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We are committed to driving innovation and reducing energy costs for our clients. We also ensure the long-term well-being of our planet.
Through our dedication to eco-friendly practices and cutting-edge technology, we strive to deliver energy-efficient solutions. These solutions not only meet but exceed the needs of our customers, significantly contributing to a more sustainable future.
Steam serves as an efficient and potent energy medium employed in industries across the globe for the production of various goods, ranging from food and chemicals to paper and construction materials.
A significant portion of our electricity is generated by steam-electric power plants, constituting approximately 86% of total electric generation. Among these power sources, coal-fired plants currently account for 37% of global electricity production. While gas and renewables each contribute 24% with nuclear power at 11%, and oil at 4%.
Certain global industry players have successfully converted several full-scale laundries. This has lead to a remarkable 20% reduction in steam consumption and, consequently, reduced make-up water demands.
As sutainability becomes increasingly important, one of the world’s leading petrochemical brands has integrated ECOFLOW. Venturi Orifice steam traps have become part of their routine practices. Tests demonstrated a 20% energy savings across their entire facility.
A multinational tyre manufacturer used to encounter an annual failure rate of more than 20% among the mechanical steam traps installed on their tyre presses. This necessitated an ongoing maintenance program that involved the continuous procurement and replacement of these malfunctioning traps within the plant. However, with the implementation of the ECOFLOW Venturi Orifice technology, these failures have been entirely eradicated.
Levaco collaborated with a university to test traditional steam traps against ECOFLOW Venturi Orifice steam trap. The findings showed significant benefits: approximately 14% cycle time reduction, saving 28,000 kWh annually, and cutting CO2 emissions by 5,923 tonnes per year.
Over a decade ago, a prominent university hospital transitioned to Venturi Orifice technology after experiencing poor reliability with mechanical steam traps in their underground service tunnels. Today, not only has this switch improved reliability, but it has also enhanced safety for the maintenance team. The team no longer need to replace failed mechanical traps in the underground tunnels. Consequently, the hospital has discontinued the purchase of mechanical traps for the entire hospital.
At the regional brewery, the bottle washing equipment faced reliability issues due to leakage in mechanical steam traps. As a solution, all mechanical steam traps were replaced with Venturi orifice technology. That transformation eradicated downtime, enhanced efficiency, decreased CO2 emissions, and reduced energy expenses.
In a challenging world market, businesses are being required to analyse not simply economic success but also view their wider socioeconomic impact.
More and more regulations and standards such as ISO 14001, require companies to be certified as having an environmental management system. Continuous improvement and evidence of how practically a company is reducing its environmental impact are needed.
Steam is an efficient and effective energy medium which is used in industry worldwide to produce everything, from food to chemicals, to paper and building materials.
Additionally, most electric power is produced by steam-electric power plants, which produce about 86% of all electric generation. Coal-fuelled power plants currently fuel 37% of global electricity, with gas and renewables fuelling 24% each, with Nuclear 11% and oil 4%.
Approximate CO2 emission values for various fuels:
* Gas per kWh – 0.21kg CO2 equivalent
* Coal per kWh – 0.3 -0.5kg CO2 equivalent (dependent upon grade)
* Fuel oil per kWh – 0.29kg CO2 equivalent
Various industry sectors, such as food processing, brewing & beverage, dairy, pharmaceuticals, chemicals & building materials, require steam in their processes. Consumers don’t often realise it but the products we use daily, often go through processes utilising high temperatures.
You might start the day with a cup of coffee. The coffee beans are roasted by the producer – and this roasting is typically done by using steam to heat up the roasting oven. If you pour some milk into your coffee – the pasteurisation process needed to stabilise the milk and some juices requires steam, too. The paper cup you drink from has been manufactured from a paper plant using steam heated rollers. The plastic lining in your paper cup, the produce of a chemical process derived from a cracking tower in a petrochemical refinery – it all needs steam. We use a lot of industrially processed or manufactured products all the time and we hardly ever think about the energy needed to make them.
Typically, the factories producing the goods mentioned above are relatively small. There is no “dairy of the UK” or “beer brewery of Germany”, but many smaller, more local facilities. Yet they do represent a vast amount of the energy we consume. According to the German Energy Agency report, process heat is the most energy intensive industrial application covering 64% of total final energy consumption. Of this total, it is estimated that process steam (between 100 and 500 °C) accounts for 21% of industrial final energy consumption in the EU.
The CO2 equivalent emissions level of steam generation depends upon; fuel type and composition, boiler efficiency, feedwater temperature and steam pressure. We can see from above that the combustion of fossil fuels generates significant carbon emissions. According to the ASME Steam Tables, 2,500 kJ of energy is required to produce 1 kg of 1,000 kPa saturated steam. This equates to 722 KwH per tonne of steam generated. Assuming gas is the consumable fuel this produces a CO2 equivalent emissions value of 151 kg/h. In practice an industrial user may produce several tonnes of steam per hour, multiplying the emissions accordingly.
Depending upon the steam system all or some of the steam generated will be returned to the boiler house through the steam traps. The percentage returned will reflect the total efficiency of the system. If the system is closed (i.e. all the condensate is returned via steam traps to the boiler) and perfectly efficient, we would expect a 100% return of the collected condensate. Unfortunately, system losses mean that steam is lost throughout the process.
One of the main contributory factors for steam losses is failed mechanical steam traps. The manufacturers themselves estimate that up to 10% of all installed mechanical traps fail on an annual basis. Experience and practical testing have shown that venturi orifice traps reduce steam losses from 10 – 30% compared to conventional mechanical traps.
In the above example, a plant generating 5 tonnes of steam at 10 bar, operating 60 hours a week could reduce carbon emissions between 200 – 600 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum.
Check out your potential savings – contact us to discuss your requirements today.
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