Evaporation Rate

As discussed in the previous section, cooling in cooling towers is dominated by

evaporation. The evaporation rate can be calculated from the pyschrometric relations in
the previous section, if the inlet and exit conditions of the air are known. For example,
consider the case in which the cooling load, Ql, mass flow rate of air, ma, (which can be
calculated based on the fan cfm and specific volume of the inlet air), and inlet conditions
of air are known. The enthalpy of the exit air, ha2, can be calculated from an energy
balance.

Ql = ma (ha2 – ha1)
ha2 = ha1+ Ql / ma

The state of the exit air can be fixed by assuming that it is 100% saturated with an
enthalpy ha2. The evaporation rate, mwe, can be determined by a water mass balance on
the air.

mwe = ma (wa2- wa1)

The fraction of water evaporated is:

mwe / mw

Using this method for entering air temperatures from 50 F to 90 F, we determined that the
fraction of water evaporated typically ranges from about 0.5% to 1%, with an average
value of about 0.75%.

Another way to estimate the fraction of water evaporated is to assume that all cooling, Ql,
is from evaporation, Qevap. The cooling load Ql, is the product of the water flow rate,
mw, specific heat, cp, and temperature difference, dT. The evaporative cooling rate is the
product of the water evaporated, mwe, and the latent heat of cooling, hfg.

Ql = Qevap
mw cp dT = mwe hfg

Assuming the latent heat of evaporation of water, hfg, is 1,000 Btu/lb, and the
temperature difference of water through the tower, dT, is 10 F, the fraction of water
evaporated is:

mwe / mw = cp dT / hfg = 1 (Btu/lb-F) x 10 (F) / 1000 (Btu/lb) = 1%

If on average, 75% of the cooling were from evaporation and 25% from sensible cooling,
then the evaporation rate would be:

75% x 1% = 0.75%
Thus, both methods suggest that 0.75% is a good estimate of for the rate of evaporation;
however, we have seen manufacturer data indicating average evaporation rates as low as
0.30%. Water lost to evaporation should not be subjected to sewer charges. Typical
sewer charges are about $2.20 per hundred cubic feet.

Some water may be lost as water droplets are blown from the tower by oversized fans or
wind. This type of water loss is called “drift”. Drift rates are typically about 0.2% of
flow (ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Systems and Equipment, 2000); however, we
generally assume that drift losses are included in the 0.75% evaporation rate.