EMS-Chemie plant reports 10% air energy savings 09 April 2014

Swiss chemicals group EMS-Chemie is reporting energy savings of 10% since installing a central compressed-air unit from Atlas Copco on its a new cooling water circuit – which, in turn, has cut water usage by 75%.

Atlas Copco supplied two type ZH 15000 oil-free centrifugal turbo compressors – including dry coolers and pumps, for the cooling water circuit – providing the plant air supply and air for nitrogen production at the Domat/Ems production site.

Josef Wolf, project manager at EMS-Chemie, explains that the earlier compressed air supply for plant air and the air separation system needed improving anyway. The challenge was to carry out the work without causing production downtime.

Existing plant consisted of two turbo compressors and four old oil-free reciprocating compressors supplying the two compressed air networks. The turbo compressors were retained to ensure security of supply and because they complemented the two new type ZH 15000 geared turbo compressors, he says.

Wolf says the first step was to install a new, closed cooling-water circuit with a dry cooling capacity of 3MW and then to lay the new pipework system in the central compressed air unit, which was installed alongside the old compressors.

"We prepared a complete parallel system and then swapped over the unit, one machine at a time, ensuring that round-the-clock production was maintained," says Wolf .

And EMS-Chemie energy manager Martin Schlumpf adds: "The Atlas Copco ZH 15000 produces less waste heat and consumes less energy with the same output. Their energy efficiency is simply better. That is exactly what we need."

Brian Tinham

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