Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Addition of Low Concentration CuO Nanoparticle on the Thermal Performance of a Wet Colling Tower

Water based CuO nanofluids at low concentrations were used to improve the heat transfer performance and also decrease the water consumption in an experimental cooling tower. Nanofluids were prepared at the concentrations lower than 0.2 wt.% and stabilized completely. Then, the experiments were conducted at different water circulating flowrates and different water return temperatures. Air flowrate was considered to be constant at all the experiments. Results showed that using nanofluid improved the cooling performance and enhance the temperature difference between the water supply and return in the cooling tower in comparison with pure water. For example, using CuO nanofluid at the concentration of 0.2 wt.% and at the return temperature of 41 oC and water to air flow rate ratio (L/G) of 0.8 decreased the water outlet temperature from the cooling tower up to %21 compare with pure water, and decrease the water loss up to %16. Results showed that using nanofluid decreased the water loss due to evaporation considerably, and therefore, it is possible to design the cooling tower in smaller size on the basis of this heat transfer enhancement.