Abstract
Fogs from cooling towers are causing an increasing number of visibility problems in addition to icing of roads, sidewalks, powerlines, etc. during freezing weather. Enforcement of regulations on thermal pollution for water quality control will cause an increase in the number of cooling towers, spray ponds, etc. Violations of visibility obstruction will rise unless the problems associated with winter operation of low-grade waste heat disposal systems are incorporated in design criteria.
This paper summarizes a study made to ascertain the best method of fog control or abatement at a refinery in Houston, Texas. The induced draft, counter-flow cooling towers of concern have design capacities of 750 × 106 Btu/hr and 225 × 106 Btu/hr under local climatic conditions.
Several methods of alleviating restricted visibility were considered and cost estimates were made for the most promising methods. A summary of these is provided in the text.