JP2003314972A - Cooling tower - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively utilize the potential energy of cooling water, when dropping, conventionally discarded. <P>SOLUTION: A water spray part 6 for cooled water and a filler unit 7 are arranged in a casing 2 having a blower 3 installed at the upper part and an exhaust port 4. A water collecting part 10 for drops of cooled water dropping from the filler unit 7 is installed between the filler unit 7 and a cooling water tank 9. A collective dropping water pipe 11 for the cooling water tank 9 is provided in the water collecting part 10. A generator 13 having a water turbine 12 for converting the potential energy of the dropping water into rotating energy is installed in the lower part of the collective dropping water pipe 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to various plants,
The present invention relates to a cooling tower that cools a large amount of water used in factories, buildings, etc.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cooling towers include counter-flow type and cross-flow type cooling towers.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-22543,
In a casing having an exhaust port with a blower installed in the upper part, a sprinkling part of the water to be cooled and a filler unit through which the water to be cooled flows are arranged, and the air passing through the filler unit and the water to be cooled are arranged. Are counter-currently contacted with each other to cool the water to be cooled by utilizing latent heat of vaporization of water, and the cooled water to be cooled in the form of water drops is dropped into the cooling water tank below the filler unit.

As a cross-flow type multi-stage type, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4-81118, a sprinkler for cooling water and a sprinkler for cooling water are provided in a casing having an exhaust port on which a blower is installed. The cooling water flows down, the filler units are arranged in multiple stages, the air passing through each of the filler units and the cooled water are brought into cross-flow contact with each other to cool the cooled water, and the cooled water drops are formed. This is a configuration in which the water to be cooled is dropped into the cooling water tank below the filler unit.

[0004]

In general, a counterflow type cooling tower has a distance of several meters or more from the lower surface of the filler unit to the water surface of the cooling water tank.
In the above-described configuration, the water to be cooled that has been cooled by the filling material unit simply drops into the cooling water tank, and the potential energy of the falling water is hardly used and is discarded. In addition, the potential energy of water that falls from a cooling tower at a high place such as the roof of a building to a cooling water tank installed on the ground or underground, and the potential energy of water that drops from the filler unit in the upper stage of the multi-stage cooling tower to the cooling water tank Similarly, it is in the state of being discarded.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling tower capable of effectively utilizing the energy of water used in the cooling tower.

[0006]

The first aspect of the present invention is to provide a casing having an exhaust port, in which a blower is installed, in a casing.
A cooling water sprinkling part and a filling material unit through which the cooling water sprinkled from the sprinkling part flows down are arranged, and ascending air passing through the filling material unit and the flowing down cooling water come in countercurrent contact. In the cooling tower for cooling the cooled water and dropping it into the cooling water tank below the filling material unit, between the filling material unit and the cooling water tank, a water collecting section for the falling cooling water is installed. A falling water pipe for dropping the water collected in the water collecting portion into the cooling water tank is provided, and a water wheel for converting the potential energy of the falling water into rotational energy is provided below the falling water pipe.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in the casing having an exhaust port on which a blower is installed, a sprinkling part of the water to be cooled and a filler unit into which the water to be cooled sprinkled from the water sprinkling part flows down. In a cooling tower that is arranged in multiple stages, the air passing through each filler unit and the cooling water that flows down are brought into cross-flow contact to cool the cooling water and drop it into the cooling water tank below the filling unit. A water receiving tank is provided at the lower part of the filling material unit, a falling water pipe to the cooling water tank is provided at the water receiving tank, and a water turbine that converts the potential energy of the falling water into rotational energy is provided at the lower part of the falling water pipe. It has a feature.

Further, it is preferable that the cooling water tank is provided with a bypass pipe from the water supply pipe to the water sprinkling section, the bypass turbine is provided with the turbine, and the turbine is a generator driving turbine.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment example in which the present invention is applied to a counter flow type cooling tower. The cooling tower 1 has an exhaust port 4 in which a blower 3 is installed above a casing 2, and the casing 2
An eliminator 5, a sprinkler 6 for the water to be cooled, and a filler unit 7 are arranged in this order from the top, and outside air intake ports 8 are provided on both side walls of the casing 2 below the filler unit 7.
And a cooling water tank 9 is provided below the outside air intake port 8.

Between the filling material unit 7 and the cooling water tank 9, a water collecting portion 10 for collecting water to be cooled in the form of water drops falling from the filling material unit 7 is installed immediately below the filling material unit 7. The water collecting unit 10 is provided with a falling water pipe 11 for dropping the water to be cooled collected in the water collecting unit 10 into the cooling water tank 9 near one side of the casing 2. In the lower part of the falling water pipe 11, an underwater generator 13 having a water turbine 12 for converting the potential energy of the falling water into rotational energy is provided.

The water collecting portion 10 is formed by arranging a plurality of gutters 14 extending in the front-rear direction in a row in the drawing.
Has a substantially U-shaped cross section having one side wall 14a rising in the vertical direction and the other side wall 14b protruding obliquely above one side wall 14a of the adjacent gutter 14 and adjoining the other side wall 14b. The air taken in from the outside air intake 9 can be raised by the suction force of the blower 3 from between the one side wall 14a, and all the water droplets to be cooled falling from the filler unit 7 can be collected. It is configured. Further, a water supply pipe 15 for the water to be cooled is connected to the sprinkling section 6, and the water supply pipe 15 is provided with a bypass pipe 16 and an opening / closing valve 17 to the cooling water tank 9. An on-off valve 18 and a bypass pipe 1 are provided at 16.
There is provided a water wheel 19 for converting the energy of the water to be cooled flowing through 6 into rotational energy.

With this structure, the water pipe 15 is connected to the cooling tower 1.
The water to be cooled supplied to the upper sprinkling unit 6 is taken from the outside air intake port 8 by the suction force of the blower 3 while being sprinkled from the sprinkling unit 6 to the filling material unit 7 and flowing down the filling material unit 7. Then, the filler unit 7 is countercurrently contacted with the rising air to be cooled and dropped from the filler unit 7, and is collected by the water collecting unit 10 and is dropped from the falling water pipe 11 to the cooling water tank 9.
Fall to. The air that has come into contact with the water to be cooled has its water droplets removed by an eliminator 5, and then the air outlet 4 is blown by the blower 3.
Emitted from.

The water to be cooled, which falls in the falling water pipe 11, rotates the water wheel 12 of the generator 13 to generate electricity in the process of dropping, and is stored in the cooling water tank 9. The generated power is used, for example, as auxiliary power for driving the blower 3 or the water pump of the water pipe 15, or is supplied to the power receiving panel and used as auxiliary power in the facility. Therefore, it is possible to effectively utilize the potential energy of the water to be cooled, which has been conventionally discarded. The use of this energy is energy-saving, which is used to reduce the power consumption of the cooling tower 1, and thus is environmentally friendly. Instead of directly inserting the falling water pipe 11 into the cooling water tank 9, the falling water pipe 11 may be bent horizontally according to the type and shape of the water turbine 12 to rotate the water turbine.

In addition, in the winter, when the temperature of the wet-bulb temperature decreases,
If the above cooling process is performed, it may become supercooled. In this case, the opening / closing valve 18 of the bypass pipe 16 is opened to allow the water to be cooled to directly flow into the cooling water tank 9. Since the water to be cooled flowing through the bypass pipe 16 has energy that rises to the upper part of the cooling tower 1, the water turbine 19 is rotated by the energy. By rotating the generator with this water wheel 19, effective use of energy can be achieved.

FIG. 2 shows a first modified example of the first embodiment in which a small cooling water tank 9 is provided below a falling water pipe 11 having a generator 13 equipped with a water turbine 12. The cooling water tank 9 is shown in FIG. The water to be cooled stored in (1) is sent to a required location by the pump 21.

In FIG. 3, the cooling water tank 9 is installed on the roof of the building 30 except for the cooling water tank 9.
The second of the first embodiment in which the building is installed in the basement of the building 30
A modified example is shown in which a generator 13 including the water turbine 12 is provided in a lower portion of a falling water pipe 11 provided from a roof of a building 30 to an underground.

In this configuration, since the height difference between the cooling tower 1 and the cooling water tank 9 is larger than that in each of the above-described embodiments, the potential energy at which the water to be cooled falls is much larger, and the amount of power generation increases. For example, it can be used as electric power for driving the blower 3. The cooled water stored in the cooling water tank 9 is supplied to each facility in the building 30 by the pump 31 via the water supply pipe 31 and circulates in the cooling tower 1.

As shown in another embodiment of FIG. 4, the gutter 14 has a shape having water collecting plates 14c projecting obliquely upward from both side walls 14a and 14b, respectively.
The water collecting part 10 may be formed by arranging a space between the water collecting plate 14c and the water collecting plate 14c of No. 4 and arranged in a zigzag pattern in the upper and lower two stages.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the water collecting section 10. Two falling water pipes 11, 11 each having a generator 13 equipped with the water turbine 12 are provided in the lower part of the casing 2. The water collecting plates 22 are arranged vacantly, and a mountain-shaped water collecting plate 22 is provided between the both falling water pipes 11, 11, and water collecting plates 23 projecting obliquely upward to the outside air intake port 8 side of each falling water pipe 11.
Is provided.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a multi-stage cooling tower. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description. . In the cooling tower 40, in a casing 2 having an exhaust port 4 in which a blower 3 is installed, a filling material unit 7 having a water sprinkling portion 6 in the upper portion is arranged in two stages, and a side portion of each filling material unit 7 is provided. An outside air intake port 8 is formed in the casing 2 and a water supply pipe 15 to each water sprinkling portion 6 is provided with a bypass pipe 16 as in the first embodiment.

A water receiving tank 44 is provided in the lower portion of the upper filling unit 7, and a drop water pipe 42 to the cooling water tank 9 is provided in the water receiving tank 41. A generator 13 including the water turbine 12 is provided.

In this structure, the water to be cooled that has been cooled by being brought into cross-flow contact with air in the lower filling material unit 7 directly drops into the cooling water tank 9, but is directly contacted with air in the upper filling material unit 7. The cooled water to be cooled falls from the water receiving tank 41 through the falling water pipe 42 into the water turbine 12 of the generator 13.
Is rotated to generate electric power and is stored in the cooling water tank 9, so that the potential energy of the cooled water to be cooled can be effectively used as in the above-described embodiments. Further, the water turbine 19 of the bypass pipe 16 is rotated by the cooled water flowing from the water pipe 15 to the cooling water tank 9 as in the first embodiment.

In the case of a multi-stage cooling tower having three or more stages,
Not only in the uppermost stage, but also in a stage between the uppermost stage and the lowermost stage, a water receiving tank and a falling water pipe may be provided, and the turbine may be rotated by the potential energy of the water falling through the falling water pipe. In this case, it is desirable to provide it in a stage having high potential energy efficiency.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which the potential energy of the cooled water to be dropped is converted into the rotational energy by the water turbine to drive the generator, but, for example, a water pump, a compressor, a chemical injection pump, etc. Alternatively, a power supply source such as a hydraulic pump may be driven by a water turbine.

[0025]

As described above, the cooling tower of the present invention converts the potential energy of the falling water into rotational energy in the lower part of the falling water pipe which collects the cooled water to be cooled and drops it into the cooling water tank. Since a water turbine is provided and a power source such as a generator or a compressor is driven by the water turbine, it is possible to effectively utilize the potential energy of the conventionally discarded cooling water that falls, which also reduces carbon dioxide and contributes to the environment. It can be a gentle cooling tower. Further, since it is sufficient to provide the water collecting portion and the falling water pipe, it can be easily applied to the existing cooling tower.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a cooling tower of a first embodiment example.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a cooling tower of a first modified example of the first embodiment example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a cooling tower of a second modification of the first embodiment example.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another example of a gutter.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a cooling tower showing another example of a water collecting section.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a cooling tower of a second embodiment example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 40 ... Cooling tower, 2 ... Casing, 3 ... Blower, 4 ...
Discharge port, 6 ... Sprinkling part, 7 ... Filler unit, 9 ... Cooling water tank, 10 ... Water collecting part, 11, 45 ... Falling water pipe, 12 ... Water turbine, 13 ... Generator, 14 ... Gutter, 44 ... Water tank

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sprinkler part for cooling water to be cooled and a filler unit to which the cooling water sprinkled from the sprinkling part flows down are arranged in a casing having an exhaust port with a blower installed at the top, and the filling is performed. In a cooling tower in which rising air passing through a material unit is brought into countercurrent contact with the cooling water flowing down to cool the cooling water and drop it into a cooling water tank below the filling material unit, the filling material unit and the cooling water tank And a drop water pipe for dropping the water to be collected by the water drop part to the cooling water tank, and a water drop to the lower part of the drop water pipe. A cooling tower provided with a water turbine that converts potential energy into rotational energy. 2. In a casing having an exhaust port with a blower installed in the upper part, a sprinkling part of the water to be cooled and a filling material unit through which the water to be cooled sprinkled from the sprinkling part flows are arranged in multiple stages. In a cooling tower in which the air passing through each filler unit and the water to be cooled flowing down are brought into contact with each other in a cross-flow manner to cool the water to be cooled and drop it into a cooling water tank below the filler unit, in the lower part of the upper filler unit. A cooling tower, characterized in that a water receiving tank is provided, a falling water pipe to the cooling water tank is provided in the water receiving tank, and a water turbine that converts the potential energy of the falling water into rotational energy is provided below the falling water pipe. . 3. The cooling tower according to claim 1, wherein the cooling water tank is provided with a bypass pipe from a water supply pipe to the sprinkler section, and the bypass turbine is provided with the water turbine. 4. The cooling tower according to claim 1, wherein the water turbine is a generator driving water turbine.