Client: A medium-sized metallurgical ore dressing and steel heat treatment plant in South Africa

Country: South Africa

Equipment Model: Medium-High Temperature Industrial Fiberglass Open Cooling Tower

Media: Medium-high temperature industrial circulating water

Quantity: 2 units

Project Description

This project provided medium-high temperature open cooling towers for a mining and metallurgical heavy industry project in South Africa to treat the high-temperature return water from the blast furnace and quenching system. Addressing the local arid and water-scarce conditions, high summer heat loads, and extremely high inlet water temperatures, the project utilized high-temperature resistant special fillers and a high-strength, corrosion-resistant fiberglass structure to achieve stable heat dissipation with large temperature differences and high efficiency, effectively ensuring the continuous and safe operation of the heavy industrial production line.

Recommended Standardized Case Name: Integrated Delivery Case of  Medium and High Temperature FRP Cooling Tower for High Heat Load in South African Heavy Industry

Situation

South Africa, a globally renowned mining and metallurgical powerhouse, employs numerous high-temperature smelting, ore refining, and steel heat treatment processes in its heavy industry. The industrial wastewater or circulating water generated by these processes has extremely high initial temperatures (typically above 50°C to 65°C), representing typical high heat load conditions. This South African client is a core metallurgical and mineral processing enterprise in the region, and its blast furnace cooling system requires immense heat dissipation power. Due to the inland location of some mining areas in South Africa, the dry environment and the presence of metal dust in the air make the plastic packing of ordinary cooling towers prone to softening, deformation, and collapse under long-term high-temperature return water scouring. Furthermore, the metal body is susceptible to combined corrosion from water and dust, directly threatening the safe operation of the entire blast furnace system.

Task

The core task of this project is to construct a robust cooling system with superior heat dissipation, high temperature resistance, and structural strength in an environment with high inlet water temperature and high dust levels.

Extreme High Temperature Resistance: Each unit must theoretically handle a massive volume of water and withstand prolonged direct scouring of medium-to-high temperature hot water exceeding 60 degrees Celsius. The packing material and water distribution system must not deform.

High-Efficiency Heat Exchange with Large Temperature Difference: Due to the process requirements of a large temperature difference between the inlet and outlet water (large temperature difference cooling), the system must maintain an extremely high air-to-water ratio and evaporative cooling efficiency under the dry and hot climate of South Africa's summers.

Wear Resistance and Heavy Corrosion Protection: The equipment must withstand the harsh winds, sandstorms, metallic dust, and high-hardness industrial circulating water of the mining area for extended periods, ensuring a heavy-duty industrial-grade service life of over 10 years.

Standardized Action

Shandong Kaisen Heat Transfer Solutions' expert team customized a solution for medium-high temperature industrial FRP open cooling towers for the harsh working conditions of South Africa's heavy industry:

• Customized High-Temperature Resistant Special Packing Material:The core heat exchange packing material inside the tower abandons ordinary PVC material and uses Kaisen's proprietary high-temperature resistant modified PP (polypropylene) or high-specification flame-retardant and temperature-resistant packing material. This material can withstand water flow scouring up to 65 degrees Celsius for extended periods without softening or curling, ensuring long-term unobstructed heat exchange channels.

• Dual Protection with High-Strength FRP and Heavy-Duty Steel Frame:The tower shell uses thickened heavy-duty industrial-grade FRP sheets, while all internal structural components are made of heavy-duty steel and undergo hot-dip galvanizing (or stainless steel), perfectly resisting the combined corrosion of acidic and alkaline gases and metal dust in mining areas.

Large Temperature Difference Spraying and Airflow Optimization System: The fully automatic rotary water distributor and large-diameter anti-clogging nozzles have been optimized to ensure uniform atomization and spraying of medium- and high-temperature water. Matched with a high-power, high-airflow, high-performance axial flow fan, it forcibly removes massive amounts of heat, achieving precise cooling over large temperature differences.

Targeted Overflow Prevention and Long-Distance Logistics Support: Designed for inland transportation and on-site installation conditions in South Africa, the equipment adopts a standardized modular assembly design. Key rotating components (such as reducers and motors) undergo heavy-load operation testing before leaving the factory. A complete set of digital remote installation and maintenance technical support is provided.

Key Achievements

medium- and high-temperature industrial cooling towers have been successfully put into operation and are operating efficiently in a South African metallurgical plant:

• Excellent High-Temperature Heat Dissipation Efficiency: The equipment successfully and precisely cooled high-temperature return water (above 60 degrees Celsius) to the predetermined temperature required by the process. The overall system heat exchange efficiency exceeded customer expectations by 15%, completely resolving the potential for forced production reductions in blast furnaces due to excessive temperature rise.

• High stability with zero deformation and low failure rate: After enduring long-term full-load operation, high-temperature water scouring, and harsh mining environments, the internal high-temperature resistant packing structure remained intact, water distribution was uniform, and the system experienced no material aging or downtime maintenance incidents due to high temperatures.

• Significantly improved plant production efficiency: Due to the extremely stable cooling system, the utilization rate of the mine's blast furnace and the continuous operation time of the heat treatment line increased significantly, while overall operation and maintenance costs decreased by more than 25%, earning the long-term trust of industrial customers in South Africa.

SMART Metrics:

medium-high temperature heavy-duty industrial cooling towers successfully delivered and operating stably.

Core packing and system inlet water temperature tolerance: >60°C (zero deformation)

Overall heat dissipation efficiency improvement in metallurgical systems: 15%

Uninterrupted continuous production guarantee rate for factory blast furnaces: 100%

Comprehensive equipment operation and maintenance cost reduction: Over 25%

Reusability Takeaways

Medium-high temperature/large temperature difference special cooling technology: Tailor-made for heavy industrial applications with extremely high return water temperatures in processes such as steel smelting, chemical reactions, and heat treatment, exhibiting strong industry relevance.

Experience in applying modified high-temperature resistant packing: Successfully solved the technical pain point of traditional open towers being unable to withstand high-temperature water erosion, providing a standard material selection template for high heat load cooling projects.

Heavy-duty protective design for harsh mining environments: It incorporates experience in strengthening mechanical structures and managing anti-corrosion processes under high dust, high corrosion, and extreme field conditions.