A new technology for process cooling

Process cooling is often regarded as just a utility. Traditional design constraints allow only incremental improvements, and many costs continue unchecked: water and energy usage, chemical treatment, and maintenance. But a new type of process cooling uses ambient air to cool clean process water.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff November 1, 2007

Process cooling is often regarded as just a “utility.” Traditional design constraints allow only incremental improvements, and many costs continue unchecked: water and energy usage, chemical treatment, and maintenance.

Frigel , with North American headquarters in Lake Zurich, Ill., has announced a new type of process cooling, one that uses ambient air to cool clean process water.

The company uses a closed-circuit fluid cooler in place of a traditional cooling tower. The water returning from the process is pumped into heat exchangers and cooled with ambient air flow. A company spokesperson claimed that the process provides clean water at the right temperature to process machines year round. The result is a modular, flexible, pre-engineered system that to offer the lowest operating cost.

Maintaining water temperature below setpoint
When ambient air hits 85° F or higher, it passes through an adiabatic chamber before reaching the heat exchanger. Water from a secondary source is pulsed into the chamber, and the resulting humidified air drops the closed-circuit cooling system water temperature to at or below 95° F, even with ambient temperatures as high as 120° F.

To ensure consistent cooling, the control panel continuously adjusts the amount of water sprayed. The heat exchanger, meanwhile, remains completely dry. Under cold weather conditions, if ambient air dips below 32° F, the system has a fully automatic, self-draining system that protects it from freezing.

A single set of uninsulated pipes supplies the process water, without heat loss, to each machine. These units offer high-flow, precise temperature control and a built-in “free cooling” valve that provides automatic free cooling when ambient temperatures are lower than process setpoint.

By controlling flow and temperature at the point of use, energy is conserved. Most importantly, process parameters can be optimized to reduce the change in temperature across the mold, making parts most effectively and thus lowering cycle time.

For more information about this process cooling system, click here .