Process water from the washing processes is valuable - not only because of the costs for water and wastewater treatment, but above all because of the thermal energy contained in the process water and the unused washing chemicals. With an intelligent water management the PowerTrans Vario therefore opens up great savings potential.
The Eco function
The PowerTrans Vario generally achieves optimized water consumption by reusing the recovered rinsing liquor for the main wash and the press/centrifuge liquor for the prewash. In practice there are different variants of this procedure. The greatest savings can be achieved with the Eco function, in which the liquor form the extraction unit is used directly for pre-rinsing. At the same time, the hot wash liquor is recovered in a separate tank and can be reused undiluted for the main wash.
Intelligent water management of the PowerTrans Vario - left traditional, right with Eco function
Internal cockpit recovery tanks
Depending on the application, the PowerTrans Vario is equipped with one or two cockpit recovery tanks. The silo shape of the cockpit tanks is also ideal for heavily soiled water and offers the highest usable volume in the smallest footprint. Broadened or elongated versions are optionally available. The tanks are fully insulated as standard and can be equipped with cleaning nozzles.
PowerTrans cockpit tanks (left), broadened version (middle), elongated version (right)
External process tank STQ
If more than 2 process tanks are required, it is possible to install additional tanks with 1000 liters next to the batch washer on a separate frame. The external process tank STQ is fully integrated into the PowerTrans control and wash processes.
External process tank STQ 1000 with 1000 liter storage (left), STQ Twin with 2x 1000 liter storage (right)
SpecialTank Reservoir STR
The STR provides large storage capacities. Recovered liquor that cannot directly be used in the washing process because of its color is stored in fully insulated tank modules. Whether an STR in-stead of cockpit tanks makes sense or not strongly depends on the size of the machine and on the frequency of color changes on the tunnel.
Storage modules with 2 m³ and 4 m³ volume are available, which can also be combined:
Different STR variants with 2 m³ and/or 4 m³ storage modules
The STR is an externally placed recovery tank; however it is fully integrated into the PowerTrans control. Besides that, the STR is identical to the central SpecialTankSystem STS.
SpecialTankSystem STS
While the STR always belongs to a single PowerTrans, the SpecialTankSystem STS is an independent central system with its own control. Several batch washers and washer extractors can be connected to an STS and optimize their water balance among themselves. For example, several batch washers use the same process water, or excess water from the batch washers is used for heavily soiled laundry on washer extractors.
STS installation with PowerTrans and PowerSwing: Both machines use the same process water
Conclusion
Whether with direct recovery from the press/centrifuge for pre-rinsing, liquor storage in cockpit or external batch washer tanks or a central SpecialTankSystem – the intelligent water recovery of the PowerTrans Vario offers solutions for lowest consumptions in every application.