journal article·2024-08-28Open access

Application Potential of a Dew-Point Cooling Tower in Selected Energy Intensive Applications in Temperate Climate

Demis Pandelidis, Mikołaj Matuszczak, Paweł Krowicki, Bartosz Poskart, Grzegorz Iskierka, William Worek, Sabri Cetin

Applied Sciences· Volume 14· Issue 17

Abstract

In the article, the application potential of the dew-point cooling tower (DPCT) in selected energy-intensive applications in temperate climates was analyzed and discussed. The applications selected for analysis are power generation with natural gas turbines and chilled water air conditioning systems. The study is based on a mathematical model derived from a modified ε-NTU model. The model was validated against experimental results and showed satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. DPCT was compared with a typical cooling tower limited by the wet-bulb temperature (wet-bulb cooling tower, WBCT). The simulation results showed that DPCT is able to provide significant energy savings in energy-intensive applications; therefore, its application potential in temperate climates can be considered justified. In the case of gas turbines, DPCT was able to generate 2 to 10 percentage points more capacity than operating on outdoor air and 1.8 to 5 percentage points more than operating with WBCT. In the case of air conditioning systems, the system equipped with DPCT achieved EERs (energy efficiency ratios) higher by 1 to 7.2 compared to dry cooling and by 0.3 to 5.1 compared to systems equipped with WBCT. The annual energy savings obtained by the system with DPCT were 14.7 MWh compared to WBCT and 30 MWh compared to dry cooling.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Adsorption and Cooling Systems · Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technologies · Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling Systems

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wyspiański Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland

Department of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wyspiański Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wyspiański Str., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland

Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439, USA

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

Funding

Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange · program Lider X

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