Intelligent Process Cooling: Saving Money, Protecting the

Environment and Curing Process Headaches

Lou Zavala, National Sales Manager – Frigel North America

Presentation Overview• The state of today’s manufacturing resources• Traditional process cooling technology vs. the

intelligent process cooling alternative• Opportunities for water, energy and chemical

savings while greening your operations• Improved productivity through implementing a

central chiller alternative• How process cooling can improve your

profitability and ability to better serve customers

Today’s manufacturing resources

Energy use in manufacturing• Approximately 92% of a manufacturer’s energy

consumption is attributed to processing machinery and associated services

• 16% of that energy goes to process cooling (chillers & pumps)

• Energy savings of 25% are easily achievable with virtually no technical risk

• Improperly maintained cooling towers lose heat transfer efficiency and scale causing chillers to consume 2.5 to 3.5% more energy for each degree rise in condenser temperature

Source: Dr. Robin Kent, “Energy Management in Plastics Processing – Strategies, targets, techniques and tools” and U.S. Department of Energy

Energy cost and consumption trends

Source: US Government Energy Information Administration

By sector, nominal2 prices, 1960-2007

Water use in manufacturing• Industry uses 22% of the earth’s available

clean water• That number increases to 45% in developed

countries• One of the top 5 ways water is wasted in

industry is inefficient and poorly maintained methods for cooling

• In process cooling, over consumption occurs as a result of evaporation and blow down

Source: Arlington Institute “Global water crisis overview” and Water Wise “How to save water in the workplace”

Water considerations• Water is likely to be the most important strategic

resource by the end of the next decade• Clean water is one of the major concerns of the

U.N.• Local governments are imposing high disposal

costs for concentrated and contaminated fluids– This includes cooling tower waste water in some areas

Source: The World Bank and IATP “Bio-fuels and global water challenges”

Traditional solutions for process cooling

Cooling tower basics• Temperature: 85°/90°F• Open System• Method of heat rejection =

water evaporation• The center of industrial cooling

for over 80 years

Cooling tower costs

• Continuous water consumption – evaporation & blow down loss

• Increasing costs for water & fluid disposal

• Ongoing water treatment• Regular heat exchanger

maintenance • Very high pumping energy

consumption• Changing laws and regulations• Constant fan operation creates

energy waste

Cooling tower disadvantages• Poor quality water to

process• Harmful emissions• Difficult cold-weather

operation• Permanent contamination

hinders heat transfer and performance

• Water evaporation & blow down loss

• Contaminated air in the system creates contaminated process water

Cooling Tower: Very high pumping energy consumption

Plate heat exchanger

proc

ess

Filtering

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rcui

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sys

tem

Clo

sed

circ

uit

tow

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yste

m NozzlesNozzles

1st Filtering

2nd Filtering

proc

ess

Effect of a Scale layer on Heat Transfer

Thermal Conductivity of Microbiological Film and Calcium Carbonate Scale

Effect of Scale on Energy Consumption of Chillers

Traditional set up1. Open tower water

consumption is up to 1.3 million gallons annually/ 100 tons of cooling due to evaporation, drift and blow down based on water quality

2. Centralized chiller system utilizes more energy to achieve flow & pressure at the process

3. Thermal gain increases as distance increases

4. Two sets of insulated pipes needed

1

2

43

Intelligent process cooling

Intelligent process cooling set up1. Closed-loop, dry-cooling

technology using ambient air to cool process water

2. Small reservoir tank for automatic draining in cold temperatures to avoid freezing

3. Single set of non-insulated pipes for simple and inexpensive installation

4. Machine side temperature controller/ chiller for high performance cooling

1

2

3

4

Intelligent cooling basics• Temperature: 90°/95°F• Closed System• Method of heat rejection = air

heat exchange• Revolutionizing process

cooling

Intelligent cooling cost savings

• Dramatically reduced energy consumption

• Lower pumping capacity• No continuous water or

chemical consumption• No fluid disposal saving fees

and the environment• Little to no downtime• Free cooling opportunities

Intelligent cooling advantages

• Clean water to process• No scale/corrosion on heat

exchangers or piping• Constant efficiency of process

equipment for better productivity• Minimal maintenance• Simple & expandable system• Decreased green house gas

emissions

How intelligent cooling works• Process water is

pumped through heat exchangers and cooled by ambient air

• Additional air flow is generated by axial fans with variable DC motors

• Water temp is held <10°F above out-door dry bulb temperature and to operating range set at control

Adiabatic cooling for minimum water

consumption• Ambient air at high temperature passes through the adiabatic chamber

• In the chamber, spray nozzles create a think mist of water

• The humidification of the air drops its temperature before it reaches the coils

• The sprayed water volume is automatically controlled by microprocessor

• Finned coils are kept completely dry and free of scale

Brushless DC Fans Motors with individual automatic control of speed

The Lowest Energy Consumption

-

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

100806040200OU T DOOR T E M P . ( F)

kW / fan

0.03 kW/ton*0.03 kW/ton*

Extremely high efficiency under partial load operation (reduced speed)

Annual average consumption less than 0.03 kW/ton

Very quiet operation – less than 57 dB(A)

Increased reliability and durability, maintenance free

Each fan can be substituted with the equipment running * Based on LWT = 90F in LA, CA

How intelligent cooling works• Adiabatic mode keeps

LWT below 90 to 95°F even with ambient temps of 120°F

• On cold days with little or no heat load, recirculation pumps turn off and unit drains fully, providing 100% freeze protection

• Control and software provide a fully-automatic water and energy savings based on actual thermal load and outdoor temps

Intelligent water & energy savingsWater savings • Only during high outdoor temperatures does the system

switch to adiabatic mode, minimizing the time additional water may be needed– Example: A typical 100-ton cooling system uses as much as 1.5 million

gal/year, intelligent process cooling with the same capacity requires only 20,000 to 40,000 gal/year

Energy savings• During low outdoor temperatures or partial load

operation, specialized controls automatically adjust pumps and fans to start and stop as needed, rather than running constantly– Example: A typical 100-ton chiller system operates with 0.8 to 1.2

kWh/ton energy consumption, intelligent cooling uses only 0.05 kWh/ton

Free cooling opportunities

• Free cooling is defined as using non-refrigeration cooling methods – This generally means using an

ambient-air closed-loop cooling system to supply clean cooling water and replacing chillers or turning off chiller compressors.

• Many processes can benefit from free cooling depending on process set points and local ambient conditions

99% 94%

81%

63%

50%

37%

19%

9%4% 1%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Hrs

/Yr

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20Temperature (F)

Hours per Year Below a Certain Temperature (Chicago)

Water Savings PeriodAbove 85°F

175 hrs2 %

Energy Savings PeriodBelow 40°F

3334 hrs38%

Boston/Logan, MADry-Bulb Temperature Hours For an Average year

(period of record 1967-1996)

This summary reflects the typical distribution of temperature in a typical year. It does not reflect the typical moisture distribution.

100 ton tower VS 100 ton Ecodry

100 Tons 100 Tons

105.0 °F 10.2 °F w /HX

95.0 °F 70.0 °F

91.4 °F 9.0 °F

No FC °F

° 0 Tons

° 40 % 4.0

ft 21.8 Psi

45.0 Psi 65.3 Psi

80 % 70 %

90 % 85 %

1

7

76.1 7

74.3 Series

45.9 21.8 %

51.4 81.6 °F

0.0030 13,592 1,112,083

0.12

18,508 34,092

65,040

0

10,067 24,900

10.6%

0.0%

240.08 GPM 266.76 GPM

10.0 °F 9.0 °F

0 hrs

253 hrs 0.79

3.4 GPM 3.23 GPM

Capacity

Dry LWT

Latitude 42.37

BOSTON

WMO Stat. Num. #725090

Adiabatic EWT

2% Of Capacity

Concentrations

Fan Pow erInstalled

Approach

Process Flow Rate

Gal./Year

Capacity

Tow er DeltaT

Tow er Pressure Drop

Adiabatic LWT

Freecooling Capacity

Row s of Fans

Pump Fluid-Dyn. Eff.

Freecooling LWT

Glycol %

Pump Motor Eff.

ECODRY

Total n° of Fans

Weighted AVG DB °F

°F

°F Connection

Weighted AVG WB

0.4% Occ. WB °F

Freecooling Time

1% Occ. WB --

GPP 1200/3

Gal./Year

EDK 71 S

Overdesign

Ecodry Fans Cons.

Proc. Pumps Cons.

Circ. Pumps Cons.

Longitude 71.02

Fans per Row

Elevation

Process Pressure Drop

16.4

LOCATION

Running Costs

Spray Start Temp.

Min. LWT

kW

Check here for notes

$

Process DeltaT

Energy Cost $ / kWhr

Glycol Loss

Altitude Loss

Running Costs

Tower Fans Cons.

Water ConsumptionWater Cost $ / Gall. Water Consumption

kW.hr/year145,609

Proc. Pumps Cons.kW.hr/year

Spray Max Flow Rate

Proc. /Tow er Flow Rate

% of Tow er Flow

$

TOWER

Spray Max Flow Rate

Adiabatic Time

Pump Motor Eff.

Process Pressure Drop

AVG Water Consumpt.

Process DeltaT

(Tower included)

Pump Fluid-Dyn. Eff.

Improving productivity through enhanced process cooling

Process cooling using central chillers• A standard central chiller system is often supplied

cooling water by a tower system

• They supply single temperature water to multiple processes within a plant and require a large pumping station to distribute the water

• Energy loss occurs due to large pumping stations, thermal losses as the water travels to process machines and scale and bio-film buildup in the heat exchangers

• It is extremely difficult to get precise water temperature to all process machines causing quality to suffer and loss of profitability

Intelligent process cooling at the machine level

• Machine side units adjust for required temperature, flow and pressure individually

• Cooling parameters optimized at each machine for better quality parts, less scrap and total repeatability with cycle time improvement of up to 20%

• As an alternative to central chillers, saves up to 80% on energy costs due to no thermal losses and additional pump HP

Achieving maximum productivity and part quality

Maximum productivity = minimum mold temperature• Achieve minimum cooling water temperature

– With independent temperature control at each machine– With a high flow rate in the mold assuring max efficiency of

heat exchange and minimum ΔT across the mold

High quality product = automatic control of mold temperature

• Automatic controls allow for– The ability to “research” the best temperature for each

process– Perfect repeatability of the process cooling conditions

Injection Molding: Cooling time dominates cycle time

from 40% of cycle time (high speed packaging)

up to 90% of cycle time (engineering resins)

Time (sec)Time (sec)

Improve profitability and ability to serve customers

Look to process cooling to…• Increase profitability and competitiveness

– Low operating costs, simple installation, increased productivity

• Sustain performance and profits– Consistent and efficient system, total repeatability

• Reduce cost of labor, energy and water– No process water consumption, reduced electrical

consumption, virtually maintenance free• Address environmental concerns, regulations and

pressures– No ongoing chemical consumption, minimal environmental

impact

The power to change

• Changing established methods requires teamwork and extra effort

• Company leaders are encouraging and supporting sustainability process improvements

• Key champions/functions for change– Maintenance, process/production, health safety and

financial managers• The rewards and satisfaction to the new approach

is high and proven by thousands

Will you be a champion for the future?

The power to save

• Rebates from state and local government, as well as utilities, are available for manufacturers implementing energy saving technology

• Tax incentives are also available in 2009 giving depreciation deductibles of 60% for new equipment placed in service by the end of the year

The power to outperform

Manufacturers often overlook the full potential of cooling technology to improve product quality, increase productivity and

reduce operating costs

MAPP Member Exclusive Offer

• Free spare parts kit equal to 5% of the value of any Ecodry System order in 2010– In addition to the fast ROI realized from energy, water,

maintenance, chemical and downtime savings and process improvements

• To take advantage, contact us at 847-540-0160 or info@frigel.com and let us know you want 5% in free spare parts as a fellow MAPP member

For more information: www.frigel.com/na

Intelligent Process Cooling

Questions?

Frigel’s Ecodry represents a revolutionary way to improve

process stability, gain a competitive advantage and

experience the economic benefits.