A.Monforts Textilmaschinen has developed three variants of heat recovery systems for new Monforts ranges like the integrated heat recovery system, the ‘Energy Tower’ and the ‘Eco-Booster’.
According to Monforts, all three variants operate without the costly intermediate storage of the heat and savings is achieved by direct heating of fresh air.
“Finishing and coating of fabrics is among the most energy-intensive steps in the production of textiles,” a top official at German textile stenter producer A.Monforts Textilmaschinen said.
At a VDMA presentation, R&D head Hans-Peter Prinzen added, “Energy costs account for a considerable portion of production costs as significant heating energy is required for drying, finishing and fixing processes.”
“Using a heat recovery system, part of the energy in the exhaust air can be used in a heat exchanger to preheat the fresh air,” he was quoted as saying in a Monforts press release.
“Furthermore, the cooling of the exhaust air allows finishing agents, oils and waxes to recondense and be separated; further aiding the environment,” he informed.
“Today, integrated heat recovery systems form an integral part of the Monforts standard product range,” it stated.
Whilst new Monforts ranges generally have a heat recovery system that is integrated into the existing range, there are still a large number of older Monforts ranges in operation worldwide.
In the integrated heat recovery system, part of the thermal energy in the exhaust air is recovered in low-maintenance tubular heat exchangers so that the fresh air preheated to 90°C and then has to be heated to 150°C.
“As a result, the high drying temperature is reached more quickly and the energy consumption is reduced resulting in energy savings of as much as 30 per cent.” the German company noted.
The Energy Tower is a stand-alone solution for retrofitting in machines that do not have an integrated heat recovery system and can be fitted in older ranges, which are still in operation in many facilities.
The Energy Tower as a retrofit module with low-maintenance tubular heat exchangers can be flexibly deployed and functions even on third-party machines.
It can be connected to relaxation dryers, infrared predryers, hotflues, continuous dyeing ranges and condensation ranges or retrofitted on existing stenter ranges.
While the Eco-Booster is an automated variant in which the heat wheel cleans itself fully automatically during the ongoing finishing process, so there are no downtimes.
The Eco-Booster operates fully automatically and downtimes for maintenance are also eliminated, as cleaning is performed by an integrated high-pressure cleaner.
Compared with purely static heat exchanger modules, the new module cleans itself independently during operation.
“We calculate precisely as to by when the investment in a heat recovery system will pay for itself and customers are often amazed that a payback is achieved within two years,” Hans Peter remarked.
