EVAPORATIVE COUNTERFLOW HEAT EXCHANGER AND METHOD OF EVAPORATIVELY REMOVING HEAT FROM A FLUID

摘要

A counterflow evaporative heat exchanger comprises a vertical conduit in which a coil assembly is positioned. A fluid to be cooled or condensed passes through the coil assembly while water is sprayed downwardly over it and air is blown upwardly through it. The coil assembly comprises a plurality of tubes which at each level in the assembly are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction by an amount greater than the diameter of the tubes. This has been found to improve heat transfer in comparison to counterflow evaporative heat exchangers using closely packed coil assemblies.