Design optimization study of cooling tower in circulating cooling water system of iron and steel industry

During steel production, a significant amount of waste heat is generated which is typically removed through a circulating cooling water system. However, this process consumes substantial amounts of both energy and water. To tackle this issue, this article proposes a solution that involves selecting the optimal equipment types for cooling towers and determining the best operating parameters. By utilizing an optimization model and GA-DE nested algorithm, the proposed method can reduce overall system investment and operating costs, leading to improved economic efficiency for businesses. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective.