International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD) ISSN 2249-6890 Vol. 3, Issue 3, Aug 2013, 69-76 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. OPTIMIZATION OF COOLING SYSTEM IN K.M.M.L S JULYES JAISINGH & ADARSH BABU R Department of Mechanical Engineering, St. ↓avier’s Catholic College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India ABSTRACT The work entitled “Optimization of cooling system in KMML “in Kerala metals and minerals Limited, Titanium Dioxide Pigment plant Kollam. A cooling tower is a heat exchange system that removes waste heat from a process system fluid, usually water. The cooling tower that is used in KMML is an induced draft, counter flow cooling tower. The cooling tower is maintained and regulated by the utility department of KMML. The water which is to be cooled comes to the cooling tower from various plants used for the production of titanium dioxide at a temperature of 41 degree Celsius. This water is cooled to a temperature of 34 degree Celsius and is stored in a storage tank from where it is re-circulated. Cooling towers are one of the most important industrial utilities used to dissipate the unwanted process heat to the atmosphere through the cooling water in the heat exchangers across the plant site. Cooling tower is one of the most expensive utility in terms of power consumption and water circulation. Maintaining water quality in the circulation loops is one of the major challenges in process optimization for most efficient performance. As it is a closed loop system and it uses ground water scales and sludge formation takes place in the vacuum pump and the pipe lines of the system. The scale formation reduces the efficiency of the system. For reducing the breakage of the system maintenance work is done frequently. For reducing the risk of scale formation I introduce a water treatment plant in the system which reduces the hardness of inlet water. This system eliminates the scale formation and eliminates maintenance cost. To identify the key performance parameters with respect to perspective of the operations, the water chemistry is the most crucial level and demands proper understanding to maintain complete control over the variations. Latest technological developments have made the water conservation more efficient and use of chemicals treatment with limited options available to the designed and operating cooling tower, these areas could be explored for better and cost effective performance and environment friendly impact. KEYWORDS: KMML, Cooling Tower, Cooling System, Water Treatment Plant, Advantages INTRODUCTION The cooling system that is used in KMML is an induced draft, counter flow cooling tower. The cooling tower is maintained and regulated by the utility department of KMML. The water which is to be cooled to the cooling tower from various plants used for the production of titanium dioxide at a temperature of 41 deg .This water is cooled to a temperature of 34 deg and is stored in a storage tank from where it is re-circulated. For loss of due to evaporation make up water is provided. The pumps that are used in the cooling tower to regulate water supply to and fro are special centrifugal pump. Four such pumps are used which operates at the same time. There are also seven fans which are used in the cooling tower of KMML. The fans are made up of aluminum alloys. The makeup water for cooling tower is obtained from tube wells. The pH value of the water obtained is increased to seven by adding lime and compressed air. This water passes to the clarifier paddles to remove impurities from the water. This water is purified in filter beds by gravity filters. The filter beds are cleaned by a process called backwash. This purified water is stored in a storage tank from where it is supplied in accordance to various applications in different plants.