Using rainwater in cooling towers: Design and performance analysis for a petrochemical company

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2019-07, Vol.224, p.275-283
• Main Authors: Thomé, Ana C.B., Santos, Paula G., Fisch, Adriano G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cleaner production; Cooling towers; Rainwater; Sustainability
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.249

Water is a natural resource and its eminent scarcity has led the global community to seek alternatives to reduce consumption and to invest in practices for water reuse. Considering this background, the use of rainwater appears as an alternative. Common sense is to use rainwater for houses and for crop irrigation but few initiatives focus on using rainwater for industrial proposals. In the present work, the technical feasibility of using rainwater in a large-scale cooling tower was evaluated in a long-term test. The results confirm that the quality of rainwater allows its use in large-scale cooling towers without affecting the process continuity. The use of rainwater resulted in the economy of 12,000 kWh/year as well as the CO2 emission was reduced by 2 ton/year. It means the impact of the industrial activity on the environment was reduced. The short payback (2 years), the positive results regarding corrosion and fouling, and the environmental impact reduction serve as an example for other industrial initiatives using rainwater. The study reveals that maximization of economic gains from cleaner production initiatives are achieved when eco-friendly initiatives are considered from the plant engineering design. [Display omitted] •Rainwater is as sustainable alternative in chemical and petrochemical companies.•Technical and economic feasibility is confirmed by one-year industrial test.•Corrosion and fouling did not affect equipment in long-term test using rainwater.•Eco-friendly initiatives should be incorporated in engineering design.