Supplier of second-life household disposables CeDo has just completed a programme of energy saving measures that are set to save the company some 10% in energy costs at its Telford, UK, manufacturing site.
CeDo Telford is one of the largest film blowing operations in the UK, with a total of 43 extrusion machines and each one has been subject to an intensive review of its energy consumption and performance.
Group chief executive David Pearce says the measures which have been successfully modelled and implemented in Telford will now be available for use in other CeDo manufacturing sites across the world.
The Telford operation first made an ‘energy map’ of its business activities and identified the main areas of energy consumption. Firstly, attention was paid to the incoming materials used in processing. Utilisation of lower energy materials enabled CeDo to reduce the corresponding processing cost. Lower energy calcium carbonate materials feature strongly in CeDo's EcoMin range of bin liners,
David Brookes, technical manager, says: "Calcium carbonate has a thermal conductivity five times greater than the polyethylene we displace. Similarly, the calcium carbonate doesn't melt at PE processing temperatures. These two factors have been found to reduce the processing energy/tonne of product produced by up to 10%".
CeDo Telford also paid a good deal of attention to motor selection which, says Mr Merricks, “is a critical part in any energy reduction programme. On our extruders, for example, we are currently trialling state of the art drive systems which deliver both an energy saving and a maintenance saving.”
The film conversion equipment has also been retrofitted with the latest high efficiency drive motors to deliver a further energy saving, and a similar approach has been taken with the company’s chillers, compressors and gas supply.
Water usage also came under the spotlight. “By experimenting with various elements of process control we have been able to significantly increase the operating temperature of our water supply within the factory, yielding additional savings from reduced levels of cooling required, Mr Merricks continues. “Lighting has also been optimised.
CeDo is targeting an annual saving of some £150,000 from these energy saving measures.
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