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Drop-size reduction device for multiple liquid drops freefalling under gravity in moving or stationary gas/ vapour for the enhancement of heat and mass transfer.
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Brief Description A splash grid is proposed comprising horizontal or slightly inclined slats or strings to break up liquid drops freefalling under gravity in a moving gas stream to reduce the drop-size in order to enhance heat and mass transfer between the liquid and the gas. The slats are arranged in such a way that the probability of drop impingement on the slats/ strings is maximized while minimizing the gas-side pressure drop and blockage. Target Market For which market would this technology be of significant value? Cooling tower and power generation Value proposition/ Benefits To retrofit a typical Eskom cooling tower with one layer of splash grids will cost in the order of R 2 to 4 million. Depending on the power plant design, the expected improvement in power plant performance can be between 0.2 to 0.7 %. Based on the current capital cost of the new Medupi and Kusile power stations currently under construction ($ 3 500 per kW), this equates to a saving of between R 29 million and R 100 million respectively. Unique Characteristics We are not aware of other products developed for the same purpose. Technical Description Power plant effectiveness is generally determined by projected electricity tariffs and power plant life cycle costs during the design phase. By improving technology, life-cycle costs can be reduced thus making it possible to improve power plant effectiveness economically. A new more effective splash grid has been developed at SU, which can be installed below wet-cooling tower fills to significantly enhance the thermal performance of cooling towers, resulting in a reduction in power plant life-cycle costs. Innovation Status Technology has been developed and tested in a laboratory and needs to be implemented in a full-scale wet-cooling tower to obtain final proof of effectiveness. For the manufacture of slat and string grids, moulds need to be manufactured for the injection moulding of the grids or frames. For the string grid, we are currently developing a machine for winding the string onto plastic frames. A national phase application was filed for this invention.