Technology plus good housekeeping

ll laundries need to make sure that they are using energy and natural resources efficiently and much of manufacturers’ research and development has been focussed on producing equipment and systems to achieve this.

There is a strong link between water and energy consumption and so projects to improve efficiency will usually cover both resources.

Kathrin Scheffel, marketing director at the Jensen Group, says the first step in any project is to measure the water and energy use, first for the whole laundry and then for individual processes – washing, drying and ironing.

The next step is to make sure that machines are used at full capacity. Make sure that production flows smoothly, avoid machine stops and long wait times between processes.

Wim Demeyer, export manager at Lapauw believes that the first stage is to look at the energy source.

Ironers are “the greedy guts” of the laundry in their energy use. Gas heating is much more efficient than steam and Lapauw ironers are designed so that a gas model fits the same footprint as one of the company’s steam ironers.

Demeyer also stresses the importance of maintenance. Keep chests clean and replace padding when needed. He adds that relatively small investments such as adding a variable-speed drive to an older ironer can result in considerable savings.

Laundries with gas ironers could consider Lapauw’s Aircup system for recovering heat from smoke gasses. It can be retrofitted to any of the company’s gas ironers and can cut energy use by around 5%.

Energy efficiency has been the focus of Lapauw’s research and development for around 15 years. The introduction of the gas-heated chest ironer in 1994 represented the first stage of its energy saving development.

The second phase brought in a microprocessor-controlled, “smart” modulating gas burner and the Aircup smoke gas heat recovery system.?This reduced energy use to 1.04kWh for each litre of water removed from the linen.

These two developments were bought together in the 4000XL gas-heated ironer. In 2007, this ironer was listed as an Eco Friendly design by the Belgian Agency for Ecology.

Kannegiesser identifies two stages to maximise efficiency. First reduce consumption for each machine and each process. Second, consider recycling

As an example of the energy optimised machine, the company cites its Jet tunnel washer where most of the water used in the main wash is extracted before the rinse. This reduces the rinse stage, saving both water and energy. Other optimised machines include the PowerPress and the PowerSpin. These have high standards of moisture extraction and therefore reduce subsequent time in the dryer. The company’s PowerDry transfer dryers are equipped with energy air control, energy recovery systems and the Infratouch system – all of which maximise efficency.

After looking at individual areas, and examining each process, the next stage is to look at the whole laundry. The key here, says Kannegiesser, is to integrate energy management systems to link individual machines.

For example ironers and tunnel finishers exhaust hot air. Using a condensation heat-exchanger, isolated warm water tank and “intelligent” process controls, energy can be extracted from the exhaust air and used to heat fresh water for the washers.

A follow-up stage is just as important as the initial implementation of energy saving projects. Philip Poeth, group energy manager for Christeyns, says that water and energy saving systems are often installed at the same time and seen as a one-off effort but laundries should make time and people available to check the systems on a regular basis.

Separate gas and water meters should be installed on each machine to monitor efficiency. Poeth also stresses the importance of good housekeeping, which can improve energy efficiency by 5 –15%.

All water, steam and compressed air leaks should be fixed.

Routine maintenance tasks such as cleaning steam registers, removing lint from dryers and checking steam traps on ironers should be carried out regularly. Laundry equipment should be dusted weekly.

Ecolab says that to save energy, laundries should aim to cut the amount used in each process and to recycle energy wherever possible.

The main costs in any laundry are those for water, energy and steam. Therefore wash processes should be designed to use low temperatures and minimum water while still producing a good result and cutting re-wash levels.

This will bring direct savings in all three areas and reduce labour and maintenance costs.

Ecolab then advises looking at ways of re-using the water and energy to minimise the amount of “waste” that goes to the drain. This can be done by the direct re-use of water or by using specialist equipment that will trap and recycle the energy in this warm waste-water.

While stressing the importance of good housekeeping and monitoring, manufacturers have also focussed much of their research in developing technology that will improve efficiency.

Taking the view that laundries needed to look at their whole operation, Jensen introduced its Clean-Tech concept.

This is based on the use of gas rather than steam and the company can equip a complete laundry with gas-heated machines to replace steam-heated equipment.

Jensen says that laundries that have used steam throughout their production can reduce energy use by about 50% by going steam-free.

The Clean-Tech concept includes the Senking Universal gas tunnel, gas-fired dryers, the Jenroll EXPG gas heated ironers and the Omega Pro gas tunnel finishers.

Jensen also recognises the benefits of recycling and has a family of heat-exchangers such as the Spiraliser for tunnel washers, which saves around 30% energy and the Reco-Cross for dryers which saves around 35%.

Jensen adds that its high-pressure press can reduce moisture in the linen and this cuts drying time, leading to around 20% savings.

Kannegiesser’s research and development has resulted in two main energy-saving innovations.

The Jet technology used in its tunnel washer lowers water, energy and chemical consumption and is available in two versions, the Jet centrifuge and the Jet press.

The Energy Management System uses a condensation heat-exchanger to extract moisture from the warm exhaust air.

The condensation process is self-cleaning so particles of ironer wax and lint are washed away and the fresh water produced in this way is heated in the exchanger.

The system works in conjunction with a water management system that collects and filters waste-water from the tunnel washer and washer-extractors.

Energy management is a concern for the commercial and OPL sectors as well as for larger industrial and textile rental laundries.

Marc Caralt, product manager for commercial laundry at Girbau says that the wash is fundamental to the whole laundry process and that the washer’s consumption is drastically reduced by programming the machine correctly.

This means that every variable in the wash should be programmable so that each load can be programmed precisely.

Girbau’s Series 6 machines with the Inteli control system have established a reputation for saving energy by precise control. The company has now increased that precision by applying IMT software to the range, which also makes programming the machine much easier.

The company has also introduced a Just in Load option for its washers. This regulates water and chemicals to suit the load and by using these more precisely reduces energy use.

Ecolab’s textile care division has products, systems and solutions for both commercial laundries and textile rental/ industrial laundry operations. The company can carry out energy and water audits and use these as a basis for developing energy saving solutions that are specific to the customer. It has a range of systems to use to provide such solutions. Examples include the Ecolab PERFomance Smart system which combines expertise in processing with efficient use of detergent and can save both water and energy. Its Energy Optimiser is an integrated system based on the Aquavent heat-exchanger and recycling of waste water for rinsing creating a better balance in energy use. This system can save up to 50% energy during the tunnel washer process and up to 20% in drying and finishing.

Within its laundry technology division, Christeyns provides customers with systems for saving both water and energy.

The latest development, Zero-Steam allows laundries to be built without a boiler room, so eliminating an expensive and energy intensive heat source. Steam-X recovers flash steam from condensate and can reduce energy use. It can also provide additional steam production capacity allowing for expansion without the need to extend the boiler house.

Heat-X, Rotor and Heat-X Energy all use the heat-exchanger principle to recover energy from waste-water. The systems can be used independently or integrated into a design that serves a group of machines.