water

Article
Analysis and Optimization of Open Circulating
Cooling Water System
Ziqiang Lv 1,2,3 , Jiuju Cai 2 , Wenqiang Sun 1,2, * and Lianyong Wang 1,2
1 Department of Thermal Engineering, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819,
Liaoning, China; Lvzq1979@ustl.edu.cn (Z.L.); wangly@smm.neu.edu.cn (L.W.)
2 State Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, Liaoning, China;
rcjj@mail.neu.edu.cn
3 School of Civil Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114051,
Liaoning, China
* Correspondence: sunwq@mail.neu.edu.cn




Received: 22 September 2018; Accepted: 26 October 2018; Published: 7 November 2018


Abstract: Open circulating cooling water system is widely used in process industry. For a system
with a fixed structure, the water consumption and blowdown usually change with the varying
parameters such as quality and temperature. With the purpose of water saving, it is very important
to optimize the operation strategy of water systems. Considering the factors including evaporation,
leakage, blowdown and heat transfer, the mass and energy conservation equations of water system
are established. On this basis, the quality and temperature models of makeup and blowdown water
are, respectively, developed. The water consumption and discharge profiles and the optimal operating
strategy of the open recirculating cooling water system under different conditions are obtained. The
concept of cycles of temperature is proposed to evaluate the temperature relationship of various parts
of the open circulating cooling water system. A mathematical relationship is established to analyze
the influence of the water temperature on the makeup water rate of the system under the condition
of insufficient cooling capacity of the cooling tower. In addition, the co-influences of quality and
temperature parameters on the system are analyzed.

Keywords: cooling water system; operating strategy; mass and energy conservation; water saving

1. Introduction
Open circulating cooling water system is widely used in process industry to cool off equipment
and product, and to transfer waste heat into the environment [1,2]. Due to the evaporation and
leakage of water, as well as the sewage of the system, this process brings about the consumption of
water resources and the sewage drainage. As water resources decrease year by year and the serious
environmental pollution increases [3], more and more attention has been paid to water conservation
and emission reduction of the open cooling water system. At present, the research of industrial water
saving mainly includes two aspects [4]: using water-saving equipment or water-alternative technology
(such as air cooling instead of water cooling) and optimizing the structure and operating parameters
of the water system as a whole, which is the focus of this paper.
The optimization of industrial water systems mainly includes two categories. (1) Water pinch
analysis [5–9] belongs to the graphic method and has the advantages of clearly physical meaning and
simple solution. However, in general, it is only valid for a single impurity system, and cannot give the
corresponding optimal structure of water consumption systems. (2) Mathematical programming
method: Apart from water pinch analysis, more and more research employs the mathematical
programming method [10–13]. For the optimization of water systems by mathematical programming,

Water 2018, 10, 1592; doi:10.3390/w10111592 www.mdpi.com/journal/water

Water 2018, 10, 1592 2 of 16

it is necessary to establish an objective function and a set of appropriate equality and/or inequality
constraint equations. Depending on task requirement, the objective function can generally be either
the minimum fresh water consumption or investment, or a multi-objective function. This method
can solve the relatively complicated water system optimization problem, but none or multiple global
optimal solution could be obtained, which may lead to poor engineering feasibility [14]. In recent years,
much attention has been paid to the optimization of open circulating cooling water systems, that is a
particular kind of industrial water system. Castro et al. [15] developed the concept of multiple pinches
for minimum water consumption of regeneration reuse system. Kim and Smith [16] presented a new
method for the design of cooling water systems with lower water usage based on the interactions
between the cooling tower performance and the cooling water users by combining mathematical model
with pinch analysis method. Meanwhile, the water saving methods in debottlenecking situations
are analyzed qualitatively. Kim et al. [17] discussed the design of a cooling water system under the
condition of effluent temperature reduction by using pinch analysis method. Jiang et al. [18] developed
a production scheduling optimization model to solve the excessive water consumption caused by
product adjustment in the dyeing industry. The model can be used to reduce the production line
cleaning time by optimizing the production schedules. Ponce-Ortega et al. [19] built a superstructure
model for the whole cooling water system, and then translated it into a mixed-integer nonlinear
programming problem. The objective is to find the minimized equipment investment and the total
cost of filling water for the cooling water systems. The system structure parameter is determined
by optimal computation. Sun et al. [20] presented a novel two-step sequential methodology for the
optimization of cooling water system. The first step is to use a thermodynamic model to obtain the
optimal cooler network. In the second step, the hydraulic model is established to obtain the optimal
pump network. The proposed model can identify the optimal distribution of cooling water within the
network and the optimal installation locations and pressure head of pumps required for CWS. Bu [21]
analyzed the characteristics of water systems in steel industry, established mathematical models, and
discussed the relationship between water recharge and the cycles of concentration.
In the above-mentioned studies, the role of the system operating parameters (water quality and
temperature) is to restrict the import and export limit parameters of each water flow and cooling tower
as constraints, with the aim of obtaining an optimal system architecture. Few studies discussed the
effects of different water quality and temperature parameters on water consumption and drainage.
In [16], the trend of water consumption with the change in water temperature has been qualitatively
discussed. The mathematical relationship between cooling capacity and makeup water temperature
has not been reported in previous studies; thus, the influences of makeup water temperature and the
cooling capacity on the system makeup rate are not analyzed. Conversely, for a fixed structure of
an open circulating cooling water system, the system parameters (such as quality, temperature, etc.)
and the operation strategies are variable, which inevitably causes changes of indices such as water
consumption and blowdown. It is of great significance for water saving and drainage reduction to
analyze the aforementioned relationships.
The water quality and temperature will change in an open cooling water system and this change
has a significant impact on the makeup, drainage and operating strategies of the system. In this work:
(1) The mode and characteristics of the water that are used in the open cooling water system are
analyzed, and then the physical and mathematical models are established to describe the relationship
between water supply and drainage, water quality and water temperature. (2) The influence of water
quality on water consumption and blowdown is obtained by solving the mathematical model. In
addition, the influence of the actual factors such as water leakage and the installation of purification
equipment are analyzed, and then the optimal operation strategies for the system under different
leakage conditions are obtained. (3) The evaluation index used to evaluate the cooling capacity of
the cooling tower and the water temperature of the system is established. The influence of water
temperature parameters on water supply under the condition of insufficient cooling capacity of the
cooling tower is proposed. Although the water, material and energy balance models have often
Water 2018, 10, 1592 3 of 16
Water 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 16

transfer are integrated into the traditional mass and energy conservation models, which is more
been applied to cooling tower systems, in this paper, the water evaporation, leakage, blowdown
consistent with the practice. Another novelty of this paper is the proposal of the concept of cycles of
and heat transfer are integrated into the traditional mass and energy conservation models, which is
temperature. It is proposed to evaluate the temperature relationship of various parts of the open
more consistent with the practice. Another novelty of this paper is the proposal of the concept of
circulating cooling water system. The novel mathematical model is established between the makeup
cycles of temperature. It is proposed to evaluate the temperature relationship of various parts of the
water rate and the cycles of temperature. In addition, the co-effect of quality and temperature
open circulating cooling water system. The novel mathematical model is established between the
parameters on the system is analyzed, which is different from previous studies considering only one
makeup water rate and the cycles of temperature. In addition, the co-effect of quality and temperature
parameter as the constraint.
parameters on the system is analyzed, which is different from previous studies considering only one
parameter as the constraint.
2. Methods
2. Methods
In this part, the physical model of the open cooling water system is firstly established. Based on
the principle of energy
In this part, conservation
the physical model ofand
themass
openconservation,
cooling waterthe mathematical
system model is established
is firstly established. Based on
to describe the relationships between water supply and drainage, water quality and
the principle of energy conservation and mass conservation, the mathematical model is established water
to
temperature.
describe the relationships between water supply and drainage, water quality and water temperature.

2.1. Physical Model

2.1. Model
Figure 11 shows
Figure shows aa typical
typical open
open circulating
circulating cooling
cooling water
water system.
system. The
The waste
waste heat
heat that
that exists
exists in
in the
the
cooling network
cooling network (CW)(CW) needs
needs to be be taken
taken away
away byby aa cooling
cooling water.
water. Cooling
Cooling water
water enters
enters the
the cooling
cooling
tower (CT)
tower (CT) to
to release
release heat
heat to
to the
the environment
environment after
after leaving
leaving thethe cooling
cooling network.
network. Water
Water evaporation
evaporation
and leakage
and leakage may
may happen
happen during
during this
this process.
process. After cooling, the water returns
returns to
to the cooling network
network
for reuse.
for reuse. Due to evaporation,
evaporation, impurities (such as as salt)
salt) in
in the
the water
water are
areconcentrated.
concentrated. Excessive
Excessive
concentration of cooling water would result in the damage of heat
concentration cooling water would result in the damage of heat transfer equipment. transfer equipment. Therefore,
makeup water
makeup water is
is usually
usually used
used to to partly
partly replace
replace the
the circulating
circulating water
water in the
the system,
system, and
and to
to keep
keep the
the
impurity concentration
impurity concentration in in moderation.
moderation. To To maintain
maintain water
water balance,
balance, the
the system
system makeup
makeup water
water should
should
include all the
include thewater
waterlosses
lossescaused
caused bybyevaporation, leakage
evaporation, andand
leakage blowdown.
blowdown.The water quantity,
The water water
quantity,
temperature
water and water
temperature qualityquality
and water of the system are represented
of the system by different
are represented symbols,
by different as shown
symbols, in Figure
as shown in
1.
Figure 1.

Evaporated water FV

i
F ti Ci
CW
Inlet water CT l
Network F tR CR
QR Leakage water
Qi

i
F tn Ci
W R P
F tW CW F tR CR F tR CR
Blowdown water
Makeup water Outlet water

Figure 1. Physical model of open circulating cooling water system.

Figure 1. Physical model of open circulating cooling water system.
The open cooling water model is based on the following assumptions:
The
The system is in a water
open cooling stable model
state. is based on the following assumptions:
The
The heat radiation
system is ignored.
is in a stable state.
The specific heat
The heat radiation is of water is supposed independent of impurities and temperature.
ignored.
Drift from the
The specific cooling
heat tower
of water is negligible.
is supposed independent of impurities and temperature.
All dissolved constituents of interest
Drift from the cooling tower is negligible. are conservative.
The heat transfer of other parts except the
All dissolved constituents of interest are conservative. cooling network and the cooling tower is ignored.
All
Thewater leakage of
heat transfer loss of the
other system
parts is generated
except the coolingatnetwork
the outlet of the
and the cooling
cooling tower.
tower is ignored.
With regard to the assumption of the open circulating cooling water
All water leakage loss of the system is generated at the outlet of the cooling tower. system, this paper refers to
the related practices in the literature [16,17,19,20,22]. A significant difference
With regard to the assumption of the open circulating cooling water system, this is that, instead
paper of being
refers to
ignored, the water leakage loss of the system is analyzed as an important factor to be closer
the related practices in the literature [16,17,19,20,22]. A significant difference is that, instead of being to reality.
ignored, the water leakage loss of the system is analyzed as an important factor to be closer to reality.
Water 2018, 10, 1592 4 of 16

2.2. Mathematical Models

2.2.1. Water Quantity, Impurity and Energy Balance Models

The water quantity, impurity mass and heat conservation equation are established based on the
heat and impurity exchange characteristics of the system. According to Kim et al. [17], the relationship
between the total heat dissipation Q R of the cooling tower and the latent heat of water evaporation QV
can be expressed as:
CE · Q R = Q V = F V · r (1)

where CE is the ratio of evaporation heat transfer and total heat transfer with the value of 0.75–1.0, and
r is the latent heat of vaporization of water.
For the cooling network,
Water balance:
FW + F R = F i (2)

Impurity mass balance:

FW ·CW + F R ·CR = Fi ·Ci (3)

Heat balance:
Qi
F W · tW + F R · t R + = F i · ti (4)
c
Qi
Fi ·tn + = F i · ti (5)
c
where c is the constant pressure specific heat of water.
For the cooling tower,
Water balance:
Fi = F l + FV + F P + F R (6)

Impurity mass balance:

Fi ·Ci = F l ·CR + F P ·CR + F R ·CR (7)

Heat balance:
rFV
c · F i · ti = c · F i · t R + (8)
CE
The control equations of the system can be obtained by the following:
Water balance:
FW = F l + F P + F V (9)

Impurity mass balance:  

FW ·CW = F l + F P ·CR (10)

Heat balance:
  F V ·r
c · F W · tW + Q i = c · F l + F P + F V · t R + (11)
CE
where f W , f l , f P and f V are defined as the makeup rate, leakage rate, blowdown rate and evaporation
rate, respectively, and thus FW = f W · Fi , F l = f l · Fi , F P = f P · Fi and FV = f V · Fi .
According to Equations (1) and (8),
c
f V = CE · ·(ti − t R ) (12)
r
where ti and t R are the inlet and outlet water temperatures of the cooling tower, respectively.
Then, Equations (9)–(11) can be rewritten as:
Water 2018, 10, 1592 5 of 16

Water balance:
fW = fl + fP + fV (13)

Impurity mass balance:  

f W ·CW = f l + f P · CR (14)

Heat balance:  
f W · tW + ( t R − t n ) = f l + f P + f V ·t R (15)

2.2.2. System Makeup and Drainage Rate vs. Water Quality and Temperature Models
Firstly, the mathematical relationship between water makeup rate and water quality parameters
is established. There are many kinds of water quality parameters in the water system. According to
Rahmani [23], the key factor in the design and operation of open circulating cooling water system is
the cycles of concentration. The cycles of concentration (N) is defined as the ratio of the concentration
of a soluble component in the blowdown stream to that in the makeup stream. In this paper, the cycles
of concentration is used as a representative indicator of water quality. Hereafter, the reference to water
quality means the cycles of concentration.
According to Equations (13) and (14),

CR fW fV
N= = P = 1 + (16)
CW f + fl fP + fl

According to Bu [21], for the open cooling water system, it is more appropriate to control the
cycles of concentration within the range of 3–5. Low cycles of concentration can result in excessive
makeup rate; on the contrary, it can lead to a large increase in the risk of equipment corrosion and
scaling. Indeed, the system’s cycles of concentration is affected by many factors, especially the
quality of makeup water. The scope described in this paper refers to the recommended range of
general industrial open cooling water systems (the quality of makeup water meets the industrial
water standards).
Then, models of water makeup rate vs. cycles of concentration can be written as:

f W = f V · N ·( N − 1)−1 (17)

The blowdown rate and the leakage rate of the cooling water system are related to the water
consumption of the system itself, and also to the blowdown of the system to the environment.
By Equations (12) and (13), the relationship between leakage rate, blowdown rate and cycles of
concentration is obtained as below:

f P = f V ·( N − 1)−1 − f l (18)

In practice, some cooling water systems target “zero emissions” to achieve water saving and
emission reduction. In this work, “zero emissions” refers to a system that does not actively drain
outside, i.e., f P = 0. However, for many “zero blowdown” systems, the cycles of concentration are not
in a reasonable range; that is, the water-saving effect is not obvious. Under the premise of f P = 0,
according to Equation (15), it is easy to get the relationship between the cycles of concentration of the
system and the leakage rate and evaporation rate:

fV
N = 1+ (19)
fl

In practical operation, the purification device can be set up to purify a part of circulating water
and improve the water quality to reduce the system makeup rate. At this time, the purification device
Water 2018, 10, 1592 6 of 16

is generally installed on the outlet line of the cooling tower. It is assumed that the impurity removal
rate of the filter is δ. Then, the system’s impurity mass balance equation is:
   
f W ·CW = f l + f P · CR + δ · CR · 1 − f W (20)

By combining Equation (17), Equation (20) becomes:

N· f V − δ


W
f = (21)
N ·(1 − δ) − 1

As mentioned above, f P = 0, thus the operation strategy under different impurity removal rates
can be analyzed. Combining Equations (15) and (21), it is easy to get:

fl + fV
N=
(22)
f l + δ· 1 − f l − f V

The cooling tower is assumed to be able to completely eliminate the equipment cooling load, and
therefore the outlet temperature of the cooling tower t R is equal to that of tn . At this point, there is
no requirement for the temperature of the makeup water. In practice, circulating water may not be
completely cooled by the cooling tower for some reason, such as cooling tower fouling or excessive
outdoor air temperature, resulting in t R > tn . When this happens, the inlet water temperature of
cooling network will continue to rise. Theoretically, to increase the tower efficiency is more realistic.
However, it should be noted that in some industrial applications the cooling tower cannot cool the
circulating water of the system for some reasons, e.g., heat exchanging effect is deteriorated, or outdoor
air temperature is too high. Rather than improve the cooling effect of the cooling tower, instead, users
employ fresh water to replace part of the circulating water directly to reduce the temperature of the
circulating water. At this time, it is necessary to use a certain proportion of new water with a lower
temperature to replace the circulating water, to keep the inlet water temperature of cooling network at
the required level. Because of the consumption of new water, it is necessary to establish the relationship
between the makeup rate and the temperature of makeup water and the circulating water.
Combining Equations (12) and (14), it is easy to get:

t R − tn
fW = (23)
t R − tW

To describe the cooling capacity of the cooling tower, the cooling index k is defined in this work
as k = ttRn . If k = 1, the cooling tower can completely take away the heat load of the equipment, i.e.,
tn = t R . On the contrary, if k < 1, the tower cooling capacity is insufficient, i.e., t R > tn . To evaluate the
influence of water temperature on the heat balance of the system, according to the definition of cycles
of concentration, this paper puts forward the concept “cycles of temperature”. The value is the ratio of
the circulating water temperature to the makeup water temperature and is written as:

tR 0 tn k·t R
Nt = , Nt = = = k· Nt (24)
tW tW tW
0
where Nt is the cycles of temperature of the cooling tower outlet, and Nt is the cycles of temperature
of the cooling network inlet. Combining Equations (23) and (24), the relationship of makeup rate and
temperature can be written as:

tR tn
t − tn tW − tW Nt ·(1 − k)
f W
= R = tR
= (25)
t R − tW Nt − 1
tW − 1
Water 2018, 10, 1592 7 of 16

This model is used to evaluate the influence of water temperature on the makeup rate under the
condition of insufficient cooling capacity.

3. Model Verification
To verify the accuracy of the proposed model, experimental data were contrasted with the
simulation results from the model. The experimental results were from the field test of four open
cooling water systems. The data from the test were also used for the input parameters of the model
calculation to ensure the effectiveness of the contrast. Based on the correlation between these models,
only the two following models are validated.

3.1. Verification of the Makeup Rate and the Cycles of Concentration Model
Four open circulating cooling water systems were tested. The experimental data included f V ,
W . f W and f W are the measured and calculated values of makeup rate, respectively. Based
N and f exp exp cal
on the experimental data, Equation (17) was used to calculate the theoretical makeup rate. Table 1
shows the comparison between experimental and calculated results. The results show that the error
between the calculated and experimental results is less than 2%.

Table 1. Comparison of experimental and calculated results.

Case fV N fW
exp fW
cal Error (%)
1 0.0121 1.2512 0.0592 0.0603 −1.81
2 0.0133 2.2034 0.0247 0.0244 1.41
3 0.0125 2.6169 0.0206 0.0202 1.79
4 0.0164 1.8233 0.0362 0.0363 −0.33

3.2. Verification of the Makeup Rate and the Temperature Model

Four open circulating cooling water systems were tested. t R was higher than tn . The experimental
W . Based on the experimental data, k and N were calculated, and
data included t R , tn , tW and f exp t
Equation (25) was used to calculate the theoretical makeup rate. Table 2 shows the makeup rate
comparison between experimental and calculated results. The results show that the error between the
calculated and the experimental results is less than 2%.

Table 2. Comparison of experimental and calculated results.

Case tR tn tW k Nt fW
exp fW
cal Error (%)
1 31.0297 30.0586 20.2632 0.9687 1.5313 0.092 0.0902 –1.96
2 37.3506 35.1201 20.358 0.9479 2.0182 0.1052 0.1033 –1.83
3 43.5605 40.2203 22.334 0.945 2.3214 0.0956 0.0966 1.04
4 41.9361 40.7968 29.2768 0.9728 1.4324 0.0885 0.09 1.67

4. Results and Discussion

Applying the proposed models, this section analyzes the effect of system water quality and
water temperature parameters on water consumption and blowdown indicators. It is obvious that the
evaporation rate of the CT is a key parameter for the established models. According to Zubair et al. [24],
the evaporation rate is mainly affected by outdoor air parameters (dry bulb temperature and wet bulb
temperature), inlet and outlet temperatures of cooling water, and the air-to-water ratio. In [25], 22 sets
of measured evaporation rates of cooling towers are analyzed, and the values varied from 0.004 to
0.024. In the following discussions, evaporation rates are chosen from this range.
Water 2018, 10, 1592 8 of 16

4.1. Relationships between the Makeup Rate and the Cycles of Concentration
According to Equation (17), the relationship between the makeup rate and the cycles of
concentration can be analyzed. Figure 2 shows this relationship when the evaporation rate takes
differentWater
values.
2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 16

Water 2018, 10, x FOR PEER0.10

REVIEW 8 of 16
V
0.10 f = 0.01
V
0.08 fV = 0.015
f V= 0.01
f V= 0.02
0.08 f = 0.015
V
0.06 f = 0.02
W

0.06
f

0.04
W
f

0.04
0.02

0.02
0.00
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.00 N
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Figure The
2. 2.
Figure The relationship
relationship betweenfWfW
N between N. N.
andand

Figurecycles
2. The of
ofrelationship between f and N.
W
According According to Figure
to Figure 2, lower
2, lower cycles concentration
concentration lead
leadto to
higher
higher makeup
makeup rates. rates.
This trend
This trend
becomes
becomes more more apparent
apparent when when
the the cycles
cycles of of concentration
concentration is
isless than
less than2.0. It
2.0.canIt be
canseen
be that
seen increasing
that increasing
According to Figure 2, lower cycles of concentration lead to higher makeup rates. This trend
the cycles of concentration is one of the important methods to reduce water consumption. In addition,
the cycles of concentration
becomes more apparentiswhen
one ofthethe important
cycles methods
of concentration to than
is less reduce water
2.0. It can beconsumption.
seen that increasing In addition,
the makeup rate increases with the increasing of the evaporation rate. In other words, if the cooling
the makeup rate
the cycles ofincreases with
concentration the
is one increasing
of the importantof the evaporation
methods rate.
to reduce water In other
consumption.
load is constant, the freshwater consumption will increase with the increasing ratio of evaporation words, if the cooling
In addition,
the makeup
load is constant, rate
the increases with
freshwater the increasing
consumption willofincrease
the evaporation
with rate.
the In other words,
increasing ratio if
of the cooling
evaporation heat
heat transfer. It can be seen that if the cooling tower is combined with other equipment to cool the
load is constant, the freshwater consumption will increase with the increasing ratio of evaporation
transfer.cooling
It canwater
be seen that ifthe
to reduce theevaporation
cooling tower is combined
of water, the makeup with
rate other
can beequipment
reduced. Forto cool the
example, in cooling
heat transfer. It can be seen that if the cooling tower is combined with other equipment to cool the
[16],
water tocoolinga lowthe
reduce temperature
evaporationseawater
of heat exchanger
water, the makeup is set at the
rate can outlet
be of the cooling
reduced. For tower to reduce
example, in [16], a low
water to reduce the evaporation of water, the makeup rate can be reduced. For example, in
evaporation.
temperature seawater heat exchanger is set at the outlet of the cooling tower
[16], a low temperature seawater heat exchanger is set at the outlet of the cooling tower to reduce to reduce evaporation.
evaporation.
4.2. Blowdown Rate and Leakage Control of the System
4.2. Blowdown Rate and Leakage Control of the System
The water
4.2. Blowdown loss
Rate andof the system
Leakage Control includes evaporation, sewage blowdown and leakage. The
of the System
Theinfluence
water loss of the
of water system
leakage onincludes evaporation,
makeup rate and blowdown sewage
rate blowdown and leakage.
is often overlooked. Thethe
However, influence
The water
of watereffect
leakage on loss of the
makeup system
rate and includes
blowdown evaporation,
rate is sewage
often blowdown and
overlooked. leakage.the
However, Theeffect of
of leakage rate on the system is very important. According to Equation (18), the blowdown rate
influence of water leakage on makeup rate and blowdown rate is often overlooked. However, the
leakageofrate
the system
on theissystem
analyzediswhen
verytheimportant.
leakage rate is fixed. Figure
According to3 Equation
shows the relationship between the rate of
(18), the blowdown
effect of leakage rate on the system is very important. According to Equation (18), the blowdown rate
blowdown
the system rate and the cycles of concentration at the leakage rate of 0.003.
of theissystem
analyzed whenwhen
is analyzed the leakage rate
the leakage isisfixed.
rate Figure3 3shows
fixed. Figure showsthe the relationship
relationship between
between the the
blowdown rate and
blowdown ratethe
andcycles
the of concentration
cycles
0.08 of concentration at theleakage
at the leakage rate
rate of 0.003.
of 0.003.
V
0.08 f = 0.01
V
fV = 0.015
0.06 f =V 0.01
fV = 0.02
f = 0.015
0.06 V
f = 0.02
0.04
P
f

0.04
P
f

0.02

0.02

0.00
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.00 N
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
𝑙
N fP and N (𝑓 = 0.003).
Figure 3. The relationship between

Figure The
3. 3.
Figure relationship
The relationship between P and
betweenfP fand N (𝑓N𝑙 (=f l 0.003).
= 0.003).
Water 2018, 10, 1592 9 of 16
Water 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 16

Asshown
As shownin inFigure
Figure3,3,ififthe
theleakage
leakageraterateofofthe
thesystem
systemremains
remainsthe
thesame,
same,with
withthetheincrease
increaseof ofthe
the
cycles of concentration, the blowdown rate gradually declines until stopped.
cycles of concentration, the blowdown rate gradually declines until stopped. On the contrary, withOn the contrary, with
thedecrease
the decreaseof ofcycles
cyclesofofconcentration,
concentration,the theblowdown
blowdownrate rateof
ofthe
thesystem
systemincreases
increasesrapidly.
rapidly.When
Whenthe the
value (cycles of concentration) is less than 2.0, this trend becomes
value (cycles of concentration) is less than 2.0, this trend becomes more evident. more evident.
AAkey
key factor
factor in
in the
the design
design andand operation
operation of of open
opencirculating
circulatingcooling
coolingwater
watersystem
systemisisthe
thecycles
cyclesof
concentration.
of concentration.As Asmentioned
mentionedpreviously,
previously,for forthe
theopen
open cooling
cooling water
water system,
system, itit is
is more
moreappropriate
appropriate
to control the cycles of concentration within the range of 3–5. According to Equation
to control the cycles of concentration within the range of 3–5. According to Equation (19), there (19), thereisisaa
certainrelationship
certain relationshipbetween
betweenleakage
leakageandandcycles
cyclesof ofconcentration,
concentration,which
whichoften
oftendetermines
determinesthe theoptimal
optimal
operating strategy of the system. Figure 4 is the optimal operation strategy under
operating strategy of the system. Figure 4 is the optimal operation strategy under different leakage different leakage
conditionswhen
conditions whenthe theevaporation
evaporationrate rateisis0.015.
0.015.

𝑃
Figure
Figure4.4.The
Therelationship
relationshipbetween andflfl(𝑓( f P == 0).
betweenNNand 0).

AsAsshown
showninin Figure
Figure 4, the
4, the cycles
cycles of concentration
of concentration decrease
decrease with with the increase
the increase of leakage
of leakage rate
rate under
under
the the strategy
strategy that the thatsystem
the system maintains
maintains “zero “zero emissions”.
emissions”. As As mentioned
mentioned earlier,
earlier, thecycles
the cyclesof of
concentration of
concentration of the
the system should be controlled
controlled within
withinthe therange
rangeofof3–5
3–5totosave
savefreshwater
freshwaterasas well
wellas
ensure
as ensure the
thesafety
safetyofofheat
heatexchange
exchangeequipment.
equipment.The The curve
curve was divided into into three
threeparts,
parts,left,
left,middle,
middle,
andright,
and right,by bythe
thepoints
pointsofofN N==33andandNN==55on onthe
thecurve.
curve.In Inthe
theleft
leftarea,
area,because
becauseof ofthe
thelow
lowleakage
leakage
rate,
rate,ififthe
thesystem
systemmaintains
maintains“zero
“zeroemissions”,
emissions”,the thecycles
cyclesof ofconcentration
concentrationwill willbe
betoo
toohigh,
high,and
andthen
then
cause
cause adverse
adverse effects on on the
the heat
heatexchanger.
exchanger.Thus,Thus,this
thisregion
region belongs
belongs to to “active
“active emission
emission area”.
area”. In
In this
this region,
region, the the system
system mustmust adopt
adopt the strategy
the strategy of “active
of “active emission”
emission” instead
instead of “zero
of “zero emissions”
emissions” to
to stop
stop the cycles
the cycles of concentration
of concentration from beingfrom toobeing
high.tooThehigh. The intermediate
intermediate region“zero
region is truly is truly “zero
emissions”.
emissions”.
When the system Whenis the
insystem is in the
the region, the cycles
region,ofthe cycles of concentration
concentration can still bewithin
can still be controlled controlled within
a reasonable
arange
reasonable range even
even without activewithout
blowdown.activeTheblowdown. The on
leakage rate leakage rateside
the right on the right
is too side
large, is tooleads
which large,to
which leads of
a low cycles to concentration,
a low cycles of evenconcentration,
if the systemeven if the
achieves system
a “zero achieves aTherefore,
emissions”. “zero emissions”.
in the left
Therefore,
area, measuresin theshould
left area,
be measures shouldthe
taken to control be leakage
taken toof control the leakage
the system, of the
and this areasystem,
is named andasthis
the
area is named
“leakage controlasarea”.
the “leakage
To sum control area”. To
up, the leakage of sum up, circulating
an open the leakagecooling
of an open
watercirculating
system needs cooling
to be
water system
evaluated, andneeds
then theto optimal
be evaluated,
operationandstrategy
then the canoptimal operation
be obtained strategy
according to thecan be obtained
leakage rate.
according to the leakage rate.
4.3. The Impact of Water Purification Equipment
4.3. The Impact of to
According Water Purification
Equation Equipment
(21), the relationship between the makeup rate and N, δ can be analyzed
in Figure 5.
According to Equation (21), the relationship between the makeup rate and 𝑁, 𝛿 can be analyzed
in Figure 5.
Water 2018, 10, 1592 10 of 16
Water
Water 2018,
2018, 10,
10, xx FOR
FOR PEER
PEER REVIEW
REVIEW 10
10 of
of 16
16

0.050
0.050
N=1.5
N=1.5
0.045
0.045 N=2.0
N=2.0
N=2.5
N=2.5
0.040
0.040 N=3.0
N=3.0
0.035
0.035
WW
ff

0.030
0.030

0.025
0.025

0.020
0.020

0.000
0.000 0.002
0.002 0.004
0.004 0.006
0.006 0.008
0.008 0.010
0.010 0.012
0.012
δδ

Figure
Figure 5.
Figure 5. The
5. The relationship
relationship between
relationship between fffW and
between
WW and δ.
δ.

As
As shown
As shown in
shown in Figure
in Figure 5,
Figure 5, when
when thethe cycles
cycles of
of concentration
concentration remains
concentration remains constant,
remains constant, with
constant, with the
with the increase
the increase of
increase of
of
impurity
impurity removal
removal rate,
rate, the
thewater
water makeup
makeup rate
ratewill decrease.
will decrease. That is
That to
is say,
to the
say, proper
the purification
proper
impurity removal rate, the water makeup rate will decrease. That is to say, the proper purification of of
purification
circulating
of circulating
circulating water
water
water can
can achieve
can achieve
achieve the
the
the purpose
purposeof
purpose ofofwater
watersaving
water savingand
saving andemission
and emission reduction.
emission reduction. As
reduction. As mentioned
As mentioned
mentioned
𝑃 P
above,
above, to analyze the optimal water
water use strategy
use strategy of the
of system,
the system, it has
it 𝑓
has 𝑃f= =
above, to analyze the optimal water use strategy of the system, it has 𝑓 = 0 and Equation (19)
to analyze the optimal 0 and
0 Equation
and Equation is
(19)
(19) is
selected.
is Then,
selected. Then,the relationship
the relationship between
betweenthethecycles
cyclesofofconcentration
concentration and
and the
selected. Then, the relationship between the cycles of concentration and the leakage rate underthe leakage
leakage rate
rate under
under
different
different impurity
different impurity removal
removal rates
rates is
is shown
shown in
in Figures
Figures 66 and
and 7.
7.

35
35
δ=0
δ=0
30
30
δ=0.001
δ=0.001
25 δ=0.002
δ=0.002
25
δ=0.003
δ=0.003
20
20
NN

15
15

10
10

55

00
0.000
0.000 0.002
0.002 0.004
0.004 0.006
0.006 0.008
0.008
l
ff l
ll
6. The
Figure 6.
Figure
Figure 6. The relationship between N
relationship between and ffl..
N and
Water 2018,
Water 10, x1592
2018, 10, FOR PEER REVIEW 1111ofof 16
16
Water 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 16

0.010
0.010 leakage control 0 emissions active emission
leakage control 0 emissions active emission

0.008
0.008

0.006
0.006
l
f f
l

0.004
0.004

0.002
0.002

0.000
0.000 0.000 0.001
0.002 0.003
0.000 δ 0.001
0.002 0.003
δ
Figure 7. Optimal operating strategy for systems with different impurity removal rates.
Figure7.
Figure Optimal operating
7. Optimal operating strategy
strategy for
for systems
systems with
with different
different impurity
impurity removal
removal rates.
rates.

Figure
Figure 666 shows
shows that,
shows that, under
that, under
under the the condition
the condition
condition of of invariable
of invariable leakage
invariable leakage rate,
leakage rate, increasing
rate, increasing
increasing the the impurity
the impurity
impurity
Figure
removal
removal rate rate will
rate will reduce
will reduce
reduce thethe cycles
the cycles
cycles ofof concentration
of concentration
concentration of of the
of the system,
the system, which
system, which means
which means
means the the risk
the risk of
risk of fouling
of fouling
fouling
removal
and
and corrosion
corrosion of
of the
the heat
heat exchanger
exchanger will
will decline.
decline. This
This trend
trend will
will be
be more
more pronounced
pronounced in
in areas
areas with
with
and corrosion of the heat exchanger will decline. This trend will be more pronounced in areas with
lower leakage rates. The optimal operation strategy for different leakage rates isisshown in Figure 7.
lower leakage rates. The optimal operation strategy for different leakage rates is shown in Figure 7.7.
lower leakage rates. The optimal operation strategy for different leakage rates shown in Figure
Under
Under the the condition
the condition
condition of of low
of low impurity
low impurity removal
impurity removal rate,
removal rate, it makes
rate, itit makes little
makes little sense
little sense
sense toto the
to the system
the system
system for for maintaining
for maintaining
maintaining
Under
aa lower
lower blowdown
blowdown rate;
rate; on
on the
the contrary,
contrary, to
to control
control the
the cycles
cycles of
of concentration
concentration in
in this
this interval,
interval, the
the
a lower blowdown rate; on the contrary, to control the cycles of concentration in this interval, the
system
system even even needs
even needs
needs toto blowdown
to blowdown
blowdown aa parta part of
part of the
of the water
the water actively.
water actively.
actively. In In the
In the case
the case
case ofof high
of high impurity
high impurity removal
impurity removal
removal
system
rate,
rate, itit is
is important
important to
to control
control the
the leakage
leakage rate
rate to
to control
control the
the cycles
cycles of
of concentration
concentration and
and consume
consume less
less
rate, it is important to control the leakage rate to control the cycles of concentration and consume less
fresh
fresh water.
water.
fresh water.
4.4.
4.4. Influence
Influence of
of Water
Water Temperature
Temperature
4.4. Influence of Water Temperature
As
As mentioned
mentioned previously,
previously, when when the
the cooling
cooling capacity
capacity for
for the
the cooling
cooling tower
tower isis insufficient,
insufficient,
As mentioned previously, when the cooling capacity for the cooling tower is insufficient,
Equation
Equation (25)(25)can
canbebeapplied
applied to to
analyze thethe
analyze influence of water
influence temperature
of water on theonmakeup
temperature the makeuprate ofrate
the
Equation (25) can be applied to analyze the influence of water temperature on the makeup rate of the
system. Hence,Hence,
of the system. the relation between
the relation the cooling
between index
the cooling (𝑘),(k),
index thethe
cycles ofoftemperature
cycles temperature(𝑁 (N𝑡 )t )and
and the
the
system. Hence, the relation 𝑊
W)) is between the cooling index (𝑘), the cycles of temperature (𝑁𝑡 ) and the
system
system makeup
makeup raterate (𝑓
( f𝑊 is shown
shown in Figures 8 and 9.
system makeup rate (𝑓 ) is shown in Figures 8 and 9.
0.6
0.6
k=0.99
0.5 k=0.99
k=0.98
0.5 k=0.98
k=0.97
k=0.97
0.4 k=0.96
0.4 k=0.96
k=0.95
k=0.95
0.3
WW

0.3
f f

0.2
0.2

0.1
0.1

0.0
0.01.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
1.0 1.2 1.4 Nt 1.6 1.8 2.0
Nt
W
8. The
Figure 8.
Figure The relationship between ffW and N
relationship between Nt.t .
Figure 8. The relationship between fW and Nt.
Water 2018, 10, 1592 12 of 16
Water 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 16

0.10 Nt= 2.0

0.08

0.06
W
f

0.04

0.02

0.00
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.00 1.01
k
W
Figure 9.The
Figure 9. Therelationship betweenffW and
relationshipbetween and k.
k.

As
As shown
shown in Figure 8,
in Figure 8, when
when the the cooling
cooling capacity
capacity of of the
the system
system isis insufficient
insufficient (𝑘
(k << 1),
1), the makeup
the makeup
rate will increase with the decrease of the cycles of temperature (N ), and the change
rate will increase with the decrease of the cycles of temperature (𝑁𝑡t ), and the change rate will increase rate will increase
significantly
significantly when
when thethe N𝑁t𝑡 isis lower
lower than
than 1.4.
1.4. It
It shows
shows thatthat reducing
reducing thethe makeup
makeup water
water temperature
temperature
will help to reduce fresh water consumption, but, when the temperature
will help to reduce fresh water consumption, but, when the temperature decreases to decreases to aa certain
certain value,
value,
it
it makes
makes little
little sense
sense toto continue
continue to to decline.
decline. AsAs shown
shown in in Figure
Figure 9,
9, the
the makeup
makeup raterate increases
increases with
with the
the
decrease k.
decrease of 𝑘. To ensure that the inlet temperature of the cooling network remains constant, of
of To ensure that the inlet temperature of the cooling network remains constant, 1% 1%theof
reduction
the reductionof cooling index
of cooling index willwill
enhance
enhance2%2% of of
thethe
makeup
makeup rate (under
rate (underthe conditionofofN𝑁
thecondition t == 2.0) if
2.0)
𝑡
there areare
if there no noother assistant
other methods.
assistant methods.ThisThis
shows thatthat
shows the cooling capacity
the cooling of the
capacity ofcooling towertower
the cooling is very
is
important for reducing the consumption of fresh water when makeup is
very important for reducing the consumption of fresh water when makeup is chosen to maintain a chosen to maintain a desired
temperature in the recirculation
desired temperature line.
in the recirculation line.
4.5. Coupling Effect of Quality and Temperature on the Makeup Rate
4.5. Coupling Effect of Quality and Temperature on the Makeup Rate
For a certain process, the effects of quality and temperature on the system do coexist, such as
For a certain process, the effects of quality and temperature on the system do coexist, such as
their impact on the makeup rate. In practice, when the cooling capacity of the cooling tower is
their impact on the makeup rate. In practice, when the cooling capacity of the cooling tower is
insufficient or the makeup water temperature is over-rising, the open circulating cooling water system
insufficient or the makeup water temperature is over-rising, the open circulating cooling water
is faced with a relatively high rate of makeup water and drainage, then causing an excessive low
system is faced with a relatively high rate of makeup water and drainage, then causing an excessive
cycles of concentration, and thus, the water resources are wasted. That is, whether the system has
low cycles of concentration, and thus, the water resources are wasted. That is, whether the system
the appropriate cycles of concentration is not only a question of water quality, but also involves the
has the appropriate cycles of concentration is not only a question of water quality, but also involves
impact of the temperature and the cooling capacity of the cooling tower. According to Equation (17),
the impact of the temperature and the cooling capacity of the cooling tower. According to Equation
the corresponding makeup water rate of N = 3 is calculated. Then, this makeup water rate is taken as
(17), the corresponding makeup water rate of 𝑁 = 3 is calculated. Then, this makeup water rate is
input, and the cycles of temperature values under different cooling tower conditions (k) are calculated
taken as input, and the cycles of temperature values under different cooling tower conditions (𝑘) are
according to Equation (25), as shown in Table 3.
calculated according to Equation (25), as shown in Table 3.
Water 2018, 10, 1592 13 of 16

Table 3. The Nt of the system in the case of N = 3.

fV 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018 0.02 0.022 0.024 0.026

Nt (k= 0.990) 3.00 2.25 1.91 1.71 1.59 1.50 1.43 1.38 1.34
Nt (k = 0.988) 5.00 3.00 2.33 2.00 1.80 1.67 1.57 1.50 1.44
Nt (k = 0.986) 15.00 4.50 3.00 2.40 2.08 1.88 1.74 1.64 1.56
Nt (k = 0.984) - 9.00 4.20 3.00 2.45 2.14 1.94 1.80 1.70
Nt (k = 0.982) - - 7.00 4.00 3.00 2.50 2.20 2.00 1.86
Nt (k = 0.980) - - 21.00 6.00 3.86 3.00 2.54 2.25 2.05
Nt (k = 0.978) - - - 12.00 5.40 3.75 3.00 2.57 2.29
Nt (k = 0.976) - - - - 9.00 5.00 3.67 3.00 2.60
Nt (k = 0.974) - - - - 27.00 7.50 4.71 3.60 3.00
Nt (k = 0.972) - - - - - 15.00 6.60 4.50 3.55
Nt (k = 0.970) - - - - - - 11.00 6.00 4.33

The first column in Table 3 is the cooling index of the cooling tower (k). The values gradually
decrease from top to bottom, which indicates that the cooling capacity of the cooling tower gradually
decreases. The first row of Table 3 is the evaporation rate of the system ( f V ), gradually increasing
from left to right, indicating that the proportion of evaporating heat transfer in the total heat exchange
gradually increases. Under certain conditions of k and f V , when the actual Nt is greater than or
equal to the values in Table 3, the makeup rate calculated by Equation (17) is greater than or equal
to the makeup rate calculated by Equation (25). The actual makeup rate takes the larger value of the
two, so the cycles of concentration of the system will be equal to 3.0. Conversely, when the actual
Nt is less than the values in Table 3, the makeup rate will rise because of the heat emission, and the
cycles of concentration of the system will be less than 3.0. As an example, if the actual value of Nt
is 2.0, then, according to Table 3, it is possible to achieve a cycles of concentration of the system of
3.0 in the colored region; however, the remaining part of the region cannot achieve its goal (N > 3).
In addition, increasing the k and f V values can reduce the system requirement for Nt . This shows that,
since the water quality and the temperature simultaneously impact the system makeup rate, these
two parameters must be considered to control the makeup rate. Under the same evaporation rate
of the system, keeping cooling capacity of the cooling tower (increase in the k value) is crucial for
water-saving and drainage reduction. In Table 3, under the f V = 0.016 condition, if the k value increases
from 0.986 to 0.988, the water system requirement for Nt decreases from 2.4 to 2.0. This shows that,
as the cooling capacity of the cooling tower increases, less waste heat needs to be removed by means
of water replenishment, and then a very low makeup temperature is unnecessary. Similarly, when
the k value remains constant, if the f V value increases, the Nt value of the system can be increased.
In Table 3, under the k = 0.988 condition, if the f V value increases from 0.014 to 0.016, then the water
system requirement for Nt decreases from 2.33 to 2.0. This shows that, with the increase of evaporation
rate, the enrichment of impurities has become the dominant factor in water replenishment. At this
point, it is no longer important whether the makeup water temperature is low enough.

5. Conclusions
This work uses the equations of mass conservation and energy conservation to analyze the open
cooling water systems. The mathematical models of the relationship among water consumption,
blowdown rate, water quality and water temperature parameters have been established, which can
be used to analyze the change of water supply and blowdown of open cooling water systems under
various water quality and water temperature parameters.
A key indicator in water-saving and drainage reduction is the cycles of concentration. The
results calculated by the models show that the makeup rate and the blowdown rate of the system
decline with the increase of the cycles of concentration. This trend becomes more apparent when the
cycles of concentration is less than 2.0. That is to say, for an open cooling water system, the cycles
Water 2018, 10, 1592 14 of 16

of concentration should be at least 2.0. In a practical system, the appropriate cycles of concentration
should be between 3 and 5.
To keep the cycles of concentration in a reasonable range, the leakage rate of the system is assessed.
Then, the operation strategies of “active discharge”, “zero emissions” and “leakage rate control” in
the range of different cycles of concentration is proposed. After removing some of the impurities in
the circulating water by filtration, the concentration of the system water can be slowed down and the
resulting makeup rate can be reduced. Such a measure is even more important for the systems with
lower leakage rates.
The concepts of cooling index of cooling tower and cycles of temperature in water system are
put forward. By applying these concepts and related models, the influence of water temperature on
system makeup rate can be evaluated under the condition of insufficient cooling capacity of cooling
tower. The effects of quality and temperature on system makeup rate coexist. For a certain system,
to maintain the cycles of concentration not less than 3.0, it is necessary to ensure that the cycles of
temperature of the system is not less than a corresponding value. The corresponding relation of this
value varies with the change of the evaporation rate and the cooling index.

Author Contributions: Z.L.: literature search, data analysis, writing, revision, and final approval; J.C.: study
design; W.S.: figures, and revision; L.W.: data collection.
Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51704069 and 51734004),
the China Scholarship Council—International Clean Energy Talent Program (CSC-iCET-201802180028) and the
Fundamental Research Funds for the China Central Universities (N162504011).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Notation
c heat capacity of water, kJ/(kg·◦ C)
CE ratio of evaporation heat transfer and total heat transfer, -
Ci concentration of inlet water of cooling tower, kg/t
CR concentration of outlet water of cooling tower, kg/t
CW concentration of makeup water, kg/t
CT cooling tower
CW cooling water
fl leakage rate, -
fP blowdown rate, -
fV evaporation rate, -
fW makeup rate, -
Fi inlet water flowrate of cooling tower, t/h
Fl flowrate of Leakage water, t/h
FP flowrate of blowdown water, t/h
FR outlet water flowrate of cooling tower, t/h
FW flowrate of makeup water, t/h
W
f cal calculated value of makeup rate, -
W
f exp measured value of makeup rate, -
FV flowrate of evaporated water, t/h
k cooling index of cooling tower, -
N cycles of concentration, -
Nt cycles of temperature of the cooling tower outlet, -
0
Nt cycles of temperature of the cooling network inlet, -
Qi waste heat in the cooling network, kJ
QR release heat from the cooling tower to the environment, kJ
QV latent heat of water evaporation, kJ
r latent heat of vaporization of water, kJ/kg
tn cooling water temperature flowing into the cooling water network, ◦ C
ti inlet water temperature of cooling tower, ◦ C
Water 2018, 10, 1592 15 of 16

tR outlet water temperature of cooling tower, ◦ C

∆t R cooling water temperature range of the cooling tower, ◦ C
tW temperature of makeup water, ◦ C
δ impurity removal rate of the filter, -

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