Air-to-air atmospheric exchanger for condensing cooling tower effluent
AssigneeMarley Cooling Technologies, Inc.
InventorsBryan J. Hubbard, Eldon F. Mockry, O. L. Kinney, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Heat exchanger packs having a first set of passageways for receiving a stream of ambient air and a second set of passageways for receiving a stream of warm water laden air is disclosed. The first set of passageways and second set of passageways being separate and permitting the warm water laden air stream to be cooled by the stream of ambient air so that water can condense out of the warm water laden air stream. Cooling tower configurations including the heat exchanger pack are disclosed for achieving effluent plume abatement, and capture of a portion of the effluent for replacement back into the cooling tower reservoir or as a source of purified water.
Claims26
A method of reducing the moisture content of an air stream traveling through a cooling tower having evaporative media, comprising the steps of:
- directing a first air stream having a flow rate between 10 and 80 pounds of dry air per square foot per minute (pda/ft2/min) and a relative humidity at or above 90% through a first set of passageways,
- directing a second air stream having a flow rate between 10 and 80 pda/ft2/min and an entrance dry bulb temperature at least five Fahrenheit degrees below the first stream through a second set of passageways each passageway of said first set of passageways being separated from at least one passageway of said second set of passageways by a thin heat conductive material;
- absorbing heat from said first air stream into said second air stream with a heat exchanger;
- condensing water out of the first air stream;
- capturing the water condensed out of said first air stream in a reservoir;
- and
- preventing effluent from passing around the heat exchanger by using a covering disposed at the bottom of the heat exchanger.
Apparatus for reducing the moisture content of an air stream traveling through a cooling tower having evaporative media, comprising:
- means for absorbing heat from a first air stream into a second air stream, said absorbing
- means having a first set of passageways and a second set of passageways;
- means for directing a first air stream having a flow rate between 10 and 80 pounds of dry air per square foot per minute (pda/ft2/min) and a relative humidity at or above 90% through said first set of passageways of said absorbing means and for directing a second air stream having a flow rate between 10 and 80 pda/ft2/min and an entrance dry bulb temperature at least five Fahrenheit degrees below the first stream through said second set of passageways of said absorbing means each passageway of said first set of passageways being separated from at least one passageway of said second set of passageways by a thin heat conductive material;
- means for condensing water out of said first air stream;
- means for capturing the water condensed out of said first air stream;
- and
- means for preventing effluent from passing around said means for absorbing heat using a covering disposed at the bottom of said means for absorbing heat.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.