Environment, Coasts, Oceans, & Infrastructure

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  • 1.  Cooling Towers for Hot Groundwater

    Posted 04-03-2019 02:24 PM
    Howdy y'all,

    I'm trying to locate any sort of guidance there might be about using cooling towers in water distribution to cool hot groundwater (~150*F) before sending it out to distribution. Any resources would be much appreciated.

    Thanks!

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    Michelle Alvarez EIT, ENV SP, A.M.ASCE
    Engineer-in-Training
    Corpus Christi TX
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  • 2.  RE: Cooling Towers for Hot Groundwater

    Posted 04-04-2019 07:44 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 04-04-2019 07:44 AM
    Michelle,
    Contact someone like Sargent & Lundy in Chicago, Illinois, or even American Electric Power (AEP) in Columbus, Ohio.  The utilities have been using cooling towers for decades. They are simple and effective.

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    James Justin Mercier, P.E., CFM
    Life Member ASCE
    Sr. Life Member IEEE
    Austin Texas
    512-442-4016
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  • 3.  RE: Cooling Towers for Hot Groundwater

    Posted 04-04-2019 11:21 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 04-04-2019 11:20 AM
    Michelle,
    Consider placing a heat-to-electricity engine between your hot ground water and the cooling.  As a good first check, talk to ElectraTherm: https://electratherm.com/.  There are now several manufacturers of what are normally considered "geothermal" electrical power units that "work" with relatively low-grade heat.  I last considered ElectraTherm units using the "waste" heat from diesel generator engine jackets (185F) at least 5 years ago.  I believe they can include the cool-water side equipment in their installation.  Cool water side can be: radiator-to-air cooled; evaporative cooling tower; water heat exchanger (whatever salinity).  A cool cool-side is as important as a hot hot-side for the economics.

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    Mark Capron
    Oxnard CA
    (805) 487-1545
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  • 4.  RE: Cooling Towers for Hot Groundwater

    Posted 04-11-2019 11:39 AM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 04-11-2019 11:39 AM
    Thank you for your responses, James and Mark! That should send me in the right direction.  I'm excited to hear that there might be a use for the waste heat-- everyone else I had previously spoken with said the water wasn't going to be hot enough to have any potential uses.

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    Michelle Alvarez EIT,A.M.ASCE
    Corpus Christi TX
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    Original Message


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