Losses in Cooling Tower

There are three types of losses in cooling tower.

1. Blow down loss

2. Evaporation loss
3. Drift loss

Draw off or Blowdown

As the cooling water circulates the cooling tower part of water evaporates thereby increasing the
total dissolved solids in the remaining water. To control the Cycle of Concentration blow down
is given. Blowdown is the function of Cycle of concentration. Blowdown can be calculated from
the formula:

B = E/ (COC-1)

B = Blow Down (m3/hr)

E = Evaporation Loss (m3/hr)

COC = Cycle of Concentration. Varies from 3.0 to 7.0 depending upon Manufactures Guidelines

Evaporation Loss Calculation

Evaporation Loss in the cooling tower is calculated by the following empirical equation.

E = 0.00085 x R x 1.8 x C

E = Evaporation Loss (m3/hr)

R= Range

C = Circulating Cooling Water (m3/hr)

(Reference: Perry’s Chemical Engineers Hand Book )

Alternatively, The Evaporation loss can be calculated from the heat balance across the cooling
tower. The amount of heat to be removed from Circulating water according to Q = m Cp DT is C
x Cp x R . The amount of heat removed by evaporative cooling is Q = m x Hv is E x HV

On Equating these two, we get

E = C x R x Cp / HV

E = Evaporation Loss in m3/hr

C= Cycle of Concentration

R= Range in °C ( Temp Difference )

Cp = Specific Heat = 4.184 kJ / kg / °C

HV = Latent heat of vaporization = 2260 kJ / kg

Windage or Drift Loss Calculation

Drift loss of the cooling tower is normally provided by the cooling tower manufacturer based on
the Process design. If it is not available it may be assumed as

For Natural Draft Cooling Tower D = 0.3 to 1.0 * C /100

For Induced Draft Cooling Tower D = 0.1 to 0.3 * C /100

For Cooling Tower with Drift Eliminator D = 0.01* C /100

Blow down losses: During the cooling process of hot water in cooling tower, around 2% water
evaporates. In the long run, it increases the solid content in the circulating water. Some dust
particles also come from the environment and mix with circulating water. But the solid content
of the cooled water must be kept under a certain limit to avoid scaling or fouling on the heat
exchange equipment. A part of the circulating water is drained from the bottom of the cooling
tower to discard the deposited solids from the cooling tower. This is called blow down.

Drift loss: Small droplets that are en-trained by the upward-flowing air stream are collected in a
mist eliminator, where they accumulate to form larger drops that are eventually returned to the
fill. In general, very little water in the form of droplets is carried along with the air, but those
droplets do results in water loss, called drift loss or windage loss. This drift water typically
contains dissolved solids and may cause stain, corrosion or damage to nearby buildings and
structures. Drift loss is usually about 0.1–0.3% of the circulation water rate

Evaporation Loss: Evaporation loss is the water quantity evaporated for cooling duty and,
theoretically, for every 10,00,000 kCal heat rejected, evaporation quantity works out to 1.8 m3 .
An empirical relation used often is

Evaporation Loss (m3 /hr) = 0.00085 x 1.8 x circulation rate (m3 /hr) x (T1-T2)

Where, T1-T2 = Temp. difference between inlet and outlet water.