54 Climate Control Middle East March 2014

A CLIMATE CONTROL MIDDLE EAST

MAGAZINE QUARTERLY SUPPLEMENT
ON INDUSTRIAL COOLING
PROCESS
COOLING
THE
REPORT
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 55
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
BENEFITS OF
CO
2
(R744) AS A
REFRIGERANT
With global pressure on phasing out environmentally harmful
refrigerants, the HVACR world has rediscovered the efficacy of CO
2
.
Hasan S Al-Harahsheh enumerates its many advantages and applications.
T
he average
global
temperature is
predicted to rise
by between 1.5
and 4.5K in the
next 100 years.
The principal cause of global
warming is the emission of
greenhouse gases into the
Earths atmosphere.
Directly, greenhouse gas
emissions occur through the
leakage of HFC refrigerants
used in refrigeration systems
for display and storage of
food. These refrigerants
have very high global
warming potential. CO
2
has
very low global warming
REDISCOVERING CO
2
Over the last 20 years,
legislation has prohibited the
use of ozone-depleting CFC
refrigerants. However, the
use of the HFCs is still legal
and commonplace. In recent
years, natural refrigerants
have been proposed as an
environmentally friendly
solution for the refrigeration
industry. These refrigerants,
which include ammonia,
hydrocarbons and carbon
dioxide, do not contribute to
ozone depletion and have low
global warming potential.
potential compared with
conventional HFC systems,
which significantly
reduces direct emissions.
Indirect emissions are
also much reduced as the
system efficiency is much
greater than achieved
using conventional HFC
refrigeration.
Carbon dioxide offers a
long-term solution suitable
for many applications in
refrigeration and heating,
from domestic applications
utilising heat pumps to
provide hot water and heating
to commercial applications
for supermarket refrigeration
and in industrial refrigeration
for many applications.
R-744 has been used in
refrigeration for many years.
Figure 1 shows a timeline
detailing its proposal and
discovery, decline in the
1930s, to its rediscovery in
the 1990s.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
R-744
R-744 has 10 noteworthy
characteristics:
Non-toxic 1.
Non-flammable 2.
R-744 operates at a
far higher pressure
than standard
refrigerants. However,
this is not excessively
high compared to
similar engineering
applications
56 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
Environmentally benign 3.
Low triple point 4.
Low critical point 5.
High pressure 6.
High refrigeration 7.
volumetric capacity
High heat transfer 8.
characteristics
Inexpensive 9.
Readily available 10.
Like most natural
refrigerants, R-744 is regarded
as being environmentally
benign. It has an Ozone
Depletion Potential (ODP)
of zero, and has a very low
global warming potential
(GWP = 1). The main
benefits of R-744 compared
to other natural refrigerants
are that it is non-toxic
and non-flammable
characteristics which often
limits the application of
other refrigerants. The main
characteristics of R-744 as a
refrigerant are the critical and
triple points.
The critical point is a
relatively low temperature
at 31C, although at a high
pressure of 73 bar. The triple
point occurs at -56.6C with a
pressure of 5.2 bar, which is
the only common refrigerant
to have a triple point above
atmospheric pressure. In
order to remain below the
critical temperature of 31C it
is necessary to use a cascade
system to provide a sub-zero
condensing temperature. The
system restrictions in relation
to temperature and pressure
can be seen in Figure 2.
APPLICATIONS AND
ADVANTAGES
R-744 operates at a far
higher pressure than standard
refrigerants. However, this is
not excessively high compared
to similar engineering
applications. Figure 3
demonstrates the differences
in operating pressures of
standard refrigerants and
R-744.
R-744 systems have a high
volumetric refrigeration
capacity, as a result of their
very high vapour density
when compared to other
Figure 1: The history of R-744 as a Refrigerant
1, 2
Figure 2: Simplied PH diagram
Figure 3: Pressure Temperature Relationship for Various Refrigerants
refrigerants. Consequently,
refrigeration compressors
using R-744 are six to eight
times smaller than those of
R22 systems. This can be seen
in Figure 4, where the same
Sabroe CMO 28 compressor at
the same conditions has a far
greater capacity when using
R-744.
Further, benefits of high
volumetric capacity can be
seen when applied to pipe-
work. Figure 5 shows the
reduction in pipe sizes when
using R-744. This will result
in a significant reduction in
suction line valving costs.
The improved heat transfer
properties of R-744 allow the
evaporator to be operated
at a higher temperature
than competitive R-404A
evaporators. The literature
[
4
] suggests evaporators
may work at 2K higher
than conventional R-404A
evaporators. The improved
heat transfer properties thus
result in increased capacity
in heat exchangers. The
comparisons made in Figure
6 demonstrate a 10% increase
in the capacity for the same
coil geometry.
REFERENCES
1
Danfoss (2002) CO
2
Phase
Changes Danfoss [CD Rom]
2
Pearson SF, Development of
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 57
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
Figure 4: Comparison of Volumetric Capacities for the same compressor
Figure 5: Comparison of required pipe sizes at 30C saturated suction temp and 10C saturated condensing temp
3
Figure 6: Heat transfer comparison (same coil)
5
improved secondary refrigerants
Proc Institute of refrigeration Vol.
89, pp65-80 1993
3
Danfoss. CO
2
Refrigerant for
industrial Refrigeration, Danfoss
2002 Arhus
4
Visser K, Carbon Dixoide
for the food processing and
cold storage industries AIRAH
Natural Refrigerants Conference.
Melbourne 2002
5
Palladio software Ver. 3.62
2004 Alfa Laval
6
Sabroe Refrigeration Ltd, 2005
Why is there renewed interest in
old refrigerants, Sabroe Xs Vej
Christian, Hojberg, Denmark.
7
VanRiessen G, NH
3
/CO
2

Supermarket refrigeration
systems with CO
2
in the cooling
and freezing section. The IIR
Gustav Lorentzen Natural
Working Fluids Conference.
Glasgow. 2004

8
Campbell, A, Maidment, GG
and Missenden, JF. A Natural
Refrigeration System for
Supermarkets using CO
2
as
a Refrigerant. CIBSE National
Conference 21-22 March 2006
The writer is
Regional Business
Development
Manager, Industrial
Refrigeration, ME,
Johnson Controls
Inc. He can be
contacted at: hasan.
al-harahsheh@jci.
com
58 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
PRELUDE TO
A LONG SAGA
Prelude, Shells floating liquefied natural gas project, will set sail on a
25-year mission, heralding new engineering records. Passively cooled
purpose-built cabinets will protect sample conditioning and process
analyser instrumentation on the vessel. We bring you the details.
S
hells Prelude
floating
liquefied
natural gas
(FLNG) project
is designed
specifically
for extended service life in
hazardous areas. Due to enter
service in 2017, the vessel
will be towed to the Prelude
and Concerto gas fields in
the Browse Basin near Timor,
about 200 kilometre off the
northwest coast of Australia,
where it will permanently
be anchored for about 25
years. After this time, it will
be inspected, overhauled
and possibly moved to a new
location, where it will be
expected to provide a further
25 years of service.
Already setting new
engineering records, the
vessel has been designed to
liquefy natural gas extracted
from subsea wells by chilling
it to -162 C, and to then
store the liquid until it is
offloaded to large LNG
carriers. The vessel is claimed
to be the largest in the world,
with a length of 488 metres
and a width of 74 metres.
The hull of the vessel was
reportedly constructed in
South Korea and launched in
December 2013.
Apart from the intrinsic
high points of the project, it is
also of interest to the HVACR
world, as it requires high-
performance environmental
protection cabinets. Intertec,
designer and manufacturer of
enclosures, has revealed that
much of the on-line process
analysis instrumentation on
and are some of the most
stringently specified
instrumentation protection
solutions that it has ever
produced, the company has
claimed.
The company gave some of
the interesting highlights of
the cabinets:
The cabinets are required to
be capable of withstanding
severe Category 5 tropical
cyclones with wind speeds
in excess of 252 km/h
(157 mph), and to have a
minimum service life of 25
years, with 50 years as a
design aim.
Custom instrumentation protection cabinets that Intertec is producing for
Shells Prelude FLNG project are designed to withstand Category 5 cyclones
the Prelude FLNG vessel will
be housed in purpose-built
environmental protection
cabinets supplied by it. The
company says that in total, it
is supplying 90 cabinets for
sample conditioning systems
and 30 cabinets for process
analysers, each designed
to precisely match the
instrumentation content and
layout in order to optimise
thermal performance.
Designed specifically for
extended service life in
hazardous areas, the shelters
incorporate innovative semi-
passive cooling technology
The vessel has been
designed to liquefy
natural gas extracted
from subsea wells
by chilling it to -162
C, and to then store
the liquid until it is
offloaded to large
LNG carriers
Additional requirements
include a high degree of
resistance to corrosion
being caused by the saline
environment and the
presence of sour or acid
gas, and the ability to cool
electronics equipment
without using explosion-
proof air conditioning
systems, which incur high
capital and operating costs.
The cabinets are
constructed from a
proprietary composite
material comprising
sandwich walls of long-
fibreglass reinforced
polyester (GRP) sheets,
enclosing a core of
polyurethane foam. The
material has a similar
strength to that of stainless
steel but is about four times
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 59
lighter, making it ideal for
use on offshore platforms
and floating structures.
Other advantages of the
material include:
A low thermal
conductivity
An inherently high
resistance to corrosion
caused by salt or
aggressive chemicals
such as sulphur or
chlorine
External surfaces further
protected by thick layer
of UV-resistant gel coat
Each cabinet is equipped
with special built-in
mountings, which are
external to the thermally
insulated parts of the
enclosure, to secure
the top and base to
Preludes deck structure.
All external metal
components are
fabricated from 316
grade stainless steel with
a corrosion-resistant
protective coating that
is specified for the ships
use.
From a cooling point of
view, which is the main
focus, the cabinets reportedly
offer interesting details.
Each of the cabinets is
said to incorporate a unique
form of semi-passive cooling
technology. The size of each
cabinet depends on the power
dissipation of the contained
sample conditioning or
process analyser system,
which ranges from 140 W to
900 W. Confirming this, Hans
Geiger, Intertecs Commercial
Director, reveals, Only three
of the 120 cabinets that
Intertec is supplying for this
project are the same size.
The internal face of the
cabinets rear walls are fitted
with a high-efficiency heat
exchanger, comprising one
or more aluminium cooling
plates and stainless steel
coolant pipes connected to
Preludes cold water supply
system, which obtains cold
water from the deep sea by
a 150-metre-long pipe below
Semi-passive cooling technology is tted into each instrumentation protection
cabinet that Intertec has produced for Shells Prelude FLNG project-avoiding
the need for expensive and large explosion-proof air conditioning equipment
the vessel, the company
elaborates. Heat dissipated by
the equipment in the cabinets
is absorbed by the water and
transferred to the vessels
main water cooling system,
where it is, in turn, dissipated
into the environment. This
form of distributed cooling,
says Intertec, has enormous
technical and economic
advantages, especially in
hazardous areas or where
space and weight are at a
premium. It provides a very
efficient means of removing
heat from the cabinets
without requiring local air
conditioning systems, which
would necessarily need to be
explosion proof and, therefore,
expensive, the company
highlights.
Furthermore, transferring
heat from individual air
conditioners of below-deck
cabinet installations to the
ambient environment would
be a major challenge and
would involve significant
amounts of space-consuming
air ducting, the manufacturer
asserts, and points out that the
semi-passive cooling system
is inherently safe for use in
a hazardous environment. At
the cabinet level, it requires
little or no electrical power
of its own and is virtually
maintenance-free, making
it ideal for long life-cycle
applications, it adds.
Intertec, as is Shell, are not
unaware of the significant
challenges the intended
operating environment
for Prelude poses for
instrumentation protection.
The Browse Basin is
admittedly very close to the
Equator, which means that
it has a tropical climate with
an average temperature of
about 32C. This moist and
hot environment, combined
with a salt-laden atmosphere,
is highly conducive to rust
formation. In light of this,
non-metallic protection
cabinets is a sensible design
choice, believes Intertec.
In some of Preludes more
confined spaces, the ambient
temperature could reportedly
reach more than 50C.
Even under these extreme
conditions, the company
claims it is confident that
all of the passively cooled
cabinets that it is producing
for the project are designed
to keep their internal air
temperature below 35C. Only
time or more precisely 25
years will tell.
Heat dissipated by
the equipment in the
cabinets is absorbed
by the water and
transferred to the
vessels main water
cooling system,
where it is, in turn,
dissipated into the
environment
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
60 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
AIR
LIMITATION
AND ALL
THAT...
The oil and gas industry needs efficient cooling, given the regions
ambient conditions. In light of this, Imran Ali highlights issues involved in
process cooling and suggests solutions.
INTRODUCTION
The importance of the
O&G industry cannot be
understated, as it is the
backbone of the worlds
economy and the future
of industrial development
and growth in the region.
Due to its complex and
sensitive nature, it demands
high standards of service
and support. However, it
is not uncommon to come
across issues related with
performance deration,
efficiency limitation and loss
of productivity. All these
factors are, undoubtedly,
very significant, given the
magnitude of the projects.
Typical related sectors
within the O&G industry
Studies show that the
range of increased
temperature within the
plant room is always
10C to 20C in surplus
to the machines actual
rated conditions from
OEM
Gas turbine cooling
Air-cooled motor cooling
Shutdowns temporary
power and cooling for
labour camps, auxiliary
power for critical areas,
cooling down vessels,
reactors, etc.
AIR LIMITATION
PROBLEM DUE TO
AMBIENT CONDITIONS
This is one of the most
common situations, especially
in the Gulf region. This is
because of the five months of
high-ambient conditions when
all types of industrial process
struggle to cope. However,
these issues can be tackled on
a proactive or even reactive
basis, in case of emergencies,
if one is armed with the basic
concepts of thermodynamics.
SUGGESTED
SOLUTIONS
It is possible to cool large
volumes of air and deliver
or introduce chilled air
into the intake on the
regenerators main blower,
thereby simulating springtime
conditions.
CLOSED LOOP
SYSTEM:
In a closed-loop system, air-
cooled water chiller circulates
7C water through an air-
handler equipped with a high-
static blower. Ambient air is
normally cooled to 15C. The
cooled air is forced through
temporary duct work which
is directed at the intake to
the air blower. The 15C air
is, then, mixed with ambient
air in whatever quantities, to
give the desired effect.
Here, it needs to be noted
that the basic concept of
cooling is to remove the
heat to make the area cool.
Thus, once dense air enters
the area, it pushes hot air
out. This is, in fact, the
reason why extractor fans are
installed close to the ceiling,
as hot air (which is lighter in
mass) travels upwards, while
dense air (which is heavier
in mass) does the opposite.
Please see the process
diagram, below.

Suggested Solution
We can cool large volumes of air and deliver or introduce that chilled air into the intake on the
regenerators main blower, thereby, simulating springtime conditions. In a closed-loop system
air cooled water chiller circulates 7C water through an air-handler equipped with a high-static
blower, ambient air is normally cooled to 15C, the cooled air is forced through temporary duct
work which is directed at the intake to the air blower, the 15C air is then mixed with ambient air
in whatever quantities to give the desired effect, remember the basic concept of cooling is
remove heat to make the area cool, once dense air enters it pushes hot air out and thats why
all the extractor fans are installed close to the ceiling as hot air (which is lighter in mass) travels
upwards while dense air (which is heavier in mass) does the opposite of it.

Process Diagram .


Summarized Study
In a typical plant room where the motors, turbines or generators are normally rated at 40C to
45C and will always be on the threshold of their optimal performance (during peak summer
season), while deration will start effecting the performance as soon as temperatures creeps up
and goes beyond the rated temperatures, the other important factor is that within the plant
room the temperatures are always on the higher side then the outdoor ambient (conditions)
mainly because of the thermal heat rejection and improper ventilation, the study shows that the
range of increased temperature within the plant room is always 10C to 20C in surplus to the
actual machines rated conditions from OEM, so it doesnt reflect the true picture to gauge the
Process diagram
where the aforementioned
problems could occur are:
Petrochemicals
Refineries
Process industries
Power plants
Off-shore rigs & platforms
Typical process cooling
applications are:
Dense air injection
Condenser cooling
Reactor cooling
Supplemental water cooling
Lube oil cooling
62 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
SUMMARISED STUDY
In a typical plant room,
motors, turbines or generators
are normally rated at 40C
to 45C, and will always be
on the threshold of their
optimal performance during
peak summer season. In this
scenario, deration will start
affecting the performance
as soon as the temperature
rises, and goes beyond the
rated temperatures. The
other important factor is
that within the plant room,
the temperature is always
on the higher side than the
outdoor ambient conditions,
mainly because of the thermal
heat rejection and improper
ventilation. Studies show
that the range of increased
temperature within the plant
room is always 10C to 20C
in surplus to the machines
actual rated conditions
from OEM. Therefore, it
does not reflect the true
picture that will help gauge
the performance, while
considering only the outer
ambient conditions.
In a typical scenario where
the outdoor ambient condition
reaches beyond 45C, it may
result in an additional 10C to
20C overheated plant room,
duration, which will be in
the range of five per cent to
20%, while in most cases,
an average 10% deration is
observed. For example, if a
plant room has a generating
capacity of 10MW, it will only
be producing 9MW, while
performance while considering only the outer ambient conditions. In a typical scenario where
outdoor ambient reaches beyond 45C may result in to an additional 10C to 20C overheated
plant room, deration will be in a range of 5% to 20% while in most cases an average 10% deration
is observed, for example; if a plant room has a generating capacity of 10MW will only be
producing 9MW while consuming the same amount of operational costs (i.e. fuel, maintenance,
manpower and repairs) required to produce 10MW, while the effect of being not reaching at the
required performance will result in a higher cost ($/KW-Hr) and a reduced profit ($/KW-Hr), while
the cost comparison to recover this performance loss is very minimal as we can use temporary
cooling modules (chiller+AHU or DX/packaged units) to supply dense air injection and improve
the efficiency back to the optimum conditions.
While we can also install a small CCHP (also called Tri-gen) on permanent basis which will recycle
the exhaust air and process it in to steam then cool it through absorption chiller and use this
chilled water for air conditioning within the plant for an effective ambient and/or to use it for
any other process cooling requirement, the best part is without using additional fuel and reducing
emissions to the environment it makes a win-win situation.

Typical Tri-Generation diagram:



We will discuss more process cooling issues with their solutions in our next issue and elaborate
more efficient, affordable and speedy remedies to tackle them.

Imran Ali
General Manager @ Argonaut Rental Division GCC Region
ASHRAE Member (Falcon Chapter)
requirements. It is, in fact, a
win-win situation, as it does
not use additional fuel, while
at the same time, reduces
emissions.
A typical tri-generation
The writer is
General Manager
at Argonaut Rental
Division GCC
Region. He can be
contacted at imran.
ali@argo-naut.com
Temporary cooling
modules like
chiller+AHU or DX/
packaged units can
be used to supply
dense air injection to
improve efficiency to
bring it back to the
optimum condition
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and process it into steam
and, then, cool it through
an absorption chiller. It will
subsequently use the chilled
water for air conditioning
within the plant to create
an effective ambient
condition and/or use it
for other process cooling
consuming the same amount
of operational costs (ie, fuel,
maintenance, manpower
and repairs) required to
produce 10MW. The effect
of not reaching the required
performance will obviously
result in higher cost ($/
KW-Hr) and reduced profit
($/KW-Hr). However, the
cost comparison to recover
this performance loss is
very minimal, as temporary
cooling modules like
chiller+AHU or DX/packaged
units can be used to supply
dense air injection to improve
efficiency to bring it back to
the optimum condition.
TRI-GEN:
A good solution would be to
install a small CCHP (tri-gen)
on a permanent basis. This
will recycle the exhaust air
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 63
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
SCALING THE
COOLING
TOWERS
Peter Tracey gives a broad outline of process cooling for industrial
manufacturing operations and offers a few thumb rules to combat
challenges encountered in its path.
exchange surfaces, which lead
to, at best, inefficiency and,
at worst, loss of production.
This can cost millions of
dollars in process cooling.
FOULING
This is also deposition, but
of suspended matter. In this
region, we experience a lot
of environmental dust, which
is scrubbed from the air by
the action of cooling towers.
The effects of this are similar
to scaling, and often the two
phenomena are confused.
CORROSION
This is an electrochemical
process that leads to metal
loss. Once lost, metal cannot
be replaced, and an entire
O
ne of the
common
uses of water
in industry
is that of
process
cooling. It is,
however, not the only use,
as water is obviously used
for steam generation, which
is used in many process
industries, either as part of
the process or for power
(as in the steel industry),
or indirectly through heat
exchangers (as in the
industrial gas industry).
Direct cooling is a subject on
its own and is not discussed
here.
SOME RELEVANT
DEFENITIONS:
SCALING
This is the deposition of
sparingly soluble salts on heat
generation. Most people are
also familiar with cooling
water in HVAC applications,
which is strictly speaking a
process. But process cooling
in manufacturing industry
presents a whole set of
different challenges, a few of
which will be discussed here.
If we define process cooling,
in this case to be industrial
process cooling water, it
can be used either directly
It is important to
realise that scaling/
fouling, corrosion and
microbiological activity
are all inter-related and
cannot be considered
in isolation
64 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
asset can be lost due to
corrosion. Corrosion products
can also cause fouling.
MICROBIOLOGICAL
ACTIVITY
Bacteria, algae and fungi
are found in process water
systems. These are naturally
occuring phenomena,
but their growth can be
influenced by the conditions
they encounter, such as
elevated temperatures and
contaminants. Their control
is vital to an efficient process.
The control of Legionella is
also of importance to those
who live and work in the
immediate environment.
It is important to realise
that scaling/fouling (ie
deposition), corrosion and
microbiological activity are
all inter-related and cannot be
considered in isolation.
METHODS OF
PROCESS COOLING
Once-through seawater
cooling:
The sea is a source of free
water, and once-through
seawater cooling can be
employed where the process
is of sufficient size to justify
the capital cost. As seawater
is very corrosive, titanium or
copper nickel heat exchange
tubes are employed. One
problem encountered is that
of molluscs infesting the heat
exchangers with resultant loss
of its efficiency. To counteract
this, seawater hypochlorite
generators are used to kill
the young molluscs, thus
preventing infestation.
Sometimes, cooling
towers are used either for
conventional recirculating or
for temperature reduction.
This can lead to scaling of
the cooling tower packing.
In such an event, a scale
inhibitor needs to be used.
It needs to be noted that
there are restrictions on
the quality of the seawater
returned to the sea and
temperature is of critical
importance. Too high a return
temperature will affect marine
ecology, and, therefore, a
statutory limit on temperature
is usually applied.
RECIRCULATING
COOLING WATER:
A more common kind of
process cooling is where the
process is on one side of a
heat exchanger and cooling
water on the other. These
heat exchangers take various
forms, such as shell and tube,
double pipe, plate and frame.
Some heat exchangers have
water on the shell side.
These systems often utilise
cooling towers to reject
unwanted heat. They are often
quite complex, with an array
of heat exchangers being
served by one central cooling
tower system. They are
usually critical, too, with
efficiency being the central
issue. Plant integrity is also
a key issue, as loss of assets
is unthinkable. Potable water
is usually used in cooling
towers. But we are seeing
demands to use lower quality
water, such as recycled water
from elsewhere.
Care must be taken to avoid
deposition and corrosion and
microbiological activity must
be controlled. Questions need
to be asked, such as: Would
filtration be beneficial and
cost effective? If so, do we use
sidestream or full stream?
SOME CONTROL APPROACHES
OUTCOME
CHEMICAL
APPROACH
MECHANICAL
APPROACH
Scale control
Scale inhibitor
Acid dosing
Reverse osmosis
Ion exchange
Fouling control
Dispersant
Antifoulant
Multi-media
tration
Centrifugal
seperation
Disc lter
Corrosion control Corrosion inhibitor Cathodic protection
Microbiological
control
Oxidising biocides
Chlorine, bromine,
chlorine dioxide,
mixed oxidants
Non-oxidising
biocides
Isothiazalone, quats
Biodispersants
On-site generation
of oxidising biocides
ISSUES TO BE
ADDRESSED
There are issues to be
addressed by industries using
water for process cooling
Use of lower quality water:
As constraints on the supply
of potable water increase,
there is a need to consider the
use of lower quality sources
of water. This water, as
stated earlier, may come from
elsewhere in a process stream,
and may be considered
polluted. However, modern
membrane processes place
this water within economic
reach. We have already seen
this in the District Cooling
sector, where using TSE in
cooling water system is now
mandatory.
Zero liquid discharge (ZLD):
This is a process where
no liquid is allowed to be
discharged by a particular
plant. It requires that only
the solids are allowed to
be removed from the plant
by a licensed operator.
Fortunately, we are blessed
in this region with lots
of sunshine. Evaporation
ponds can, therefore, be
used where space allows. In
cooler climates plants have
to use thermal evaporation to
acheive ZLD.
Increasing environmental
demands:
The use of chemicals as scale
and corrosion inhibitors as
well as biocides are typically
being squeezed by tighter
environmental legislation.
Leading water treatment
companies are, therefore,
constantly upgrading their
chemical products to meet
new legislation.
CONCLUSION
The design of a water
treatment regimen is
a blend of the right
mechanical equipment with
an appropriate chemical
regimen. As situations evolve,
this approach should be
under constant surveillance
to ensure that it is still fit for
use.
Fortunately, we are
blessed in this region
with lots of sunshine.
Evaporation ponds
can, therefore, be used
where space allows
The writer is
General Manager,
CoolTech Gulf. He
can be contacted
at: ptracey@
cooltechgulf.com
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 65
THE PROCESS COOLING
REPORT
HOW TO OPTIMISE
INDUSTRIAL
PROCESS AND
DATA CENTRE
COOLING
Saying that design engineers owe it to end-users to offer optimal cost and
efficiency benefits, Jean-Marc Marchand suggests ways to work around
challenges.
W
hen it
comes to
designing
process
cooling
systems, engineers have the
responsibility and obligation
towards end-users to take
advantage of the latest
innovations available to
minimise energy costs and
water consumption. In order
to do this, they must be
familiar with the process
load profile, seasonal climate
conditions, geography and
water availability of the
specific location.
LOW LIFT COOLING
APPLICATIONS
Some industrial processes
and most data centres have
unique cooling requirements
in that they require higher
cooling water temperature
for heat removal. While one
would immediately assume
that making warmer cooling
water is much more energy
efficient and cost effective,
it comes with its challenges.
Typical water-cooled chillers
are designed for lower
temperature higher lift
conditions, as you would
typically see in comfort
cooling applications. The
lift on a chiller is defined as
the difference between the
condenser refrigerant pressure
and the evaporator refrigerant
pressure. It can also be
defined as the difference in
their temperatures.
Air-Conditioning, Heating,
and Refrigeration Institute
(AHRI) standard conditions
for comfort cooling are
44F, leaving chilled water
temperature (LCHWT) and
85F entering condenser
water temperature (ECWT).
In data centre cooling
and some process cooling
applications, these AHRI
standard conditions do not
apply, because the LCHWT
is typically much higher
than 44F. In fact, we can
see LCHWTs as high as
60F to 75F. During these
conditions, the ambient wet-
bulb temperatures are similar
to those of comfort cooling
applications and, therefore,
require the chillers to operate
at lower lift conditions
compared to conventional
comfort cooling conditions.
When a chiller experiences
lower lift conditions, the
compressor has to do less
work and, consequently,
consumes less energy. This
remains true when the load
remains constant. But the
wet-bulb conditions change
and, therefore, the ECWT
becomes lower at constant
LCHWT. These conditions are
very desirable up to a certain
point (when the chiller lift
becomes too low to maintain
stable operation of the
chiller). Chiller manufacturers
are limited in the way they
can minimise the negative
effect of low lift, either by
the type of refrigerant they
use or by the design of their
machines. It is up to the
design engineers to work
around the limitations that
low lift imposes on system
performance.
FREE COOLING
AND PARTIAL FREE
COOLING
One unique feature of a
higher temperature process
Chiller manufacturers
are limited in the way
they can minimise the
negative effect of low
lift, either by the type
of refrigerant they use
or by the design of
their machines
66 Climate Control Middle East March 2014
chilling application is that the
return chilled water is usually
at a higher temperature than
what the cooling tower is
supplying to the condenser.
Therefore, engineers have the
benefit of taking advantage
of partial or full free cooling
throughout the major part of
the year, with the use of plate
and frame heat exchangers.
Partial free cooling is
achieved by flowing the
return chilled water through
the hot side of the heat
exchanger and flowing colder
cooling tower water through
the cold side of the heat
exchanger, in order to remove
as much heat as possible from
the chilled water loop before
returning it to the chillers
evaporator. Full free cooling
is achieved by flowing the
return chilled water through
the heat exchanger and
dropping the temperature all
the way down to the design
process water temperature,
thus eliminating the need
to flow the water to the
chillers evaporator. A bypass
around the chiller is utilised
for this mode of operation.
Switching from these modes
of operation is typically
achieved by the use of
automated valves, as shown
in the figure above.
When engineers are tasked
with designing a process
This pumping arrangement
makes the layout more
efficient and eliminates the
footprint requirement for
chilled water pumps in a
building. It also simplifies the
electrical requirements for
the system, as it keeps all the
pumping electrical loads in
one location, as opposed to
being spread out across the
site.
The main drawback of
having an open cooling loop
is that the heat exchange
equipment will be exposed
to open cooling tower water,
this can lead to fouling and
clogging of heat transfer
equipment, if not treated
properly. It is very important
that adequate filtration
equipment is utilised in the
cooling tower sump to keep
the amount of solids within
safe limits and protect all
the heat transfer surfaces
in the system. The filtration
system should be coupled
with a good water treatment
programme in order to
prevent scale build-up and
biological growth in the
system. Scaling up of heat
transfer surfaces impedes
performance of the system
and shortens the life of the
equipment. This also increases
the consumption of water and
energy, which is incongruous
to the environmental and
economic benefits of free and
partial free cooling.
The writer is from
Stellar Energy. He
can be contacted at:
jmarchand@stellar-
energy.net
burden of seasons when
wet-bulb temperatures are
typically higher.
In some process cooling
applications, it is not
uncommon to design a
system where the process
water is pumped directly
from a common cooling
tower sump, eliminating
the need for a plate and
frame heat exchanger
to achieve free cooling.
Without the inefficiency of
the heat exchanger, you can
achieve lower process water
temperatures.
If the wet-bulb temperatures
are above the point where the
cooling tower cannot cool the
process water down to the
design temperature, then the
water can be pumped through
the chillers evaporator in
order to achieve the required
process water temperature.
Typically, three types of
pumps are required for this
application. Condenser water
pumps are required for the
heat rejection in the chiller,
process water pumps to pump
the water directly from the
cooling tower sump to the
process, and chilled water
process pumps to pump the
water from the sump, through
the chillers evaporator and to
the process. All three pumps
can be located together at the
common cooling tower sump.
cooling system with free
cooling, several factors must
be taken into consideration.
Firstly, consider what the
first cost with respect to the
size of the heat exchanger
and cooling tower is. This
will need to be weighed
against payback duration. If
a heavy emphasis is placed
on cooling tower capacity
and heat exchanger surface
area, then the first cost will
be high. However, tighter
heat exchanger temperature
approaches and wet-bulb
approaches will be achieved,
and, subsequently, there will
be more hours of free cooling
throughout the year. This
results in significant energy
savings, especially during
summer, and shoulders the
One unique feature of
a higher temperature
process chilling
application is that the
return chilled water
is usually at a higher
temperature than what
the cooling tower
is supplying to the
condenser
March 2014 www.climatecontrolme.com 67