As a special cold heat exchanger, the air cooler plays an important role in the petrochemical industry. Using inexhaustible air as a cooling medium is a significant energy-saving device compared to a water cooler, and it also avoids the problem of more sensitive water pollution.

The structure of the air cooler is basically composed of 4 parts: tube box and tube bundle, fan, shutter, frame. The central part of the tube box and tube bundle heat exchange, the type and arrangement of the finned tube have a great influence on the heat transfer coefficient inside and outside the tube. The fan is a device for forced air circulation, and is also a key component to enhance the heat transfer outside the pipe. There are two types of automatic fan adjustment and manual fan adjustment. The blinds can also adjust the air volume, while protecting the finned tube.

The use of air coolers can save a lot of industrial water, reduce pollution, protect the environment, and reduce infrastructure costs. In order to expand the use of air coolers, a humidified air cooler appeared in the 1960s, that is, a water spray device was added in front of the tube bundle, and the evaporation of a small amount of atomized water on the surface of the fins was used to significantly enhance the heat transfer. The thermal efficiency is increased by 2 to 4 times compared with the dry type. Humidified air coolers have been widely used in oil refineries. Dry air-cooled tube bundles and wet air-cooled tube bundles can also form a combined air cooler. The development of finned tubes with low contact thermal resistance and high heat transfer efficiency, low power consumption and low noise fans is the key to the development of air coolers.