Water Use and Related Costs With Cooling Towers: Fid-Bau Portal

Water Use and Related Costs With Cooling Towers

Berg, Brian / Lane, Russell W. / Larson, Thurston E.

This study is primarily an economic evaluation of cooling towers for water reuse compared with once‐through use. The study presents a method for estimating and comparing approximate costs for specific cooling‐tower applications with the costs of non‐conservative practices. The report is primarily concerned with northeastern Illinois, which has experienced what is probably one of the greatest groundwater recessions in the world. In this study, a particularly interesting discovery was the chemicals savings that can be realized by permitting mineral concentrations in the cycled water in cooling towers to increase 5‐10 times rather than 1.5‐2.0 times, as is common practice. The specific cooling costs considered in this report are: the initial cost of equipment and installation, exclusive of alterations to the existing system; annual fixed costs, including amortization, depreciation, interest, taxes, insurance, and rent; and, annual operating costs, including water, treatment, power, and maintenance. Suggestions for relating these costs to the costs of once‐through, self‐produced, and purchased water are included.