The functions of adiabatic condensers

The functions of adiabatic condensers

Several large-scale ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems rely almost exclusively on water use. Because of its scarcity, transportation, and processing for industrial use, this important liquid is currently in short supply. The cost of this resource is always rising, and the restrictions governing its final disposal are stringent. As a result, industrial organisations require choices that retain the effectiveness of these systems while minimising the requirement for water. Among the most environmentally friendly options are adiabatic condensers, which provide a more efficient design for centralised refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

Large-scale industrial refrigeration and HVAC condensers often exhaust heat received by the system from refrigerated regions as well as heat injected by the compression system. As a result, at a lower ambient temperature, the condenser required for the same rejection capacity will require less exchange surface. On the contrary, the exchange area requested by the condenser will be greater in a location with a higher ambient temperature.

Condensers are classified into numerous types:

Evaporative

It requires a continual spray of water on the heat exchanger coil and the air that enters the apparatus to function. Throughout the operation, water must flow from a bottom tank to sprinklers situated in the upper part of the device. This attribute indicates that this equipment consumes a significant amount of high-quality water in industrial enterprises.

Air-cooled

These systems use just air to cool the condenser coil and have a finned coil and variable-speed fans. That is, it eliminates the usage of water entirely. As a result, no treatment of this liquid is required, and upkeep is minimal. It does, however, only work at dry bulb temperature (TBS), resulting in temperature disparities between the design and condensing conditions. Even if these are little, they have a significant impact on huge areas of essential commerce.

Hybrids

As the name implies, these systems combine the benefits of the previously outlined technologies. To put it another way, they can operate as an air-cooled condenser for as long as possible. As a result, when the ambient temperature reaches a certain threshold (switch temperature), or when the thermal load of the system necessitates it, the system switches to humid mode. As a result, hybrid condensers with ambient temperatures lower than TBS can be designed.

There are two types of hybrid condensers: those that have direct contact with water and those that have indirect contact with water. The adiabatic condensers fall into this category.

How do adiabatic capacitors function?

An adiabatic system, in particular, does not allow direct contact between the air-cooling water entering the exchanger and the metal surface of the condenser coil. As a result, there will be no evaporation by direct contact between the water and the metal, i.e. heat exchange. Evaporation will occur due to adiabatic saturation.

A thermodynamic process in which no heat is withdrawn or added to the system is known as adiabatic evaporation. In other words, adiabatic saturation is the evaporation of water to air in which neither heat is gained nor lost. Consequently, in the vaporised state, sensible heat in both water and air is converted to latent heat. This is how low temperatures and humidity are achieved in the air.

More specifically, adiabatic cooling systems function similarly to dry cooling, but with the addition of pre-cooling plates. As a result, the water flowing through the plates and the air suction across them lower the entering air's dry bulb temperature. These machines employ water evaporation to pre-cool ambient air to a few degrees TBH. This leads to significantly lower temperatures and more efficient functioning.

Overall, when the ambient air becomes hot enough to necessitate evaporative cooling, the adiabatic system adjusts, effectively supplying cooling needs all year. The system cools the equipment without utilising water the rest of the time, acting as a simple air cooling system.