Large Range Cooling Towers

[ZCook]

I'm a junior engineer working on the design of a compressed air system that will use closed loop cooling towers to cool the compressors and dryers. In my office, the typical range we specify will be 10°F (95°F/85°F) and I'm not sure if we've ever not specified this. After talking to cooling tower vendors, I am looking at using towers with a 30°F range (115°F/85°F) with the benefits of less flow and possibly less costly towers.

Can anyone speak to their experience using larger range towers, particularly negative ones? The cons of this system I'm aware of are potentially slower response to compressor heat load and increased make-up water to the towers.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

[SAK9]

In the HVAC industry probably the largest market for cooing towers the current trend is to select cooling towers based on a range of 8 – 10°C.The tower return temperature is limited by chiller plant efficient operation which is at around 35-37C.This limitation is not so restrictive when selecting cooling towers for compressors or generators and therefore you can select a wider range for these equipment. What you need to do is to consult the vendor and understand from them the optimum water leaving temperature for the equipment and arrive at an appropriate range based on that temperature.