/ Magazine / ECOLAB, wash process efficiency and energy reduction through heat recovery systems

ECOLAB, wash process efficiency and energy reduction through heat recovery systems

Ecolab plays a pivotal role in spearheading technological and business innovation within its sector by continually focusing on climate impact and technological advancements. Textile Care division provides a complete end-to-end solution for industrial laundries helping them manage water & energy consumption, reduce their operational costs and environmental impact while delivering outstanding textile quality and wash performance.
Our approach allows us to design a tailor-made multi-step plan of improvement for laundries, that allows them, to handle water saving and energy consumption more effectively.

The first step is to work on wash process optimization and reduced water consumption, by applying innovative washing solutions and advanced machine set up. We rely only on chemistry that allows a faster rinsing but also on high level expertise to properly balance the overall water flow.

The second step is the direct re-use of process water. With filtration for high quality of the reused water combined with an intelligent processset up it is possible to save up to 50% of water, while improving both the quality of the water and the washing results, through moderate installation costs and short-term investments. The filtered water still contains “energy” and part of the chemicals, leading to enhanced wash quality and energy saving, too. This helps to reduce the operational costs and maintenance effort is minimal.

The ultimate step of water management is water recycling. This is achieved via effluent treatment and recirculation. As this treatment step is more cost intensive, it is crucial to first work on reducing and reusing the volumes of process water. Investment and running costs are significantly reduced. The latest innovation developed by Ecolab to help laundries reuse energy inside their facilities is EOP Air solution: this brand-new technology has been created to recover energy for heating water instead of heating the planet!

On the top of these advantages another added value of adopting Ecolab Exhausts Air Heat Recovery technology EOP AIR is the reduction of Greenhouse gas emissions and CO2 footprint, applying the system to different laundry equipment (ironers, finishers, dryers) in order to reclaim free energy for the washing process.

Nowadays saving natural resources is really demanding also for laundry business. Even washing already textiles at low temperature is no longer enough, so Ecolab invested in innovative chemistry, equipment and technologies to help laundries pushing the boundaries and getting ready to implement the ultimate “steam free laundry model”. To reach this level the laundry needs to go through the different steps, according to Ecolab pyramid of water & energy management. The EOP AIR exhaust air recovery solution can be applied to more than one equipment (ironers, dryers, tunnel finishers) to really push further the energy savings. An example is given by a healthcare laundry, washing 50 tons/day, that implemented EOP Air on 4 dryers and 2 ironers.

What’s is about?

Exhausts Air Heat Recovery System helps to deliver effective air-to-water heat transfer, recovering energy from exhaust air coming from dryers, ironers and tunnel finishers inside the laundry plant. The focus is to optimize operational costs while increasing productivity and enhancing sustainability.
EOP Air is connected to exhaust air pipe and fed by fresh or process water. The energy recovered is used to create warm water for washing textiles in tunnel or washing extractors inside the laundry and reduce the energy consumption needed for the wash process and drying time, by minimizing the energy used to dry textiles, due to warm rinsing. On average through Energy Optimizer Air, depending on the type of installation, it’s possible to save energy per kilogram of dried textile around 0,15 – 0,4 kWh/kg and the potential Total Energy savings for the laundry can be around 0,1 – 0,3 kWh/kg.

Thanks to this last implementation, following previous installations of other Ecolab water & energy solutions and low temperature washing process, the laundry was able to be prepared to the next step, steamfree laundry operation, to reduce the yearly energy consumption (kWh/ kg) by 30% and the yearly production of CO2 emissions by 811 tons. Ecolab expertise and knowledge of the process configuration, detergent chemistry and machine set up are the key factors that enable us to create industry innovations beyond the traditional washing and leverage profitability and growth for the business as well as vital resource conservation to a new dimension.

Ecolab

A trusted partner for millions of customers, Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) is a global sustainability leader offering water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and the resources vital to life. Building on a century of innovation, Ecolab has annual sales of $15 billion, employs more than 48,000 associates and operates in more than 170 countries around the world. The company delivers comprehensive science-based solutions, data-driven insights and world-class service to advance food safety, maintain clean and safe environments, and optimize water and energy use. Ecolab’s innovative solutions improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, life sciences, hospitality and industrial markets. www.ecolab.com

VENITE A VISITARCI A
TEXCARE INTERNATIONAL 2024,
FRANCOFORTE, 6-9 NOVEMBRE 2024

ECOLAB SRL
Via Trento 26
20871 Vimercate (MB), Italia
T. +39 03960501
www.ecolab.com

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