Spray pond (original) (raw)

A spray pond is a reservoir in which warmed water (e.g. from a power plant) is cooled before reuse by spraying the warm water with nozzles into the cooler air. Cooling takes place by exchange of heat with the ambient air, involving both conductive heat transfer between the water droplets and the surrounding air and evaporative cooling (which provides by far the greatest portion, typically 85 to 90%, of the total cooling). The primary purpose of spray pond design is thus to ensure an adequate degree of contact between the hot injection water and the ambient air, so as to facilitate the process of heat transfer.