Digital Re-print - March | April 2013

Measures for increasing the energy efficiency of UFA feed mills in Switzerland

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Grain & Feed Milling Technology is published six times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom.All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2013 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1466-3872

Innovations for a better world.

Leave nothing to chance. With WinCos Care, the Service Management System

of Bühler, you will put your maintenance work in order. The system, which is

customized by Bühler to precisely fit the specific needs of your production system,

takes charge of the entire planning and administration of all your maintenance

jobs. This ensures efficient processes and maximum plant uptime.

WinCos Care Service

Management System –

Unrivaled Efficiency.

Maximum uptime:

Prefabricated job cards are based

on service hours or calendar intervals

as well as individual job planning.

Plug & Play:

Efficient processes and customer-

specifically programmed software for

all plants.

Always up to the minute:

Automatic online updates and data

backup.

All in one system:

Extensive documentation, among

other things for certifications

(e.g. International Food Standard).

Bühler AG, Grain Processing Customer Service, CH-9240 Uzwil, Switzerland,

T +41 71 955 30 40, service.gp@buhlergroup.com, www.buhlergroup.com

UFA is Switzerland’s largest animal feed producer, with sites in Herzogenbuchsee (300,000 t/a), St.

Margrethen (90,000 t/a), Sursee (85,000 t/a), and Puidoux (70,000 t/a). The finished product is marketed in the form of either expanded or pelleted feed. The average electrical energy requirement was cut within 10 years by about 4 percent, while thermal energy consumption was reduced by 10 kWh/t. And this was accomplished while increasing the upgrading degree from 60 percent to currently 100 percent. All feed produced in the UFA facilities is thermally hygienized.

On the basis of measures already implemented or still in the planning stage, the authors here explain the potential for increasing energy efficiency.

Biblis plant in Herzogenbuchsee (con-structed in 2001/2002)

The plant was highly energy-efficient right from the start. Thus, a multistage grinding system using two-pass crushing mills and

vertical-rotor hammer mills reduces the energy requirement by about 30 percent in comparison to a direct grinding system.

Since it went into service, the following measures for enhancing energy efficiency have been implemented:• The exhaust air of the compressed-air

generators and blowers is used for the flake dryers and for blowing hot air into the thermal systems for drying. These and additional measures result in savings of 120 MWh of natural gas per year.

• Smart control of the compressed-air generators and a pressure band reduction have enabled savings to be achieved on the order of 0.5 GWh of electrical energy per year.

The following measures will be taken shortly:• Installation of a fifth thermal line,

equipped with a Kubex T9 pellet mill. These new-generation pellet mills have direct drives. Their motors have an energy efficiency exceeding 95 percent and are water-cooled, and losses due to gearings or V-belt drives have

been entirely eliminated. This allows electrical energy savings on the order of magnitude of 20-30 percent compared to conventional pellet mills.

• Application of differential-pressure controllers on the large dust collection filters. They enable the purge-air requirement for cleaning the filter bags (sleeves) to be slashed. The payback time of this investment is a mere few months.

St. Margrethen plant (rebuilt in 2006/2007)

The post-grinding system in this plant is equipped with a pre-screening stage ahead of the vertical-rotor hammer mills. This combination in St. Margrethen cuts the energy requirement by about 20 percent in comparison to conventional horizontal ham-mer mills. Frequency converters allow the grinding texture of the feed to be adjusted during ongoing production and markedly reduce the starting current.

Since it went into operation, the follow-

Measures for increasing the energy efficiency of UFA feed

mills in Switzerlandby Peter Hofer, production manager, UFA, Switzerland and Viktor Borner, segment

sales manager feed, Bühler AG, Switzerland

The Kubex T9 pellet mill allows energy savings as high as 30

percent to be achieved thanks to its new drive technology.

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy14 | march - april 2013

FEATURE

Innovations for a better world.

Leave nothing to chance. With WinCos Care, the Service Management System

of Bühler, you will put your maintenance work in order. The system, which is

customized by Bühler to precisely fit the specific needs of your production system,

takes charge of the entire planning and administration of all your maintenance

jobs. This ensures efficient processes and maximum plant uptime.

WinCos Care Service

Management System –

Unrivaled Efficiency.

Maximum uptime:

Prefabricated job cards are based

on service hours or calendar intervals

as well as individual job planning.

Plug & Play:

Efficient processes and customer-

specifically programmed software for

all plants.

Always up to the minute:

Automatic online updates and data

backup.

All in one system:

Extensive documentation, among

other things for certifications

(e.g. International Food Standard).

Bühler AG, Grain Processing Customer Service, CH-9240 Uzwil, Switzerland,

T +41 71 955 30 40, service.gp@buhlergroup.com, www.buhlergroup.com

http://www.alapala.com

ing measures have been taken to increase energy efficiency:• The exhaust heat of the compressed-air

generators and the flash steam of the condensate separation system of the steam boilers are used for preheating the feed water. This cuts annual natural gas consumption by 210 MWh.

The following measures will be taken shortly:

• Application of differential-pressure controllers on the large dust collection filters, which slashes the purge-air requirement. The payback time of this investment is just a few months.

Puidoux plant (constructed in 1993, expanded in 2010)

The factory in Puidoux was acquired by UFA in 2005. In 2010, a third thermal line including a HYSYS pelleting system was added.

With the expansion, the following meas-ures for cutting energy consumption were taken:

• Installation of a Capstone C65 micro-gas-turbine for generating electrical energy, with a maximum (net) output of 60 kW. The 300°C hot exhaust gases are first used for heating the feed water for the steam boiler and then the water of the building heating. The entire residual heat contained in the hot

exhaust gases is mixed with the turbine cooling air and the ambient air and blown as hot air into the thermal systems for drying. This system configuration allows (almost) 100 percent utilization of the fuel.

• Installation of low-pressure-purged dust collection filters with differential-pressure controllers for the pellet coolers. The purge-air blower is equipped with a frequency converter and supplies only that amount of compressed air which is currently needed by the one to three filters, which can be activated and deactivated as required.

• Cooler fans have been provided with frequency converters. This markedly reduces the starting current and allows energy-optimized operation as a function of the ambient temperature.

UFA Biblis in Herzogenbuchsee: The largest UFA plant with an annual

output of about 300,000 metric tons.

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy march - april 2013 | 15

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FEATURE

The following measures will be taken shortly:

• Installation of a multistage grinding system using two-pass crushing mills and vertical-rotor hammer mills, which reduce the energy requirement by as much as 30 percent in comparison to a direct-grinding system. The grinding texture can be automatically controlled by the process control system to meet the specific animals’ needs.

Sursee plant (constructed in 1965, expanded in 2007)

The factory in Sursee is the oldest of the four feed mills oper-

ated by UFA. In 2007, it underwent a total overhaul and was equipped with a state-of-the-art process control system allowing unmanned operation.

The Bühler standard control system served as the basis of the new control system. But one challenge was still to pro-gramme the control system for unattended nighttime operation. UFA’s specifications were the following: the mixing line and the pellet mill and expander line were to pro-duce feed fully automatically during the night shift. This means that the control system of the plant must move to a secure mode in the event of faults. The system must auto-matically acknowledge and correct any faults detected. In addition, it must ensure plant and personnel safety at all times.

Last, but not least, the new control system was also to alert the standby staff via SMS in case of unplanned incidences, and remote maintenance was also to be possible. In unmanned operation, the control system must make the decisions that are otherwise made by the experienced operator. In order to enable it to do this, it must receive large volumes of information from the sensors and respond according to defined instruc-tions. For example, sensors monitor the temperatures and vibrations in the hammer mill, in the mixer, and in the expander as well as in the machine bearings. This cutting-edge control system also allows optimal, energy-efficient operation of the entire plant.

With the expansion, the following addi-tional energy-saving measures were imple-mented:• Installation of a multistage grinding

system using two-pass crushing mills with pre-screening and intermediate screening ahead of the hammer mill. This cuts the energy requirement by about 30 percent compared to a direct-grinding system. The grinding texture

Multistage grinding system using a DFZL crushing mill. It allows the grinding texture of the feed to be

adjusted to animals‘ specific needs and up to 30 percent energy to be saved compared to a direct-

grinding system

Urs Steiner, production manager with UFA Sursee, in the control centre: smart control and sensor systems enable unattended night time production

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy16 | march - april 2013

FEATURE

The following measures will be taken shortly:

• Installation of a multistage grinding system using two-pass crushing mills and vertical-rotor hammer mills, which reduce the energy requirement by as much as 30 percent in comparison to a direct-grinding system. The grinding texture can be automatically controlled by the process control system to meet the specific animals’ needs.

Sursee plant (constructed in 1965, expanded in 2007)

The factory in Sursee is the oldest of the four feed mills oper-

ated by UFA. In 2007, it underwent a total overhaul and was equipped with a state-of-the-art process control system allowing unmanned operation.

The Bühler standard control system served as the basis of the new control system. But one challenge was still to pro-gramme the control system for unattended nighttime operation. UFA’s specifications were the following: the mixing line and the pellet mill and expander line were to pro-duce feed fully automatically during the night shift. This means that the control system of the plant must move to a secure mode in the event of faults. The system must auto-matically acknowledge and correct any faults detected. In addition, it must ensure plant and personnel safety at all times.

Last, but not least, the new control system was also to alert the standby staff via SMS in case of unplanned incidences, and remote maintenance was also to be possible. In unmanned operation, the control system must make the decisions that are otherwise made by the experienced operator. In order to enable it to do this, it must receive large volumes of information from the sensors and respond according to defined instruc-tions. For example, sensors monitor the temperatures and vibrations in the hammer mill, in the mixer, and in the expander as well as in the machine bearings. This cutting-edge control system also allows optimal, energy-efficient operation of the entire plant.

With the expansion, the following addi-tional energy-saving measures were imple-mented:• Installation of a multistage grinding

system using two-pass crushing mills with pre-screening and intermediate screening ahead of the hammer mill. This cuts the energy requirement by about 30 percent compared to a direct-grinding system. The grinding texture

Multistage grinding system using a DFZL crushing mill. It allows the grinding texture of the feed to be

adjusted to animals‘ specific needs and up to 30 percent energy to be saved compared to a direct-

grinding system

Urs Steiner, production manager with UFA Sursee, in the control centre: smart control and sensor systems enable unattended night time production

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy16 | march - april 2013

FEATURE

can be automatically controlled by the process control system to meet the specific animals’ needs.

Energy-saving measures taken by UFA

In order to further reduce energy con-sumption and to spare the environment, UFA continuously adapts its feed mills to the latest technological knowledge. For example, over the past 10 years about 5 percent electrical energy and 17 percent thermal energy per metric ton of animal feed produced have been conserved - and this while at the same time increasing the upgrading degree from formerly 60 percent to currently 100 percent.

Efficient energy utilization by combined heat and power generation

Utilization by combustion of the energy that is chemically stored in the energy car-rier for generating electrical power as the highest-value form of energy improves the calorific value of the heating oil by a factor of about three compared to pure steam generation. This so-called ‘combined heat and power generation’ process substantially increases exergetic efficiency. This means that the chemical potential contained in the fuel (heating oil, natural gas) is exploited almost to the physically possible limit, since electric power is generated beside heat.

Utilization of the exhaust heat of compressors

Instead of blowing the heat exhausted by the air compressors into in atmosphere as exhaust heat, it is systematically utilized for - say - preheating the boiler feed water or operating hot-air heat exchang-ers instead of using steam. Together with other heat recovery measures, this sys-tematic utilization of exhaust heat alone enabled UFA to save a total of about 880 MWh of thermal energy in 2011. An additional roughly 1 GWh of electric power was saved by efficiency-improving measures.

Application of energy-efficient motors

Basically, UFA today only procures elec-tric motors of the energy efficiency class IE3 according to IEC 60034-30 or higher.

Distinguished with CO2 label thanks to systematic energy-saving strategy

UFA has a comprehensive energy man-agement system in place, which ranges from saving power by using a staircase lighting control system (5 MWh/a) to refurbishing entire plants. This has allowed the UFA factories to discharge 500 metric tons less CO2 into the atmosphere in absolute terms than in 2008 while increasing their volume

by 10 percent. In all, some 3,100 t less CO2 were emitted into the environment in 2011 than would have been the case if develop-ment had continued unchecked. Thanks to the targeted reduction of carbon emissions, UFA is exempted from paying CO2 duties on fuels and is allowed to carry the Swiss CO2 Label.

Micro-gas-turbine in Puidoux

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy march - april 2013 | 17

FEATURE

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A subscription magazine for the global flour & feed milling industries - first published in 1891INCORPORATING PORTS, DISTRIBUTION AND FORMULATION

In this issue:

• Measures for increasing the energy efficiency of UFA feed mills in Switzerland

• Importance of trace minerals for nutrient stability in feed

• Managing mill maintenance - Maintenance options and challenges

• Super chilled grains

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• Fine grinding and BS3 Xylanase improve productivity in weaners

• Additives for flour standardisation Part I: Enzymes

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can be automatically controlled by the process control system to meet the specific animals’ needs.

Energy-saving measures taken by UFA

In order to further reduce energy con-sumption and to spare the environment, UFA continuously adapts its feed mills to the latest technological knowledge. For example, over the past 10 years about 5 percent electrical energy and 17 percent thermal energy per metric ton of animal feed produced have been conserved - and this while at the same time increasing the upgrading degree from formerly 60 percent to currently 100 percent.

Efficient energy utilization by combined heat and power generation

Utilization by combustion of the energy that is chemically stored in the energy car-rier for generating electrical power as the highest-value form of energy improves the calorific value of the heating oil by a factor of about three compared to pure steam generation. This so-called ‘combined heat and power generation’ process substantially increases exergetic efficiency. This means that the chemical potential contained in the fuel (heating oil, natural gas) is exploited almost to the physically possible limit, since electric power is generated beside heat.

Utilization of the exhaust heat of compressors

Instead of blowing the heat exhausted by the air compressors into in atmosphere as exhaust heat, it is systematically utilized for - say - preheating the boiler feed water or operating hot-air heat exchang-ers instead of using steam. Together with other heat recovery measures, this sys-tematic utilization of exhaust heat alone enabled UFA to save a total of about 880 MWh of thermal energy in 2011. An additional roughly 1 GWh of electric power was saved by efficiency-improving measures.

Application of energy-efficient motors

Basically, UFA today only procures elec-tric motors of the energy efficiency class IE3 according to IEC 60034-30 or higher.

Distinguished with CO2 label thanks to systematic energy-saving strategy

UFA has a comprehensive energy man-agement system in place, which ranges from saving power by using a staircase lighting control system (5 MWh/a) to refurbishing entire plants. This has allowed the UFA factories to discharge 500 metric tons less CO2 into the atmosphere in absolute terms than in 2008 while increasing their volume

by 10 percent. In all, some 3,100 t less CO2 were emitted into the environment in 2011 than would have been the case if develop-ment had continued unchecked. Thanks to the targeted reduction of carbon emissions, UFA is exempted from paying CO2 duties on fuels and is allowed to carry the Swiss CO2 Label.

Micro-gas-turbine in Puidoux

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy march - april 2013 | 17

FEATURE