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The Solex fertilizer indirect cooler guarantees highly efficient thermal performance and ongoing, reliable operation.
Each cooler is custom designed taking into account:
• Typeoffertilizer
• Requiredthermalperformance
• Localambientconditions
• Selectionofoptimumwatertemperatures
• Selectionofoptimumpurgeairflowrateanddewpointtopreventcondensation
Optimized Fertilizer Cooling
• Solexhasover100fertilizerreferenceplantsinalltypesoffertilizer,includingurea,ammoniumnitrate,MAP/DAP,NPKandspecialtyfertilizers
• TheSolexCoolerreducesenergycostsbyupto90%comparedtotraditionalfluidbedcoolers
• Unitshavebeeninstalledinarangeofdifferentclimates,fromthetemperatemid-westUnitedStatestotropicalIndiaandMalaysia
• Theunitdoesnotrequireregularcleaningresultinginlongruntimesandlowmaintenancecosts
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Solex Fertilizer Cooling System
The Science Behind Cooling Fertilizers
FertilizersareHygroscopic
Fertilizersarehygroscopic.Whenmoisturetransfersfromtheproduct
totheairinthespacebetweenthegranules,thehumidityoftheair
willincrease.Thiscan
causecondensationon
thesurfaceofthecold
heatexchangerplates.
Condensationonthe
plateswillquicklyleadto
cakinginthecooler.
TheSolexFertilizerCooler
isdesignedforlongterm,reliableoperationwithouttheneedfor
regularcleaning.Toachievethis,themechanismofcondensation
andproductcakingmustbeprevented.Topreventcondensationthe
dewpointoftheairinthevoidspaceofthecoolerneedstobelower
thanthetemperatureoftheplateexchanger.
Thedewpointoftheairintheheatexchangerchangesrelativeto
thetemperatureoftheproduct.Therelationshipbetweendewpoint
andtemperatureisgovernedbythecriticalrelativehumidity(CRH)
ofthefertilizer.EachfertilizerhasauniqueCRHcharacteristic.Asthe
fertilizercoolswhenitpassesthroughtheexchanger,thedewpoint
lowers.Therelationshipbetweenproducttemperature,dewpoint
andwatertemperatureisshownonthebelowgraph.Thisgraph
demonstratestheimportanceofcounter-currentwaterflowtoavoid
cakingandoptimizeenergyefficiency.Understandingthescience
behindfertilizercoolingenablestheSolexheatexchangertobe
customizedforeachtypeoffertilizerandanyambientconditions.
The CompleTe SySTem
Solexsuppliesafullyintegratedsystem–thefertilizerindirectcooler
andancillaryequipment.
SoleX FeRTIlIZeR CoolING SySTem
DUST
MOISTURE TRANSFERCOOLED SURFACE
CAKING
CONDENSATION
DUST
DUST
VENT
HOT PRODUCT IN
GATE FEEDER
COLD PRODUCT OUT
ACTUATORPOSITIONER
PURGE AIR
COOLING WATER IN
COOLING WATER OUT
TO PLANT CONTROLSYSTEM
TEMPEREDWATER
MODULE
INSTRUMENTATION& CONTROL
PURGE AIRMODULE
HOT PRODUCT IN
GATE FEEDER
COU
NTE
R-CU
RREN
T FL
OW
COLD PRODUCT OUT
PURGE AIR
COOLINGWATER OUT
COOLINGWATER IN
DEWPOINT MUST BE BELOW WATER TEMPERATURE TO PREVENT CONDENSATION
200 40 60 80 100
DEWPOINT
WATER TEMPERATURE
PRODUCT TEMPERATURE
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Ancillary equipment
Water Temperature Control ModuleTheWaterTemperatureControlModule(WTCM),openorclosed
loop,controlsthecoolingwatertemperaturesandwaterflowrate
throughtheSolexCooler.
KeyFeatures:
• Openloopoperatesstrictlyonplantcoolingwaterwitharecirculationcircuitforwatertemperaturecontrol
• Closedloop(usedinhighchloridecoolingwaterandotherpoorwaterqualitysources),operatesonasecondaryself-containedwaterloopwithaplateexchangerisolatingtheSolexCoolerfromtheprimaryplantcoolingwatersupply
• Bothopenandclosedloopdesignsincludeastart-upheatertopreheattheplates
• Pumpscanbestandaloneorstandbydependingoncustomerrequirements
• Skidmounted
Chiller / Dry Cooler System – Optimized to Reduce Energy CostIfplantwaterisnotavailableoristoowarmtomeetprocess
requirements,theWTCMmayincludeadrycoolerand/orachiller.
Thiscombinedsystemwillbeoptimizedsothatthechillerwillonly
operateduringsummermonths.Theremainderoftheyearthesystem
willoperatesolelywithdrycoolerstosaveenergycosts.
Purge Air Module ThePurgeAirModuleprovidespurgeairtotheSolexCooler.
Wherepossible,ambientairisused,reducingoperatingcostsand
minimizingcapitalcosts.Ifconditionedairisrequired,duetoprocess
requirementsorambientconditionsanairdehumidificationsystemis
usedtoreducetheairdewpoint.
Comprehensive Instrumentation & ControlsTheSolexWaterTemperatureControlModuleandPurgeAirModule
aresuppliedwithcomprehensivecontrolsandinstrumentation
including:
• Waterinletandoutlettemperaturecontrols
• Watertemperature,pressureandflowratecontrols
• Purgeairdewpointcontrols
• Purgeairflowrate,temperature,pressureanddewpointcontrols
ThecontrolfunctionsfortheWTCMandPurgeAirModulecanbe
integratedintotheoverallplantcontrolsystemorprovidedbyalocal
panelmountedPLC.
SoleX FeRTIlIZeR CoolING SySTem
Water Temperature Control Module
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mAXImIZeS eNeRGy eFFICIeNCy
* www.solexthermal.com/products
Solex Fertilizer Cooling Technology uses 90% Less Energy
Estimatedoperatingpowerrequirements,typicalfora3600t/dureaplantinaGulfCoast,USAlocation.
^Fluidbedchillerloadisanaveragecalculatedbasedonmeanmonthlydayandnightambientconditions.
kW.h
/ton
ne
pATeNTeD TeChNoloGy* ThAT
Solex Thermal Science Inc.
250, 4720 – 106 Ave SE
Calgary, AB, Canada, T2C 3G5
Tel: +1 403 254 3500
Fax: +1 403 254 3501
www.solexthermal.com
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TYPICAL ENERGY REQUIREMENT:UREA GRANULE COOLER
6.9kW.h/tonne
0.6kW.h/tonne
FANS
AIR
CHILL
ER
SOLEX INDIRECTCOOLER
FLUID BEDCOOLER
Fluid Bed Cooler Solex Cooler
Fans (FD fan + ID fan) 540kW -
Air Chiller^ 500kW -
Cooling Water Pump - 20kW
Conditioned Air Blower - 45kW
Bucket Elevator (typ.) - 20kW
Total Power Consumption 1040kW 85kW
Total Energy Cost/Year ($0.10 / kW.h – 8000 h) $832,000 $68,000