Cooling Towers

If you have driven past a power plant recently, you have probably seen a cooling tower. These tall towers are used by the power plant to cool the water that circulates through their system, thereby eliminating excess heat. Sometimes the water is cooled so that the power plant can discharge the water into a nearby body of water. Other times the water is cooled and then re-circulated through the power plant's system.

These large cooling towers are not the only cooling towers available, however. Smaller cooling towers are often used for manufacturing and air-conditioning. Basically, cooling towers are used when there is a need to eliminate heat.

Basic Components

Cooling towers have a few basic components. The first major components are the basins. There is a basin into which water from the water supply, usually a river or inlet, is drawn. Then, after the water passes through the condenser and is reheated, there is another basin. This basin takes the water through the cooling process so that it can be reused or discharged back into the river.

By Christy Patrick