The report gives results of a study of technical and economic feasibilities of wet/dry cooling towers for water conservation and vapor plume abatement. Results of cost optimizations of wet/dry cooling for 1000-MWe fossil-fueled power plants are presented. Five sites in the western coal region and one in New York are evaluated for water conservation; four urban sites (Seattle, Cleveland, Newark, and Charlotte) are used in the plume abatement analyses. Results are given as the total evaluated cost of the cooling system. Separate cost components include initial capital cost, operating expenses, and penalties for the cooling system operation capitalized over a plant life of 40 years. The year of pricing is 1985. For the water conservation analyses, optimized all-wet and all-dry cooling towers are reference systems. The wet/dry system has separate wet and dry mechanical draft towers. Costs are related to the make-up water requirement expressed as a percentage of the water required by an all-wet system. Parametric and sensitivity analyses show the effect of changing the system design and economic factors. A parallel air-flow hybrid wet/dry tower is used in the plume abatement studies. Costs are presented for an allowable number of hours of fogging. An all-wet system, optimized solely for cost, is the reference.

Prepared by under contract no. 68-02-2202, program element no. EHE624. Issued Nov. 1977. Includes bibliographical references.

The technical and economic feasibilities of wet/dry cooling towers for water conservation and vapor plume abatement are studied. Results of cost optimizations of wet/dry cooling for 1000-MWe fossil-fueled power plants are presented. Six sites (five in the western coal region and one in New York) are evaluated for water conservation, and four urban sites (Seattle, Cleveland, Newark, and Charlottle) are used in the plume abatement analyses. Results are given as the total evaluated cost (TEC) of the cooling system. Separate cost ccomponents include initial capital cost, operating expenses and penalties for the cooling system operation over a plant life of forty years. The plant start-up date is 1985. For the water conservation analyses, optimized wet and dry cooing towers are the reference systems. The wet/dry system has separated wet and dry mechanical draft towers. Costs are related to the make-up water requirement expressed as a percentage of the water required by a wet system. Parametric and sensitivity analyses show the effect of changing the system design and economic factors. A parallel air-flow hybrid wet/dry tower is used in the plume abatement studies. Costs are presented for an allowable number of hours of fogging. A wet system, optimized solely for cost, serves as the reference.