Formation, potential and abatement of plume from wet cooling towers: A review

In recent years the visible impact of the release from wet cooling tower to the atmosphere has become a matter of greater concern. In the past visible plumes were accepted as the inevitable consequence of industrial activities and a sign of thriving manufacturing industry. Plumes from combustion plant may be visible and colored for a variety of reasons. Some are associated with the combustion process itself, such as excessive quantities of nitrogen dioxide causing a brown tinge to plumes or the release of small particles, and/or aerosols, in the plume which scatter light. These factors can be tackled by modification of the combustion process and the introduction of emission control technology. However, the most common cause of plume visibility, and the reason that chimneys attract public attention, is the presence of condensed water vapor in plumes. In this paper attempt has been made to present an overview of the previous research work on the plume from wet cooling towers, which describes the previous work done of few researchers on the formation, potential and abatement of plumes besides, the numerical analysis of wet cooling towers for a typical set of operating parameters.