Compact Exchangers Save Space At Scott Bader

Spirax Sarco has supplied four plate heat exchange packages worth over £70 000 to polymer manufacturer Scott Bader - using a fraction of the space needed for more traditional heat exchangers.

The packages enable Scott Bader to control the temperature of new process vessels in a fraction of the space needed for more traditional heat exchangers.

Scott Bader recently extended its facilities near Wellingborough in Northamptonshire to increase production to 12 000 tonnes per annum of polymer emulsion.

The extension is part of expansion plans at the company, whose polymer products are used in a variety of paints, adhesives and coatings.

The latest facilities include four process vessels - two blenders and two reactors - each of which is equipped with a temperature control system that uses oil to heat or cool the vessel as required.

The Spirax Sarco packages ensure that the heat transfer oil is at the right temperature to do the job.

Each package comprises two plate heat exchangers.

One exchanger uses steam to heat the oil while the other cools it down using an industrial coolant.

The duties of the various exchangers range from 1 000 kW heating and 600 kW cooling on the skid with the heaviest duty, down to 250 kW heating and 150 kW cooling for the lightest.

"We're talking about transferring a lot of energy," says Scott Bader engineering manager Bob Savage.

"We looked at using traditional shell and tube exchangers but they'd have had to be really large - we're talking mammoth.

It's a new building with plenty of space at the moment but we don't want to waste it." Spirax Sarco supplied the packages pre-assembled and skid-mounted for trouble-free installation.

The units each have a footprint no greater than 1m by 2m.

Three of them are only 1.5m high, while the fourth is taller at just over 2m.

According to Mr Savage, delivery and installation went very well and the units have been running smoothly since they started up earlier this year.

He adds that Scott Bader plans to use the same type of equipment in any future expansions.

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