1

Advanced Dew Point Cooling Tower Fill Development

Presented by Yaroslav Chudnovsky, Ph.D. Gas Technology Institute End-Use Solutions Group

Houston, Texas June 19, 2013

2 2

> Not-for-profit applied R&D company with 70+ year history

> Facilities ─ 18 acre campus near Chicago ─ 200,000 ft2,

28 specialized labs ─ Offices in AL, CA, MA, PA TX, Washington DC

> Staff of 250 > Market opportunities

are creating substantial growth

> Over 1,200 patents > Over 500 products commercialized

GTI Overview

Energy & Environmental Technology Center

Pilot-Scale Gasification Campus

Offices & Labs

3

“NEW is Well-Forgotten OLD”

4 4

General Approach

>Utilization of psychrometric energy available from latent heat of water evaporating into air

>The smart combination of the basic thermodynamic processes of heat exchange and evaporation that results in production of a temperature approaching the dew point of ambient air

5 5

Process Psychrometrics

> Direct cooling

> Indirect cooling

> Dew-point cooling

Saturat

ion te

mperat

ure, °

F

60

70

90°F

80°F

70°F

40°F

20%

40%60

%

90

50

15

6

80

Twb

60°F50°F wet bulb temperature

23

4

80%

10% Relative humidity

1 2Wet channelWaterAir

1 3Wet channel

Dry channel

Water

41

Air

5

Dry channel 1

Wet channel Hot Water

6

Air

Add’l Heat

6 6

Wet Bulb vs Dew Point Cooling

Conventional fill

1

4

tDP=53°F tWB=65°F

Dry Bulb Temperature

Saturat

ion lin

e

tDB=85°F

Abs

olut

e hu

mid

ity

2

dhA

dh

3

Advanced fillAir

Warm water

2

1

3

Dry Channel

Wet Channel

Air1

Air

Warm water

1

4Wet

Channels

Air outlet

Air

7 7

1

2

3 t1DB = 86°Ft1WB = 66°Ft1DP = 54.7°F

t2DB = 55.6°Ft2WB = 55.1°Ft2DP = 54.7°F

Dry

cha

nnel

Wet

cha

nnel

t3DB = 90°Ft3WB = 90°Ft3DP = 90°F

Humidified air Air

Hotwater90°F

Cooled waterto user (55.6°F)

Plate

Advanced Cooling Tower Fill

• Cooled water temperature: 55.6ºF • Water evaporated: 3.1% • Air humidity gain: dH = Hair out – Hair in = 0.0219 lb water per lb dry air

86 ° F 55 . 6 ° F

1

2 t 1 DP = 54 . 7 °F

t 1 WB = 66 °F

Psychrometric Chart

Dry Bulb Temperature

3

d H

A b s

o l u t

e H

u m i d

i t y

8 8

500 MW Power Plant Benefits Estimate

Cooling Tower

Cold Water Basin

Ambient Air54,558 ton/hr29,454 ton/hr Steam

CondenserCool Water

25°F 45°F Rise

100°F

75°F 55°F

Warm Water187,600 gpm 104,222 gpm

Evaporation & Drift4,258 gpm 3,406 gpm

Blowdown Water1,063 gpm 851 gpm

Make-up Water5,322 gpm4,257 gpm

2,300 MMBtu/hr

83ºF db53ºF dp

96ºF db96ºF dp

1,900 MMBtu/hr

4,20

0 M

MB

tu/h

r

9 9

> Water cools to lower temperature

> Potential to decrease evaporation loss > Water can be cooled at higher ambient %RH - while conventional tower has approached its design limit > Lower pressure drop at the same load - laminar flow in the fill due to smaller channels - lower flow rates compared to conventional fill - preliminary estimate 10.9 vs 11.3 mm H2O/m length

Technology Advantages

10 10

Advanced Fill Flow Arrangement

Dry channelWet channel

Ambient air85°F

Warm water100°F

Cooled water

Condensingzone

Condensate

Exhaust air

Heat flow

11

Development Status

• Process simulation – in progress • Preliminary design – in progress • Engineering and fabrication – Q1-2014 • Proof-the-concept testing – Q3-2014

12 12

Thank you! Questions? Comments?