Comprehensive Guide to Cooling Tower Drift Eliminators in 2025

Cooling towers have become indispensable across various industries, offering benefits such as reduced energy consumption, lower operational costs, extended equipment lifespan, and simplified maintenance. Many industrial facilities have opted for counterflow cooling towers to capitalize on these advantages. As the demand for proper installation and maintenance grows, manufacturers worldwide are striving to provide high-quality solutions. A critical component in this system is the drift eliminator.

What Is a Drift Eliminator?

A drift eliminator is a vital component in cooling towers, designed to minimize the escape of water droplets into the atmosphere. Its primary functions are to conserve water and prevent the release of chemically treated water into the environment. By maintaining optimal water recycling conditions, drift eliminators contribute to efficient cooling tower operation.

Modern drift eliminators, such as those offered by Long Zhuo, are made of rigid and UV-resistant PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PP (polypropylene), providing long service life and high temperature tolerance (up to 65°C or more depending on material). These materials ensure stable structure and resistance to chemical erosion in harsh environments.

How Does a Drift Eliminator Function?

In evaporative cooling systems, drift eliminators reduce the release of water droplets carried by the discharge air stream. The design of the eliminator—often consisting of foils or blades—redirects the airflow, causing suspended water droplets to coalesce on the surfaces. These droplets then gain sufficient mass to overcome the airstream velocity and return to the cooling tower, rather than being expelled into the environment.

Advanced drift eliminators use multi-pass cellular structures (typically 2-pass or 3-pass) to maximize droplet capture. For example, PVC drift eliminators from Long Zhuo achieve drift loss as low as 0.001% of circulating water, effectively improving environmental performance.

Are Drift Eliminators Standard in All Cooling Towers?

In the United Kingdom, regulations stipulate that efficient drift eliminators should be installed in all towers equipped with fans. This includes all cooling towers and evaporative condensers, except for low-velocity, natural draught towers. Typically, drift eliminators are positioned vertically in front of the heat transfer surface in crossflow towers or above the heat transfer surface and distribution system in counterflow towers.

In compliance with such standards, Long Zhuo drift eliminators are compatible with both counterflow and crossflow towers. They are available in standard widths (e.g., 145mm, 305mm, 600mm, 1200mm) and can be easily custom-cut or factory-welded to meet design requirements.

Why Are Cellular Drift Eliminators Essential?

Cellular drift eliminators are crucial for several reasons:

Environmental Protection: They prevent the release of water droplets that may contain harmful chemicals or bacteria, such as Legionella, into the surrounding environment.

Water Conservation: By capturing water droplets, they reduce water loss, contributing to overall water conservation efforts. Eliminators with 0.001% drift rate can save thousands of liters of water annually.

System Efficiency: They help maintain system pressure and airflow, ensuring the cooling tower operates efficiently. The aerodynamic design reduces airflow resistance, contributing to lower fan energy consumption.

Key Advantages of Drift Eliminators

Environmental Safety: They minimize the dispersion of potentially hazardous substances into the air.

Corrosion Prevention: By reducing water loss, they help prevent corrosion in nearby structures and equipment.

Energy Efficiency: Maintaining optimal water levels and system pressure can lead to energy savings. Advanced materials like PVC also ensure low pressure drop across the eliminator.

Extended Equipment Life: Proper function of drift eliminators can prolong the lifespan of the cooling tower and associated components. Long Zhuo PP/PVC drift eliminators have an expected service life of over 10 years under normal operating conditions.

What Causes Cooling Tower Drift?

Drift refers to the water droplets that are carried away with the exhaust air from a cooling tower. These droplets, typically ranging from 50 to 200 micrometers in diameter, can contain the same chemicals and bacteria present in the circulating water. Without effective drift eliminators, these droplets can escape into the environment, potentially causing harm.

Long Zhuo drift eliminators’ multiple-directional baffle structures force air to change direction multiple times, effectively capturing particles across the full droplet size spectrum.

Understanding Evaporation Loss in Cooling Towers

In cooling towers, a portion of the water evaporates to remove heat from the system. Typically, for every 5.5°C (10°F) drop in water temperature, approximately 1% of the total water mass evaporates. This evaporation is a normal part of the cooling process and is accounted for in the system's design.

Drift eliminators do not prevent this intended evaporation but instead minimize unintended water loss caused by entrained droplets, which can otherwise account for 0.2–0.3% or more of circulating flow without proper drift control.

Replacing Drift Eliminators: Considerations

When replacing drift eliminators, it's not always necessary to use original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts. Depending on the condition and performance of the existing eliminators, upgrades may be beneficial. Consulting with a cooling tower parts supplier can provide insights into options that offer improved performance, durability, and ease of maintenance.

Long Zhuo offers modular, lightweight, and easy-to-install designs that save labor costs and minimize downtime during retrofitting. We also support custom sizes and configurations to meet specific system layouts.