Senoplast

In Piesendorf (Austria), Senoplast produces coextruded semi-finished plastic for thermoforming applications for various industries. The thermal extrusion process emits large amounts of heat. This high internal combined with external heat load results in uncomfortable working conditions for the employees. To ensure a fresh, healthy, and comfortable working environment for the employees and stable production temperatures all year round, five IntrCooll units with up to 126 000 m³/h fresh air capacity are installed by Oxycom’s Austrian partner INFRANORM^®. After the installation, Senoplast could achieve high air quality, sustainable cooling, heating, and ventilation along with 85 tons reduction in CO₂. Senoplast already relies on Oxycom’s innovative, economical, and sustainable climate control system at its production site in Mexico.  

The case

Senoplast Klepsch & Co. GmbH is the international technology leader in the highly complex production process of co-extrusion. Various thermoplastics are processed into high-quality films and sheets in this production process. In several locations in Austria, Mexico, and China, 60 000 tons of Sesosan^® products are produced annually.  The corporate brand name Senosan^® stands for Senoplast’s mission of “Quality and innovation combined with environmental awareness and the knowledge that people are at the center of the corporate culture!”.

To fulfill this mission, the company relies on regional suppliers with CO₂-neutral energy production for its energy supply. In addition, Senoplast is always looking for possible options to make production even more sustainable with a high utilization rate of waste heat.

Oxycom’s climate control solution for Senoplast’s CO₂-neutral mission and innovative plastics production processes

Senoplast, focused on sustainability and innovation, was looking for a sustainable and highly efficient alternative to traditional air conditioners for cooling its production halls. For this purpose, Senoplast became aware of the modular system of Oxycom’s unique climate control solution, IntrCooll.

Draft-free air intake with textile air inlets in the production area.

During the project discussions, it became apparent that the requirements were more complex than a simple air conditioning system. For example, due to exhaust systems in production, a constant amount of fresh air must be brought into the hall to have the overpressure, but without causing high cooling costs in summer or high heating costs in winter. 

The mill cellar operated with negative pressure for recycling the production waste.

In the basement of the building, there is a mill cellar for recycling production waste which generates a high amount of dust. Since the two premises are connected, a vacuum must be maintained in this room despite the extraction and filtration of the mill system, which prevents dust from being carried over into production. Oxycom and its partner INFRANORM^® have vast experience in finding a holistic solution for such complex challenges. Thanks to its adaptability and flexibility, Oxycom's climate control has been proven to be the optimal solution for tackling these challenges.

Four-season solution for high indoor air quality and stable working temperature in the halls

Oxycom’s climate control solution provides a comfortable working environment and constant temperatures to produce semi-finish plastic products. Especially in the summer, climate control systems show their strengths with innovative cooling technology. 

In addition to the optimum temperatures in the various hall areas, the air quality is also very high. The critical factor is the high fresh air flow rate of up to 112 000 m³/h in the production hall and 126 000 m³/h in the complete building. The innovative two-stage evaporative cooling technology replaces the conventional chillers in the building with a cooling capacity of more than 740 kW. Nevertheless, the operating costs and CO₂ emissions are reduced by more than 80% compared to conventional chillers. 

Exterior view of the Senoplast, Austria.

In winter, direct heat recovery prevents heat losses. Thus, warm air is extracted directly from the heat source. The efficient system can therefore supply several thousand cubic meters of fresh air to the hall without incurring high heating costs. Heat recovery feeds excess energy into the existing heat source. Thus, benefiting the customers of the district heating network operated by Senoplast as part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities. 

Statements:

Pius Geisler, Production Manager, Senoplast

"Employees benefit from a comfortable environment with pleasant summer and winter temperatures. The large volumes of fresh air reduce the plastic smell even in winter. The cooling in summer works very well. It creates a highly productive environment for employees and machines, and it helps us to increase the production output."

Michael Herzog, Project Manager, Senoplast

"The system ensures sustainable use of our resources and low operating costs. Thus, the operational costs could be reduced by 80% compared to a conventional system. The handling and installation were very satisfactory from our side. Above all, Infranorm's flexibility should be mentioned."

Qualitative and quantitative improvements:

Oxycom’s two-stage evaporative cooling solution performs tremendously compared to conventional cooling systems. 

82% less Co₂ emissions, 80% less cooling costs in summer, 100% prevention of ventilation heat losses, and 100% elimination of refrigerants that are harmful to the climate. All these parameters ensure low energy costs and also CO₂ emissions reduction. According to DGBC, the IntrCooll units are already PARIS PROOF. They already meet the criteria of the UN Climate Change Convention of Paris for the year 2050. Implementing the measures will save 85 tons of CO2 annually compared to conventional solutions.

• Saves 82% of energy costs
• Saves 82% of CO2 emissions
• Saves 85 tons of CO2 emissions
• Saves 80% of operating costs
• 100% elimination of climate-damaging refrigerants
• Hygiene through VDI 6022 certification
• Adjustable supply air temperature and year-round operation with an integrated heating system
• Limitation of room humidity and prevention of condensation by dew point monitoring
• Fresh air cooling instead of recirculated room air