PAD Adiabatic Coolers for Ansaldo Energia (Utilities)

1. Company and installation context

Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is recognized as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of power generation equipment and energy solutions: it was founded in 1853 and in the century and a half since has facilitated Italy’s energy development. MITA Cooling Technologies is already a supplier of cooling technologies for Ansaldo, particularly with evaporative towers installed in its Genoa facility.

In the case of the Sardinian energy hub, however, the need was to cool the fluid of a synchronous compensator attached to the plant. The aridity of the land along with very high summer temperatures suggested a solution with low water use but at the same time efficient.

2. Proposed solution

Precisely because of these requirements, the adiabatic solution was found to be more congenial than classical closed-loop evaporative cooling. Therefore, 13 PAD adiabatic coolers type 12/6 85 C were installed.

In cooler seasons, the machines work as dry coolers, in that they operate dry. In summer, the air passing through the finned coils is cooled by the adiabatic system: special section of flocked PVC that is humidified with short wetting cycles. The flow of wetting and fan modulation is automatically adjusted with a view to continuous optimization of resource utilization.

Additional advantageous features of PAD coolers are:

• easy maintenance, thanks to wide access to internal parts;
• components made of fiberglass, PVC and PP, thus incorrodible and long-lasting;
• servo-controlled air bypass dampers (low pressure drop in cold periods).

3. The key to success

The thirteen selected cooling systems together allow for high performance, but with low water use-this is the answer to one of the critical needs of the plant that met with the favor of the stakeholder.