Water Filter Reduces Costs at Plastics Plant - Tekleen - #1

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*• Piiini.itiNKJi.i Mmmmm Water nitm^ costs at plastics plant m R ehrig Pacific Company is the world's largest manufacturer of returnable plastic crates and pallets for handling and transporting food and bever-age products. Rehrig aJso manufactures a full line of roll-out carts and bins for curbside collection of household waste and recyclables. The company opérâtes five manufacturing plants located in Califor-nia, Georgia, Kansas.Wisconsin and New Hampshire. Two years ago, Rehrig Pacifies Los Angeles plant was facing production problems caused by clogs in the water pipes used to cool the plastic during the manufacturing process. The cooling towers, located outside in the parking lot, were collecting dirt which was being carried inside the production plant by water that was running through valuable heat exchangers and condensers. "I had to stop production every other week for several hours to clean the lines," said Alfredo Romero, maintenance manager at Rehrig Pacifies Los Angeles plant. "One time, I lost a condenser when it got clogged with dirt, became impacted with ice, and broke off." Romero says a condenser costs about $5,000, but the downtime caused by fréquent cleanings was taking an even greater toi] on the com­pany s productivity. Rehrig Pacific installed one 4" water filter in the tower. Results were so positive that the company purchased seven more filters for the Los Angeles plant and additional filters for the Georgia, Kansas and Texas plants. Romero now says he no longer lias to worry about dirty water clogging the lines, destroying valuable equipment and interrupting the production process. Contamination of pipes and heat exchange sur­faces lowers the thermal efficiency of the System and wastes energy by requiring a higher flow rate of cool­ing water. Contamination also increases friction loss-es by inducing érosion and corrosion. Filtration is one of the simplest and most convenient ways to solve thèse problems. For more information on Tekleen filters, contact Automatic Filters, Inc., at 800-336-1943 or email info@tekleen.com.