Included into the energy saving program, Array Plastics has installed at Folgueroles plant an adiabatic aerorefrigeration system to cool down the water of the injection machines hydraulic circuits. The project has 2 steps. Frist, the cooling circuit has been splitted into 2 circuits: one for the mould cooling and another for the machines’ hydraulic circuits. Second, on the roof of the building, an adiabatic aerorefrigerator has been installed. This aerorefrigerator keeps the temperature of the cooling water of the hydraulic circuits constantly under 30ºC almost all year long.
When ambient air temperature is under about 30ºC, the aerorefrigerator works as a dry cooling system, forcing ambient air to pass through the water panels. When ambient air temperature rises above the set temperature, the system switches to adiabatic, applying a liquid water curtain inside the cooling chamber, wetting the air almost up to saturation point. In this way, evaporation heat is used to cool down the water under ambient temperature.
This investment, cofinanced by European funds, has to give the company important savings in terms of electric power consumption and therefore reduce its environmental impact.