Product category:
Energy management; Boiler control
News Release from: Spirax Sarco | Subject: EasiHeat
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 February 2006
Tate and Lyle saves energy with Spirax
Sarco
A Spirax Sarco EasiHeat engineered system has helped Tate and Lyle to reduce energy costs significantly at its Manchester facility, and increase the production capability
A Spirax Sarco EasiHeat engineered system has helped Tate and Lyle to reduce energy costs significantly at its Manchester facility The EasiHeat was installed as part of a bigger project that included a new boiler
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 17 May 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Heating system in tune with a Concert Hall
A refurbished concert hall, which will provide world-class rehearsal and performance facilities for the University of Leeds, is to be heated by a Spirax Sarco Engineered System
L'Oreal keeps just as warm with half the heating
Two Spirax Sarco EasiHeat Engineered Systems have replaced a single large hot water boiler to provide space heating at the L'Oreal factory in Wales: each with half the capacity, only one has been used
The whole project is expected to pay for itself within about two years, with early estimates suggesting that the EasiHeat itself will achieve a payback of less than 12 months.
"It's early days, but we know we're saving money," says Mr Alan James, Project Engineer, Tate and Lyle.
The EasiHeat steam-to-hot water package also enables Tate and Lyle to cope with peaks in demand for liquid sugar that it could not previously meet.
Further reading
Engineered systems cut Hospital heating bills
Replacing five shell and tube calorifiers has saved more than GBP3000 pa, improved the supply of hot water to the kitchen and reduced maintenance at Stafford General Hospital
New integrated flowmeter for steam applications
Spirax Sarco has launched Diva, the first spring-loaded variable area flowmeter to integrate a flow sensing device, temperature sensor, connection accessories and flow computer into a compact unit
The facility in Trafford Park, Manchester, produces fifteen-tonne batches of liquid sugar for delivery by road tanker.
The company previously used three electric boilers to fill a 60-tonne storage tank with hot water overnight, ready to supply the next day's production process.
"We had 60 tonnes for use each day, but if someone rang up and asked for extra, we couldn't do it because it took too long to heat the water up," says Mr James.
Electricity was a convenient but expensive option for heating the water, the original design dating from back to an era when energy usage was not a major design factor.
Their initial idea was to carry on heating the water overnight using a new stainless steel heating coil fitted inside the hot water storage tank and supplied with steam from a new boiler.
But this proposal fell foul of health and safety legislation.
"The PM5 regulations meant we couldn't run the boiler unmanned because there's nobody on site overnight, so we couldn't use that time to heat the water," said Mr James.
"That's when I called in Spirax Sarco".
The Spirax Sarco solution was the EasiHeat system, which supplies up to 5 tonnes of instantaneous hot water per hour, eliminating the need to run the boiler to heat water overnight.
The new steam boiler is switched on at the start of each day and in just 20 minutes there is enough hot water to begin processing sugar.
"We're no longer limited by the capacity of the hot water tank," says Mr James: "We can expand production to meet demand".
The process dissolves solid sugar in 90C water and cools the resulting liquid sugar solution to 30C prior to shipping.
During the sugar cooling, fresh intake water is heated to 40C, which is then fed to the EasiHeat system where the system internal plate heat exchanger heats it to 90C to supply the process.
The Liverpool based Tate and Lyle engineering team who carried out the project did so as part of their service to internal and external clients.
"The results following 6 months of production are pleasing," says Mr James.
• Spirax Sarco: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
