We recently received an order from one of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers.
Excessive debris was being drawn into the Cooling Towers via the air intake fan and silencer duct. Unlike similar fans the Elta unit had a mesh guard on the inlet with the motor cowl standing proud of the guard.
Manufacturing the filter was not a problem but I did not understand the use of a cooling tower in the tyre manufacturing system. Surely it is all about heat to allow the rubber compound to be mixed, spooled and otherwise prepared for vulcanization. In fact, up to four different compounds can be used to create the base, core, tread and wing of the tyre plus additional extrusions for the sidewalls and inner liners.
It is a complex production system with a dependence upon accurate temperature control. But where does a cooling tower come into the operation?
Cooling is required for the removal of process heat from the rubber which is created during compound mixing, milling and extruding.
The energy for this cooling process represents almost 2% of ALL electricity used within the rubber industry and is required to cool the chamber walls of the mixers and drums plus the extrusion tool.
A recirculating water system takes the warm water to a wet cooling tower where it is then cooled by direct contact with the air. Using spray nozzles, the water is distributed over the pack and the evaporation of only 3 litres of water will reject 1kW of heat.
80% of the cooling load is managed in this way whilst the remaining 20% is achieved from sensible heat transfer to the ambient air.
So why did they need a filter on the inlet?
To maintain optimum efficiency of the cooling pack, the inlet and fill must be kept free of debris.
Until recently there was no option but to carry out frequent maintenance to ensure cleanliness. This is a time consuming and labour intensive task,
By reducing the debris, we will extend the time between cleans, keep the inlets cleaner and the water quality higher. Saving time, saving energy, saving money with RABScreen Cooling Tower Filters.
