First of its kind replacement fill project in India – AS Cooling Elevates Efficiency at JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar Plant
Our sister company, AS Cooling in India, recently completed a first of its kind fill project for JSW Steel, a leading steel manufacturing company in India. Using a combination of film fill is very uncommon in India. Different types of film fill combinations have been used in the past, but having a trickle grid combined with a film fill is unprecedented in India.
JSW steel boasts the largest single-location steel-producing facility in the country, with an impressive capacity of 12 million tons per annum (MTPA). The state-of-the-art facility produces high-value special steel products, which are extensively utilised across a diverse range of industries including construction, infrastructure, automobiles, electrical applications, and appliances.
Requirement
JSW Steel contracted AS Cooling for a critical refurbishment and upgrade project for two of its four 300MW cooling towers at the Captive Power Plant (CPP). The project involved refurbishment of the Unit 3 cooling tower, which consists of 12 cells, and four cells in Unit 4. The primary objective was to replace existing fills and sprayers with high-performance, low-fouling potential alternatives. AS Cooling proposed a combination of low-fouling trickle grid fills and high thermal performance cross flute fills, combined with highly efficient sprayer designs.
Solution
As part of the integrated steel plant, the cooling fills at the CPP were persistently clogged with fine dust from the steel mills, causing a significant loss of thermal efficiency in the cooling towers. AS Cooling’s solution involved the following steps:
- Removal of Existing Fouled Fill Packs: The existing fouled fill packs were removed to make
way for new, more efficient solutions. - Installation of Low Clogging Trickle Fills and High Performance Cross Flute Fills: The cooling
towers were equipped with a combination of low clogging trickle fills and high-performance
cross flute fills. This strategic combination was designed to enhance thermal performance
while minimising clogging. - Sprayer Replacement: The existing sprayers did not offer uniform water distribution which
caused dry spots in the cooling tower. The new sprayer design promotes uniform water
distribution with an overlapping spray pattern, resulting in higher spray zone cooling. - Performance Improvement: The refurbishment reduced the cold water temperature by 1.6°C,
drastically improving both the cooling tower performance and the overall efficiency of the
power plant. - Addressing Fouling Issues: By using low clog trickle fills as the bottom layer, AS Cooling
effectively reduced the potential for future fouling, ensuring long-term efficiency.
Achievements
This project marked a first-of-its-kind successful fill replacement job in India and the refurbishment was completed in just eight months and delivered significant improvements in cooling tower performance and power plant efficiency.
Conclusion
AS Cooling’s innovative approach and effective solutions have significantly enhanced the operational efficiency of JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar plant. The successful completion of this refurbishment project underscores AS Cooling’s expertise in delivering high-performance, low-fouling potential solutions for cooling towers. Through this achievement, AS Cooling has reinforced its position as a leader in cooling tower refurbishment, helping JSW Steel maintain its status as a leading steel manufacturer in India.
