Boiling down energy costs
May 1st 2007 GP Burners, part of the Wellman Group, has been
instrumental in helping Syngenta in achieving a 26%
reduction in energy consumption by its boiler plant
Twelve Wellman Robey boilers fitted
with GP burners have been
converted to modular firing and are
fully efficiency optimised.
Over the past couple of years
Syngenta's International Research Centre
at Jealott's Hill has embarked on an
energy efficiency drive to counteract the
significant rise in fuel prices that we have
all experienced. In 2004 the site used 40
million kWh of gas and 32 million kWh of
electricity. As a direct result of a targeted
approach to managing the way energy is
consumed on the site these
consumptions have been reduced to 29
million kWh and 24 million kWh
respectively.
Syngenta is a world-leading
agribusiness committed to sustainable
agriculture through innovative research
and technology. The company is a leader
in crop protection and operates in over 90
countries. The Jealott's Hill site was
established in 1927 as a centre for
research and the demonstration of new
farming methods. The site now comprises
over 70,000m2 of research buildings
including glasshouses, laboratories and
offices.
The energy management initiative
reviewed and analysed the operation of
the building services efficiency as well as
engaging with end users to enlist their
help to contribute to the initiative.
Operational running times of services such
as ventilation and heating systems were
aligned to specific sequential business
needs and more elaborate demand led
control strategies were designed and
implemented via the Building Management
System (BMS). The energy saving
approach has been one of a team effort
with members of the on site maintenance
team working with contractors on a long
term basis to achieve the results.
The site has a number of discrete boiler
houses. A significant contract was
completed in 2006 to modify the burner
hardware and controls on the Wellman
Robey boilers to enable full modulation of
the burner rather than the low and high fire
as fitted. The design and installation work
of the burner conversion was completed
by GP Burners in Swindon following an on
site review with the maintenance team.
Utilising the BMS to provide an enable
command and an analogue output signal
the burners are now able to modulate to
match the heat demand of the system. The
boilers, from Wellman's Ygnis range,
which were modified, ranged in size from
250kW to 2400kW and in all 12 boilers at
six different locations were successfully
converted.
Other energy saving successes have
been numerous and have included using
inverters to control pumps, taking control
of lighting during occupancy and
challenging the running of large energy
consuming plant such as air compressors.
The overall picture is that the site energy
consumption has been reduced by 26%
over 27 months with many more initiatives
planned to ensure that this figure is
improved.
Jim Spearing, managing director for GP
Burners, Swindon, states: "Our ability to
successfully convert the burners at
Syngenta from low/high fire to fully
modulating has helped our client to
achieve the critical degree of control they
require. The 10:1 turndown ratio we now
achieve with our combustion system also
yields a low NOx of 70mg/per kWh.
"We provide a wide range of burner
sizes that are suitable for all types of fuels
and our equipment is backed up with over
30 combustion service engineers located
throughout the UK.
"The conversion of the burners for
Syngenta is a good example of what can
be achieved by companies wishing to
reduce their impact on the environment
and make significant savings on their
energy demands." More articles from Wellman Robey: | 
