The replacement of the evaporative cooling tower
Adiabatic Cooling Systems
Reduced operating costs and safeguard of water resources.
Traditional open evaporative cooling towers consume immense amounts of fresh water daily and carry severe environmental risks.
Frigel’s Ecodry adiabatic technology
It operates as a fully closed-loop air-cooled heat exchanger, engineered as the ultimate replacement for industrial cooling towers. By utilizing water evaporation only during extreme peak ambient conditions, this smart system delivers up to 95% water savings and up to 15% energy reduction, drastically lowering operational running costs (TCO).
Its unique, aerosol-free design guarantees certified anti-Legionella protection, ensuring strict health and safety compliance for manufacturing plants across global markets, from Asia to the Americas. 9,000+ global installations.
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FAQ on Adiabatic Cooling Systems
How does the Frigel Ecodry closed-loop adiabatic cooling system work for demanding industrial processes like plastics molding, chemical, and food & beverage?
The Frigel Ecodry (such as the 4DK series) is an advanced closed-loop adiabatic cooling platform designed to replace conventional evaporative cooling towers in heavy-duty industrial applications. Operating primarily in Dry Mode, the system dissipates heat to ambient air via convection. When ambient temperatures rise, the intelligent 3PR 4.0 control system automatically activates the Adiabatic Mode, where high-efficiency spray nozzles atomize a fine water mist inside the patented CoolPad adiabatic chamber to precool incoming air before it reaches the V-coil heat exchangers. For extreme ambient spikes, an automated Booster Mode provides direct cooling without scaling coil surfaces. This ensures consistent process water supply temperatures year-round for injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, chemical reactors, and food processing lines.
What OPEX, energy, and water savings can plant managers expect when switching from cooling towers to Frigel Ecodry adiabatic coolers?
Frigel Ecodry systems target running costs, which represent up to 95% of a cooling plant’s total lifetime TCO. By operating dry for the majority of the year and utilizing high-efficiency brushless EC fan motors managed by intelligent variable-demand controls, Ecodry delivers:
- Up to 95% Water Savings: Water is consumed exclusively during peak ambient heat via demand-managed atomization, eliminating continuous evaporation and bleed-off losses.
- Up to 15% Energy Savings: EC fan speed management continuously aligns airflow with actual thermal loads.
- Up to 30% COP Improvement: Optimized V/W heat exchanger geometries drastically lower pumping and fan power requirements.
How does the Frigel Ecodry system eliminate Legionella risks and operate glycol-free in freezing climates?
Ecodry provides an anti-Legionella operational profile by maintaining a completely closed-loop circuit with zero stagnant water basins or open fluid reservoirs, eliminating the need for ongoing chemical treatments or water disposal. The system runs dry at least once daily, preventing biological growth. For facilities operating in cold environments down to -40°C, Ecodry features a Self-Draining by Gravity coil configuration. This allows 100% glycol-free operation, which enhances heat transfer efficiency, reduces pumping energy costs, avoids chemical contamination risks in food/beverage or chemical processing, and eliminates glycol disposal expenses.
How scalable and compact is the Ecodry system for facility expansions in tight plant footprints?
Built on a native Plug & Play modular architecture with SS304L stainless steel frames and pre-engineered manifolds, Frigel Ecodry units allow seamless parallel coupling to accommodate plant capacity expansions without production downtime. To optimize space utilization, Ecodry features a compact layout requiring up to 40% less installation footprint between units. By drawing intake air from underneath via extended legs and utilizing advanced airflow guiding panels, the system prevents hot air recirculation, allowing high-density modular installations adjacent to manufacturing facilities.
What is adiabatic cooling?
A water cooling system using closed circuit ambient air
And the water cooling system, using the ambient air, combines:
- Finned pack water-to-air heat exchanger (radiator)
- Axial fans for forced air convection
- An adiabatic system for air pre-cooling during hot weather
- A monitoring device for system management
How adiabatic coolers work?
Water consumption only if required
It has 2 working modes:
- “Dry” Mode - During most of the year, the unit works as a conventional dry-cooler, with no water consumption and the heat transported by the water is dissipated in the ambient air by convection of the air forced by the fans.
- “Adiabatic” Mode - During high ambient temperature periods and only when the dry mode is not sufficient to maintain the outlet water temperature within a pre-set maximum set point, the adiabatic mode is automatically activated. The high temperature ambient air, before entering the finned exchanger, passes through the “adiabatic chamber” (patented) where humidity is added and consequently it is pre-cooled. In this case, the control system continuously regulates the quantity of water evaporation, only when necessary, to maintain the desired set point.
