Cooling towers rank highly as included components of heat rejection systems. Building and facility HVAC and industrial process cooling commonly rely on cooling towers as the final phase of transferring heat from inside a system, such as a building, to the outdoor environment. With most relying on the evaporation of water as the means to efficiently move large amounts of heat, cooling towers contain large wetted surfaces in almost continuous contact with solutions of water and various chemicals used to maintain certain fluid conditions. The heat transfer solutions can be aggressive, and many towers are constructed using metal for the wetted parts and case of the unit. This has traditionally been an area of concern with cooling tower ownership, since the combined elements of water, treatment chemicals, and time take their inevitable toll on the equipment.
Avoiding the deterioration of metal clad cooling towers is construction utilizing high-density polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE is not impacted by water, treatment chemicals, or elements often present in the air, whether harsh chemical vapors emitted from nearby industrial plants or natural corrosives such as salt air.
Delta Cooling Towers, Inc., based in New Jersey, USA, manufactures HDPE cooling towers and possesses an extensive portfolio of completed successful applications utilizing HDPE construction features. Below is a short case study showing how one industrial user benefited from installing HDPE cooling towers.