Corrugated Cooling Tower Dispersant Panel With Seamless Folded Edges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispersant panels for cooling towers suffer from microfractures leading to microplastic pollution and are limited by dimensional constraints, resulting in inefficient and costly manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A dispersant panel for cooling towers is designed with a corrugated structure and edge rims that eliminate microfractures, allowing for quick and efficient production without dimensional limitations, using a thermoforming process that includes a die and counterdie to shape a polymeric band into a corrugated sheet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional fillers (cellulose, wood chips, plastic bottles) are used in cooling tower basins, then water distribution is improved, but the fillers accumulate bacteria and algae that clog the filler material and reduce cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies biocidal agents to the porous filler material to convert the harmful effect of bacteria and algae accumulation into a beneficial effect. The biocidal coating prevents microbial growth on the filler surface, eliminating clogging while maintaining the filler's water distribution function. This resolves the contradiction by protecting the filler material from the very organisms that would otherwise reduce cooling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the filler material by applying a biocidal coating or impregnation. This parameter change (adding biocidal properties) transforms the filler from a material that accumulates microbes to one that actively prevents microbial growth, thereby maintaining cooling efficiency over time without clogging.
2Productivity
If water is distributed over fillers in cooling tower basins, then cooling performance is enhanced, but the fillers require frequent cleaning and replacement due to biological contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the filler material self-protecting by incorporating biocidal agents directly into the porous structure. The filler automatically releases biocidal substances that prevent bacterial and algal growth on its surface, eliminating the need for external cleaning or replacement. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by maintaining cooling performance without requiring frequent maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful biological contamination into a beneficial protective mechanism. By applying biocidal coatings, the filler material now uses the presence of microorganisms as a trigger for the biocidal action, preventing clogging and reducing maintenance needs while preserving cooling performance.
3Ease of operation
If porous filler material is used to distribute water, then water distribution efficiency improves, but the porous structure accumulates bacteria and algae that block water flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the porous filler by impregnating it with biocidal agents. This modification maintains the porous structure's water distribution efficiency while adding a protective function that prevents biological contamination from blocking the pores.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite filler material that combines the original porous structure (for water distribution) with biocidal substances (for contamination prevention). This composite structure maintains the benefits of porous water distribution while eliminating the harmful effect of biological clogging.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution prevents microplastic pollution and reduces manufacturing time and costs by ensuring seamless edges and enabling large-scale production of dispersant panels.
Implementation Method 1
The dispersant panel is impregnated with a biocidal agent effective to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms
Implementation Method 2
cooling air streams passing over the panel(s) and water distributed over the panel(s)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
A dispersant panel (1) for a cooling tower, comprising: a corrugated sheet (2) extending between a first plane (1a) and a second plane (1b) mutually parallel and defining recurrent wave forms (20) along a longitudinal direction (2a) and extending along wave paths (20a) transversal to said longitudinal direction (2a); edges (3) extending parallel to said longitudinal direction (2a) at two opposite ends (21) of said longitudinal direction (2a), along a transversal direction (2b) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (2a) of the sheet (2), and each defining profiles (30) for each wave form (20) recurrent parallel to the longitudinal direction (2a) on a tangential plane (3a) perpendicular to the transversal direction (2b), wherein each of said edges (3) consists of a rim (22) of the sheet (2), folded on the same sheet (2) at the ends (21) without solution of continuity.