A well known woollen carpet and upholstery yarn manufacturer has replaced old inefficient traditional firetube boilers with modern Clayton Steam Generators to improve energy efficiency and increase output.
Steam is a vital part of the production process and it is used to heat-set the yarn to give it the characteristic colour, texture and stability.
Heat setting is also said to impart memory to the woollen yarn so that it always returns to its original form and prevents colour from fading - essential properties of quality carpet.
The production facility runs 24 hours per day throughout the year and the two Clayton Steam Generators operate in duty/standby mode which gives continuity and flexibility of the steam supply to the fast moving process. The low fuel consumption of the new units has reduced running costs and lowered carbon emissions at the plant.
The higher efficiency of the Clayton design is due to the principle of operation which is much different from the conventional types of firetube steam boiler.
In a Clayton Steam Generator the steam is formed by pumping water through a heated helical coiled steel pipe. This results in rapid steam formation and efficient heat transfer. Unlike the firetube boiler design the Clayton Steam Generator does not store a large quantity of hot water under pressure and it is therefore much smaller in size and weight so there is also less mass of water and steel that needs to be heated up before steam is produced.
An added benefit of the design is that the steam is of high quality since it is virtually dry saturated and this makes it ideal for the heat-setting technique.
When the standby unit is not required it is switched off but it will automatically stir into action when required since the start time is only five minutes from a completely cold condition. By comparison firetube boilers can take over two hours to heat up from cold and the old standby boiler at the mill had to be kept warm all of the time, and consuming fuel, just in case is was needed.
The space required for the new Clayton Steam Generators is one quarter of room needed for the old boilers and the new steam system is housed in a modern plant room near to the point of use.
Clayton equipment has an enviable reputation for reliability and the Clayton Steam Generators at the plant are regularly inspected by Claytons own engineers who are dedicated trained specialists.
Clayton is a global manufacturer of industrial steam solutions. European production and engineering have been carried out since 1961 in Bornem, Belgium, where Clayton of Belgium serves as the EMEA headquarters and main production hub for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The global headquarters of the Clayton Group is located in California, with additional production facilities in Mexico and Europe, and subsidiaries in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
WORK SAFETY
Discover more
