.
We hope that this post has helped to alleviate any concerns you may have had in regard to industrial cooling towers. While no tower will be 100 percent environmentally friendly, multiple steps are taken to ensure that the least amount of pollution possible is released from these towers. The next time you see a cooling tower releasing steam, just remember that steam is almost 100 percent of what it is releasing. At Industrial Cooling Solutions In., we are dedicated to responsible environmental maintenance, and we take every step necessary in our cooling tower production to ensure that pollution is reduced. Contact us today or visit our website, and see why Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. is a trusted provider of cooling tower solutions around the world.

November 22, 2016
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Drift Eliminators Keep Water in its Place

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Hello, and welcome back to Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc.’s blog! Our last few posts have been focused on specific components that make industrial cooling towers work, and today’s post is going to follow in that same vein. As we are all aware by this point in our blog series, the vast majority of cooling towers used in industrial applications rely on water to dissipate excess heat. Drift eliminators, the subject of today’s post, come into play when excess moisture tries to escape from a tower. Continue reading below to learn more.

What Exactly is a Drift Eliminator?

A drift eliminator, like the fill material we discussed in our previous post, is used to manipulate the water within the cooling tower. All industrial cooling towers that use water experience loss of that water in the form of evaporation. This water loss is acceptable and expected; however, issues can arise in the form of drift. As the evaporated water rises towards the top of the tower, larger droplets of water will get caught up in the mist and escape through the top of the tower. Not only does this drift cause more water to escape than is necessary, it can also allow harmful chemicals to escape from the cooling tower. To prevent these drops of water from escaping, the rising vapor is forced through a drift eliminator. The drift eliminator is typically made of polyurethane and is comprised of many tightly packed rows molded into the shape of an “S”. When the evaporated water enters the bottom of the “S” it must pass around two curves before exiting through the top. By forcing the vapor to go through these two sharp bends, any water droplets that have been caught by the rising vapor will collect along the drift eliminator and eventually fall back to the bottom of the cooling tower.

Why is Drift Bad?

Now that you know what drift is, you’re probably wondering why it’s a bad thing. As we stated previously, a drift allows excess water to leave the cooling tower due to evaporation. While the amount of water droplets that get carried away by the rising vapor may seem minuscule, every drop of water that escapes reduces the efficiency of the cooling tower. For many industries, their cooling towers run almost constantly and even a small drop in efficiency can lead to wasted energy and money. Additionally, a drift can allow harmful chemicals to be released into the atmosphere. Most chemicals present in the water of industrial cooling towers are too heavy to rise with the evaporated water, but if too much drift occurs they can escape from their intended space. By using a drift eliminator, industries can better control the amount of chemicals they release into the atmosphere, and ensure that they are operating within state and federal environmental guidelines.
We hope that this post has helped to shed some light on drift eliminators and why they are important for proper industrial cooling tower operation. Here at Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc., we have the knowledge and skills to handle any construction or repair project you may have. Contact us today to learn more about our services, and discover why Industrial Cooling Solutions Inc. is trusted around the world to deliver professional results in a timely and cost effective manner.