New "refrigerator" cools production

400 tons of steel, 900 meters of piping and 9,000 meters of cable – these are the main features of the iced cube, which ensures that Bayer's crop protection activities do not heat up. With a cooling capacity of 6.6 megawatts, the new Cooling Center in Currenta, located in the western part of the factory, has been put into operation. It is one of three cores that pump the process cold through ammonia through the "Chempark veins", the pipeline bridges, into individual production facilities. In comparison, the home refrigerator produces about 600 watts of cold, one-tenth of the new refrigeration control. Because of its high individual investment, it is the largest sub-project of the Cube program, which has been concluded with Cube. The abbreviation means "Currenta supports the expansion of Bayer". Under this heading, the operator of Chempark has invested a total of about 50 million euros in its infrastructure of supply and disposal.

"We are taking into account the growth of the site and the growing demand from our customers, including the Bayer Crop Science division, with the new cooling center," said Holger Gedanitz, Project Manager Currenta. "There is still room for a third compression unit and nearby once for two." Because the cold is as important to the chemical industry as electricity, steam or gasoline. water – whether to dissipate lost heat from reaction processes or to ensure a stable and low temperature in logistic areas, explains the engineer.

In the plant, the ammonia is compressed at a pressure of 14 bar and liquefied. From there, the refrigerant is pumped into the plants, where it is relaxed. There, it becomes gaseous during heat absorption and is available in various applications as a cold supplier. The entire cooling network of the Dormagen factory covers about twenty kilometers.

"Modern infrastructure and constantly available availability and disposal are extremely important for the production of Crop Science," confirms Norbert Lui, site manager for Chempark Dormagen at Bayer. "We have a seasonal business and when the customer orders our products, we have to deliver just in time, and the new refrigeration system that meets the latest industry standards is a prerequisite."

The cube project is an example of the responsibilities of the manager and the Chempark operator. "Over the past four years, we have systematically expanded our sourcing and disposal infrastructure to support the growth of the Bayer Crop Protection Division at the Dormagen site," said the General Manager. from Currenta, Günter Hilken. "We are doing this so that the companies on the site continue to benefit from excellent conditions for their production in the future," said Chief Currenta. "Cube" refers to the areas of operation and wastewater, energy, refrigeration and disposal.