Autofil Worldwide reports £37,000 energy savings 23 June 2014

Textiles manufacturer Autofil Worldwide is reporting average cost savings of £37,000 a year and annual CO2 emissions reduced by 260,000 tonnes since commissioning Atlas Copco's air compressor energy recovery technology.

The firm, which produces polyester yarns at its Sherwood Park, Nottingham, plant for the automotive sector, is using the recovered heat to raise the temperature of its process water.

Autofil engineering and IT manager Steve Charlton explains that the Atlas Copco system is controlled by an ES 360 optimiser, and comprises 12 compressors, including three GA 160+ units and a GA 250 compressor connected to a stand-alone ER-S5 energy recovery unit.

He says that by-product heat from the GA 250 compressor is used to pre-heat process water to 50°C, rather than relying on additional gas power. The ER-S5 unit ensures that hot oil from the air end is diverted to a stainless steel plate heat exchanger, where it is transferred to water on the other side.

Based on the compressor running for 8,424 hours per year, the combination of the GA 250 and ER-S5 unit is recovering more than 1.4 million KWh of energy – equating to £37,096 worth of conventional fuel burning.

"Atlas Copco's Compressor Technique Service team has been able to provide sustainable energy-saving solutions – notably the introduction of their ES 360 optimiser controller, which matches supply to demand," comments Charlton.

"Now we have added an energy recovery unit to further optimise the installation," he adds.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Atlas Copco Compressors

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