372h - Optimal Synthesis of Cooling Water

Systems
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
x Hyatt Regency Orlando - Regency Ballroom R/S

Abstract
Cooling water systems are basically present in every plant since many processes have to reject heat. In
the plant design phase, a design cooling water demand has to be set in order to size the cooling water
pump system. This demand can vary significantly if the plant operates with batch or semi-batch
processes or if the plant production capacity is not constant. Even varying climate conditions can
impact the plant cooling water demand [1]. Therefore, a cooling water pump system can have a
significant slack for some considerable periods, resulting in high capital and operating costs [2], besides
operating challenges. Since pumping operating costs can reach as high as 50% of the energy
consumption in industries [3], the optimal synthesis of a pumping system can yield a significant cost
reduction. During low cooling water demand periods, cooling water pumps can operate with significant
reduced flow rates work far from the best efficiency point (BEP) or even below the manufacturer
minimum flow rate [4]. Therefore, the pumping system has to be designed to attain a high turndown by
using either variable frequency drives (VFDs) or multiple pumps.
VFDs have become more used in industries to increase the turndown of motor-driven rotating
equipment [5, 6]. Although VFD costs have decreased in recent years, purchasing and installation costs
[7], as well as reluctance to use VFDs [8], are factors that make some industries still prefer the use of
control valves. For large industrial plants, the cooling water demand can significantly be above 1,000
m3.h-1 [9], hence it is recommended that the cooling water system uses multiple pumps for the service
due to difficulties of purchasing large pumps and motors. As the number of pumps increases, both
pumping system turndown and capital expenses increase.
This work presents a methodology for determining the optimal number of centrifugal pumps in a cooling
water system given that the required system head is previously established. Using the Pump Selection
Systems software (Release 1.70.0.0) from Goulds Pumps, pump data, such as BEP, consumed pump
power, pump head and the required net pressure suction head (NPSHr), is obtained for different pump
and impeller sizes. This data is used to determine the flow rate for individual pumps, and to estimate
capital and operating costs. Comparing the analyzed alternatives, the optimal alternative is obtained to
determine the number of pumps, if a VFD is used in order to minimize the overall (capital and
operating) costs.
The operating point of a centrifugal pump is defined as the intersection of the centrifugal pump
characteristic curve with the system characteristic curve [10]. Project engineers select a centrifugal
pump model that yields an operating point that complies with the required design flow rate and design
head. Centrifugal pump manufacturers often have more than one pump model that complies with these
selection criteria. However, sometimes only few models, or even none, operate near the pump’s BEP,
which is the point in the pump characteristic curve where efficiency reaches a maximum value. If the
operating point of the pump is too far from BEP, not only the pump efficiency is low, hence increasing
electrical energy consumption, but also the pump may be difficult to operate. It is recommended that the
pump operating point is situated at the 70-120% range of the BEP [10], known as the optimal range.
For an operation with a constant flow rate, pump selection is relatively straightforward [10]. But if there
is a wide range of operating flow rates, pump selection has to account for multiple operating points,
where the probability that one of these points is located outside of the pump optimal range is high. The
use of VFDs can mitigate this problem, but if the operating range is very wide, the use of more than one
pump associated in parallel can be required. For design flow rates above 1,000 m3.h-1, not only suitable
pump models are hard to find, but also required motor sizes increase, which have high delivery times
and are more expensive. As the number of pumps increases, the pumping system turndown also
increases since the operating flow rate can vary significantly by turning on and off the pumps. This work
investigates the performance and costs of pumping systems with no VFD installed compared to
pumping system with at least one VFD installed.
As a case study, this paper considers a paper mill that requires a maximum cooling water flow rate of
5,500 m3/h and a minimum flow rate of 2,200 m3/h. It is assumed that the system head is maintained
constant at 45 m inside this range by the action of control valves. Different scenarios are considered for
this case study, each with different and variable cooling water demands within the maximum and
minimum flow rates range.
For the optimal synthesis of the cooling water pumping system, two costs are considered in this work:
capital and operating. The capital costs consider the purchase of the equipment (pumps, motors and
VFDs), and indirect costs related to the purchase and installation of those. For purchase cost
estimation, Brazilian suppliers were consulted for selected models and sizes price quotes. The
operating costs consider the electrical energy consumption, and this work considers electrical energy
prices practiced in Brazil.
The pump model selected is the Goulds Model 3196 ANSI Standard Dimension Process Pump, which
is an overhung centrifugal pump used in several types of industries [11]. The PSS software is used to
select pump size and impeller size and, in this case, the PSS software is unable to find a pump size
capable of pumping the maximum flow rate, therefore an association of pumps of at least five pumps in
parallel is required. For each operating scenario, the overall costs were evaluated for alternatives with
five to eight pumps.
The costs are estimated for systems without VFD, and with one VFD installed. Due to the use of
multiple pumps, the pumping system has the necessary turndown to comply with the varying cooling
water demand. Therefore, the pumps operate in most of the scenarios within the 70-120% range of the
BEP. For systems where the pumps operate near their design operating point, the use of VFD does not
yield significant operating costs reduction. However, if the pumps operate at points farther from the
design operating points, the use of VFD can yield savings as high as 17% for larger pump sizes.
The greatest cost difference for the alternatives evaluated was for capital costs. The alternative that
yields the lowest capital cost is the one with a pumping system composed of five pumps, which is 17%
least expensive that the second best alternative, a pumping system with 6 pumps. This occurs since the
pump size selection for all alternatives resulted in similar pump sizes and therefore similar purchase
cost estimates for all these alternatives.
Therefore, for the case study, the established methodology by this work for the optimal synthesis of a
pumping system shows that although operating costs can account for more than 70% of the overall
costs, the capital costs is determinant to the optimal solution.
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