Modernization of the cooling system for technological equipment at Messer Ukraine

Messer Ukraine is a part of ELME MESSER GAAS, a company with more than 20 years of experience in the production of industrial gases. ELME MESSER GAAS produces and supplies oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, inert welding gases, special gases, gases for medical use, a wide range of gas mixtures and equipment for gas applications.

Due to the additional workloads that arose during the pandemic and the growth of production plans, the company faced the issue of improving the reliability and ability to ensure trouble-free operation of its process equipment. The main loads in these conditions fall on the cooling system of compressor equipment that injects compressed air to produce the main technical gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and others.

The compressor equipment has a closed cooling circuit with treated process water as the coolant. The main components of the cooling system are pipelines, pumping units, heat exchangers and two fan cooling towers.

To ensure reliable operation of the equipment during peak loads in the warm season, Messer Ukraine specialists decided to integrate a backup fan cooling tower into the existing cooling system, which will increase the cooling potential and improve the reliability of the entire system.

The main requirement for the selection of the cooling tower was the need to ensure cooling of process water from a temperature of +35 ^°Cto +27 ^°Cat a flow rate of 500^m3/h, taking into account the wet thermometer temperature of +23 ^°C.

Several companies were considered to perform these works. The technical and commercial proposal of Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine LLC was the winning bid.

The specialists of Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine performed a full range of turnkey works – from inspection of the existing equipment at the enterprise, selection and delivery to installation and commissioning of the NIBA fan cooling tower (Turkey), which was integrated into the existing cooling system of the main process equipment.

The casing and other structural elements of NIBA cooling towers are made of fiberglass, which is not subject to corrosion and has a long service life. The warranty for the main elements of the equipment is up to 20 years.

To increase efficiency, the cooling tower is equipped with M-22 film-type sprinklers, and high-efficiency drip traps were installed to minimize water loss to the outlet. The water distribution system is fully adapted to the conditions of the existing water supply and chilled water disposal system.

The cooling tower operation is controlled by a control cabinet, which was also developed by DALGAKIRAN specialists in an individual design. The cabinet is built on the basis of a frequency converter manufactured by ABB, a metering unit manufactured by Krohne and has the ability to integrate data transmission into the customer’s overall ACS system.

The specialists of Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine LLC performed a full range of construction and installation works, including the manufacture of a support frame, adaptation of the inlet manifold, laying of power and signal cables, assembly, installation of the main equipment, and integration of the control system into the existing circuit. The above works were carried out exclusively in compliance with the technical standards and solutions provided for in the project documentation developed by the company’s specialists.

An indicator of the effectiveness of this project is the achievement of a temperature difference of more than 8 ^oC, which exceeds the stated indicators and ensures uninterrupted operation of the main process equipment even during peak ambient temperature loads.

Project manager – Denis Polishchuk

Chief Engineer of the project – Alexander Rodkin