Following reports UK greenhouse gas emissions have risen year-on-year, Alfa Laval has launched its latest, most sustainable T21 gasketed plate heat exchanger (GPHE) to help energy-intensive facilities and plants save tons of carbon dioxide through highly efficient cooling and minimized energy consumption.
According to a June 2023 report from the Office for National Statistics, UK greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3% to just over 502 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent between 2020 and 2021. These findings followed an announcement from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority declaring a 2.4% annual increase in CO2 emissions covered by the ETS in 2022–up 2.7 million tons from 2021 to 110.6 million tons in total.
Efficient plate heat exchanger
Advanced, efficient plate heat exchanger technologies such as the T21 will be key to this
These figures, alongside tightening sustainability legislation, underline the impact reviewing existing process equipment and specification processes could have on power-hungry plants and facilities.
According to Gemma Reeves, Business Unit Manager for Heat Transfer at Alfa Laval, sector sustainability strategies should be expanded to focus on minimizing energy use and realizing heat recovery opportunities. Advanced, efficient plate heat exchanger technologies such as the T21 will be key to this.
pressure on Power-intensive sectors
“Energy efficiency can account for more than 40% of emissions reductions in the next 20 years and will be crucial to achieving net zero,” she says.
“Considering 50% of today’s potential for energy savings comes from industry, and 30% can be achieved from buildings, this puts pressure on power-intensive sectors to decarbonize. For stakeholders at these sites, the selection of more efficient process equipment can provide an immediate way to reduce carbon footprints while optimizing performance."
District heating schemes
Harnessing and reusing these otherwise wasted process by-products will be vital to emissions"
Gemma Reeves added, “For example, our new T21’s upgraded plates increase overall thermal efficiency, and its flexible configuration means its heat transfer area can be modified, making it suitable for a wide range of applications across plants looking to decarbonize. Similarly, it allows for more effective recovery of waste heat, which can be redeployed for other site processes or for use in other systems such as district heating schemes."
"Harnessing and reusing these otherwise wasted process by-products will be crucial to emissions reduction, so I would urge facility and plant managers to explore solutions that will allow them to do so effectively and efficiently, including the T21.”
CurveFlow™ technology
The new T21 includes Alfa Laval’s energy-driven patented efficiency features, including CurveFlow™ distribution area technology to improve media flow and minimize fouling risks, alongside the company’s unique OmegaPort™, which further enhances flow and thermal efficiency.
T21 includes the option to optimize the unit efficiency with Alfa Laval’s FlexFlow™ plate design
The T21 also incorporates the possibility to further optimize the unit efficiency with Alfa Laval’s FlexFlow™ plate design, which uses asymmetric channels to optimize pressure drop utilization and make additional improvements to thermal efficiency when unequal flows are in play.
performance and equipment specification
“GPHEs are often crucial to many facility processes, so ensuring the best possible performance and equipment specification is a must for energy-intensive plants,” Gemma concludes.
“Collaboration across the supply chain will be required to ensure power consumption can be reduced and operators’ decarbonization journeys remain on track. Specifying effective solutions such as the T21 will be crucial to this, so it is vital to site decision-makers work in close partnership with suppliers to identify opportunities where upgraded equipment can help turn potential efficiencies into reality.”