Cutting costs and going green
May 1st 2009 It is 50 years since thermal fluid first became popular in
general industrial process heating applications. Safety and
economies of lifetime operation are proven, as Chris
Horsley, MD of Babcock-Wanson, explains
Thermal fluid provides a flexible closed
loop, no-loss system, where there is
no boiler blowdown loss, no
condensate or trap loss, no water treatment
cost and no effluent disposal cost. Further
savings are made from reduced plant
management time and maintenance costs,
long plant and component life plus easily
controllable and flexible heat use.
Low standing losses and
compactness help save
valuable production space.
High system safety and ease
of operation are achieved due
to very low operating
pressure and the high
integrity of simplicity; low
cost throughout.
Simple solutions
Many, and perhaps the
majority, of industrial
applications of Babcock
Wanson systems are quite
simple, such as cookers and
continuous fryers, vessel and
tank heating and other mid to high
temperature processes that require consistent
and accurate control.
Additional uses of heat such as drying are
also frequently integrated into the thermal
fluid systems. Thermal fluid is particularly
popular where a new process line is being
installed and a thermal fluid system can be
fully integrated into the process controls.
This ensures precise levels of temperature
control leading to end product quality and
high plant productivity at low cost.
Typical fluids
Fluids used are generally of mineral origin
with good heat transfer qualities and long
service life. Available in food grade for
sensitive operations and various temperature
ranges to cover operations from, typically, -
50 to 360°C.
Going green
The most notable contribution to reduction
in global warming, Babcock Wanson
believes, is the substantial overall energy
saving over conventional heating methods
such as steam. In many cases, this is more
than 30 to 50%, which means a substantial
reduction in the products of combustion to
the atmosphere and much lower fuel bills for
the user. Depending on the size of plant, all
fuels and heat sources may be used, liquid or
gaseous, and waste energy as well.
Applications
There are many applications for Babcock
Wanson thermal fluid heating systems –
pharmaceuticals, chemical industry, storage
tanks, process tanks, metal finishing, and
food processing – and the company's
brochure The Practical Application of
Thermal Fluid Heating provides a useful
insight.
If you would like a copy of the brochure,
please send an email to Babcock Wanson:
info@babcock-wanson.co.uk More articles from Babcock Wanson UK Ltd: | 
