Manufacturers and laminators in the packaging industry could cut water cooling costs by up to 50% by adopting the latest copper shelled chill roll technology, according to test results obtained by BEP Surface Technologies. The claim is based on cooling energy calculations undertaken in Sweden by refrigeration engineering consultancy Sollie and verified by engineers in the UK.
Refrigeration engineers have calculated that a 1degC increase in cooling water temperature delivers a 5% saving in energy. In practice this means that if a steel shell chill roll operates at 10degC and copper shelled chill roll at 20degC, the potential exists to cut refrigeration costs by up to 50%. Another significant benefit of operating rolls at 20degC rather than 10degC is that in warmer climates condensation does not build up on the cold ends of the roll, so waste is minimised.
Laminating line speeds of up to 850m/min plus are also achievable with copper shelled rolls, whereas a steel roll runs at around 400m/min because this is the limit at which it can extract sufficient heat from the PE to make it set.
The dramatic increase in efficiency is due to the thermal coefficient of heat transfer of copper, which is 10 times that of steel. In effect this means that during the time the copper shell is in contact with the PE it can absorb up to 10 times more heat than a steel roll thus reducing the contact time. Quality is also reported to be enhanced.
Based on these findings, BEP says its copper shelled chill rolls have the capability to produce more product for the same floor space, using less energy and can solve historical condensate problems.
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