Dew point cooling tower, adhesive bonded heat exchanger, and other heat transfer apparatus

{
  "publication_number": "US2007241468A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Dew point cooling tower, adhesive bonded heat exchanger, and other heat transfer apparatus",
  "abstract": "A dew point cooling tower system utilizes cooled water produced by the system to reduces the wet bulb temperature of ambient air before the ambient air is directed through fill in the cooling tower. One preferred heat exchanger utilized in the cooling tower is an air-to-liquid heat exchanger comprising a plurality of spaced apart plate units each comprised of a pair of adhesively bonded spaced apart plates having a liquid flow channel formed intermediate the adhesively bonded plates.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A cooling tower system to reduce the temperature of a coolant to below the wet bulb temperature of ambient air and to approach the dew point of ambient air, comprising (a) a cooling tower with a housing and fill; (b) a system to direct a liquid coolant through said fill; (c) an air-to-water heat exchanger to sensibly cool ambient air to produce cooled air having a wet bulb temperature less than the wet bulb temperature of ambient air, said heat exchanger having an outlet directing air into the cooling tower inlet through which air exits after passing through said heat exchanger; (d) a system to direct cooled air from said heat exchanger through said fill to produce chilled liquid coolant having a temperature below said wet bulb temperature of the ambient air; and, (e) a system to direct said chilled liquid coolant from said cooling tower to said air-to-water heat exchanger to sensibly cool ambient air to a wet bulb temperature less than the wet bulb temperature of ambient air.",
    "2. An adhesively bonded plate gas-to-liquid heat exchanger comprising a plurality of spaced apart hollow heat transfer units each comprised of a pair of spaced apart metal plates adjoined by adhesive polymer strips to form the boundaries of a multi-pass channel intermediate said pair of plates for a pressurized liquid to flow through said channel to transfer heat through said plates and between said liquid and a gas flowing intermediate said spaced apart units.",
    "3. A method of designing a cooling tower to cool water to a temperature less than the ambient wet bulb temperature, the cooling tower including a housing, the method comprising the steps of (a) Establish a process flow diagram by connecting and establishing the air side and liquid side process relationships for the components in a dew point cooling tower including the process to be cooled by the dew point cooling tower. These components include the wet cooling tower, cooling tower inlet air to water heat exchanger, and the associated pumps, valves, instrumentation, and controls; (b) Establishing the design ambient conditions (dry bulb, wet bulb, and dew point temperatures); (c) Identify the process heat load (BTU/hr) to be rejected by the dew point tower and the upper limit for the coolant return temperature; (d) Conduct a preliminary sizing for the cooling tower using the subject process heat load with a 2 degree approach temperature and a 0.5 l/g ratio; (e) Using the ambient air temperature and the upper limit for the coolant return temperature determine whether the air to water heat exchanger coolant is to be cooled in the main tower or in a separate tower or cell; (The cooling tower size and air flow, and inlet air heat exchanger surface area are all minimized with higher inlet air heat exchanger coolant return temperatures. Restrictive process return temperature requirements where the maximum return temperature is limited to less than 30 degrees of the design ambient dry bulb temperature suggest but do not force the use of a separate cell to cool the inlet air heat exchanger); (f) Establish a rough cut for the air to water heat exchanger air flow and heat load using the ambient conditions and preliminary cooling tower sizing information; (g) Develop a preliminary heat transfer surface area sizing for the Dew Point Tower air inlet heat exchanger; (h) Determine the post sensible cooling air outlet dry bulb and wet bulb conditions for the cooling tower inlet air heat exchanger (i) Determine the approach temperature for the cooling tower and the approach temperature for the inlet air heat exchanger such that the sum of these approach temperatures is equal to the difference between the dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures of the air entering the cooling tower; (j) Size the heat exchanger to produce sensibly cooled air having a the desired dry bulb temperature; and, (k) Using the sizing data and associated performance information produced above, optimize the cooling tower size and parameters along with the cooling tower inlet air heat exchanger in an iterative manner to arrive at performance parameters that will produce sufficient coolant to cool the cooling tower inlet air heat exchanger and produce the designed cooling tower performance.",
    "4. The cooling tower system of claim 1 wherein said heat exchanger comprises an adhesively bonded plate gas-to-liquid heat exchanger comprising a plurality of spaced apart hollow heat transfer units each comprised of a pair of spaced apart metal plates adjoined by adhesive polymer strips to form the boundaries of a multi-pass channel intermediate said pair of plates for a pressurized liquid to flow through said channel to transfer heat through said plates and between said liquid and a gas flowing intermediate said spaced apart units.",
    "5. The method of claim 3 wherein said heat exchanger comprises an adhesively bonded plate gas-to-liquid heat exchanger comprising a plurality of spaced apart hollow heat transfer units each comprised of a pair of spaced apart metal plates adjoined by adhesive polymer strips to form the boundaries of a multi-pass channel intermediate said pair of plates for a pressurized liquid to flow through said channel to transfer heat through said plates and between said liquid and a gas flowing intermediate said spaced apart units.",
    "6. The cooling tower system of claim 1 wherein said cooling tower has an approach temperature and an air to water heat exchanger where the sum of the approach temperatures is equal to or less than the difference between the dry bulb temperature and wet bulb temperature of air at said outlet of said heat exchanger."
  ],
  "cpc": [
    "F28C 1/02",
    "F28C 1/04",
    "F28C 1/14",
    "F28F 2275/025",
    "F28F 3/12",
    "Y02B 30/70",
    "Y10S 165/90",
    "Y10S 261/11"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "KAMMERZELL LARRY L"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2006-04-14",
  "publication_date": "2007-10-18",
  "priority_date": "2006-04-14",
  "application_number": "US-40495006-A",
  "family_id": "38604088",
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  ]
}