STUDY OF COOLING TOWER SYSTEM ENERGY SAVING OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN STEEL PRODUCTION FACTORY

In this study, calculations have carried out to give a more accurate picture of the various energy conservation opportunities that are available for cooling towers in the steel production factory. Chilled water systems are observed to constitute a major portion of energy consumption of process cooling in manufacturing plants. It is frequently observed that these systems are not operated optimally, and cooling towers being an integral part of this system present a significant area to study and determine possible energy saving measures. More specifically, operation of cooling towers in winter can be reconsidered; particularly in areas where winter temperatures drop to 15°C and below in some cases in Egypt. A cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger in which air and water are brought into direct contact with each other in order to reduce the water temperature. It consumes a huge amount of annual power, and can be then considered as a good system for energy reduction study. Hence, in this paper the power saving opportunities for only one cooling tower system (as a pilot study) will be checked (while it can be extended to be applied for all other cooling towers). Different methodology including fan motors oversizing check, fan motors efficiency check, fan blade adjustment, fans ON/OFF control based on feedback of actual thermal load and finally fan speed control using variable speed drive based on actual thermal load conditions are studied.