Product category:
Energy management; Boiler plant
News Release from: Gardner Energy Management | Subject: GEM at Kraft
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 17 April 2007
Steam traps perform like stars at Kraft
Foods
Gardner Energy Management Venturi orifice steam traps are minimising steam loss at the Kraft Foods site in Banbury, even when subjected to variable operating loads
Gardner Energy Management Venturi orifice steam traps, fitted to feedwater heat exchangers, air heater batteries and distribution lines at Kraft Foods, are operating over variable loads with a turndown ratio on the heat exchangers of 3:1 The Kraft Foods Banbury site boasts the world's largest soluble coffee facility, manufacturing coffee for the global Kraft business as well as UK household brands such as Kenco, Maxwell House and Mellow Bird's
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 29 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The site produces some 11 billion cups of coffee a year and also houses the Kraft leading research and development facility.
The company raises some 40 tonnes of steam an hour costing around GBP6.5 million pounds a year.
Although steam is utilised throughout the site it is principally used in feedwater heat exchangers feeding the extraction sets.
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Kraft operates banks of heat exchangers, which handle a total of between 6,000 and 45,000 litres of water per hour.
A total of 120 steam traps are used throughout the site: the majority of the original mechanical steam traps have now been replaced by the GEM Venturi orifice trap.
Conscious that existing mechanical traps were failing, resulting in lost steam and reduced plant performance, John Weir, Utilities Manager at Kraft Foods decided to investigate the Gardner Energy Management patented GEM steam trap and asked the company to carry out a site survey.
The report from Gardner Energy Management explained that by replacing the existing traps with the GEM venturi orifice design, blocked steam traps could be prevented from impacting on production: and by more efficiently returning condensate back to the boilers energy savings would be made.
The GEM steam traps work by using the difference in density between steam and condensate.
Steam is 1000 times less dense than condensate, so at the entrance of the trap orifice, the low-density steam is literally squeezed out of the condensate.
The high density, low moving condensate is then preferentially discharged through the orifice, trapping the low-density steam behind it.
What makes the GEM trap different is its venturi orifice configuration, which works well over varying loads by using the 'flash' steam that comes out of condensate as it passes from high to low pressure to give a self-regulating, varying capacity.
As the GEM steam traps have no moving parts to wedge open or fail, it provides the ultimate in reliability, necessitating only minimal maintenance and requiring no spares, testing or monitoring equipment.
"The GEM steam traps perform well over a wide range of loads", says John Weir: "In addition to saving down time with maintenance and replacement traps, the GEM traps have provided us with a short term payback through energy savings from reducing steam wastage".
He is particularly pleased that as the traps are individually sized, dependent on load and up and downstream pressures, if there are any problems GEM will replace the trap until the duty is correctly matched.
This is useful where exact loads may not be known.
Such has been the success of the GEM traps that they have been specified for the Kraft Foods leading research and development facility, also located at Banbury.
Available in a wide range of sizes for a full cross section of applications, the hardwearing GEM steam traps are manufactured from corrosion resistant stainless steel and are guaranteed for 10 years, obviating the need for repair or replacement.
The GEM steam traps provide a fast payback - on some processes within a matter of days - from reduced energy costs and increased equipment reliability due to a reduction in damaging condensate in steam systems.
In addition it improves product processing by enhancing the quality of steam and also reducing equipment repairs, downtime and replacement costs.
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