A major pet-food manufacturer has selected 6 high-efficiency bespoke engineered Halifax Fan ‘Beaufort’ high volume, low speed fans to extract and filter half-a-million cubic metres of process fumes and air per hour as part of a substantial expansion project.
Despite the recession, the pet-food industry seems bomb-proof and Golden Acres Petfoods (GA) is in the process of expanding production of dry extruded pet-foods, from 1,500 tonnes per week, to 2,500 tonnes. Half of the multi-million cost of the expansion is being incurred in sustainable environmental aspects of the project, meeting and exceeding rigorous DEFRA regulations and ensuring the comfort of GA’s close neighbours in the nearby town.
GA, based on a 2500 acre site near Bretherton, Lancashire, is Europe’s largest manufacturer of premium dried pet-foods and is the largest pet-food manufacturer you’ve never heard of. This is because some 5,000 product lines are all branded under others’ names, many of them instantly recognisable. The company was founded as a farming diversification enterprise and maintains a strong environmental ethos.
Pet-food manufacture can be a smelly process and GA are going to incredible lengths to ensure that the cooking smells don’t trouble their neighbours and this means installing a powerful ventilation system with multi-stage scrubbing and filtering of the process fumes and factory air. The factory air will be changed 10 times per hour, and along with the process fumes will be passed through filters and wet scrubbers to remove particulates and then to a huge bio-filter to cleanse the air of any odours before exhausting it to the environment.
Pushing 500,000 m3 of air per hour takes an immense amount of power and GA have purchased 6 new Beaufort fans from Halifax Fan of Brighouse for the job. The two process gas extraction fans are rated at 250kW and 185kW and have been constructed with stainless steel impellers. These push the process gases through an air filter before the cleaned gases merge with the building ventilation air, powered by a 250kW FD fan. This air passes through wet scrubbers, pulled by the three 110kW boost fans, which then push the air through the bio filters, to be finally exhausted to the environment, smelling sweetly.
Having such a strong environmental stance, GA placed a high priority on the efficiency of the whole fan system. "We chose Halifax Fan for a number of reasons”, explained Ian Barnes, GA’s Project Manager. "We recognised Halifax as a reliable global player in the business and the fact that it was based more or less locally was a bonus. It was decisive that the fans were correctly sized for our application and bespoke engineered for optimum efficiency, which helped reduce motor ratings in one instance and will save a great deal of energy and carbon emissions in the long run. The point-of-sale consultancy the Halifax team provided was invaluable and they worked closely with us to engineer a complete solution that included monitoring airflows and duct pressures and ensured selection of the right materials for the fan impellers and casings”
The fans will be speed controlled by inverter drives and Halifax supplied 6 ABB IE3 cage induction motors. These high efficiency motors are of a much higher build quality than standard machines, with non-conducting bearings and insulation properties which will ensure longer service life when inverter driven. GA accepted there was a premium price for the six motors but their enhanced efficiency will save an estimated £26,000 per year, paying back the price premium within 3 years and will help to reduce Golden Acre’s carbon footprint.
The fan and motor assemblies were fully tested in-house at Halifax Fan’s factory in Brighouse before despatch to site where the three extract fans will be housed in a purpose built fan room which is being built around them. Halifax Fan will also provide engineering assistance during final installation and commissioning.
Ian Barnes again "Halifax Fan stood out from its competitors. The sales and engineering team’s expertise from the outset has enabled us to obtain a custom designed, efficient and reliable fan solution, at the right price, and we’re confident we can rely on their local back-up as and when we need it.”