Scale Aq chose Ventadry for its new net service facility at Hestnes.
“Capacity and energy consumption were crucial,” says project owner Kai Karstensen.
The service station at Hestnes has over 40 years of experience with net service. Now ScaleAq has expanded with
a state-of-the-art new building of 2,800 m2 for service, repair and construction of nets.
The impregnation department is equipped with a double drying system with Ventadry, which ensures
that dry air is delivered at very low energy consumption. This is possible thanks to the unique combination of
CO2 heat pump and adsorption dehumidifiers.
A smart combination
“We see that it is a smart combination, and it seems like a well-thought-out concept,” says
Karstensen. He states that both a competitor and the total supplier had recommended Ventadry, and
he himself has good experience with one of the brains behind Ventadry, Øen Kuldeteknikk.
The need for high drying capacity is self-evident from the physical dimensions that apply in net service: The most common net size is 157 meters in diameter, but it can vary from 120 to 200 m. The weight is generally between 3 and 6 tons, so after impregnation there is a lot of moisture to dry out. – The drying is done using a large drum. The nets are wound onto it, and then dry air is driven into the center of the drum. Everything is inside a closed room, explains Karstensen. The relative humidity is 80 to 85% when the drying starts.
Will save 80 to 90% energy
Karstensen emphasizes that the service station at Hestnes has so far only carried out careful testing of the Ventadry systems. But there is no doubt that net drying is significantly faster than before. – It does, and it is a much less energy-intensive system. We want to save 80 to 90%, he points out. He compares it to the existing drying system without heat recovery.
– We are excited! We look forward to getting started properly in the autumn and seeing what it can contribute to increasing capacity.
Made for the purpose
– Ventadry is a product that we have developed specifically for such purposes as net drying, says managing director
Frank Øen at Øen kuldeteknikk. They are responsible for the CO2 heat pump and piping in Ventadry, while F-
Tech is responsible for dehumidifiers and control of the drying process itself.
The plant at Hestnes is the first that Ventadry has delivered for net drying.
– This customer is concerned with drying effect and kWh consumption for the number of liters of water dried. In that case, our
system is industry-leading, says Øen.
Full control all year round
Both drying systems at Hestnes have a capacity of approximately 20,000 m3 of air per hour, and use 100% recirculated air since the rooms are empty during drying.
“This system provides full control over both humidity and temperature, all year round. It is important that the net does not get too hot during drying,” emphasizes sales and project manager Odd Olav Fosso at F-Tech.
The company has extensive experience with dehumidifier solutions for net drying, and has its own developed control for them.
“We have delivered many drying plants along the entire coast, and outside Norway. With Ventadry, we have made the plants even better,” emphasizes Fosso.
FACTS: This is how energy consumption is reduced
The CO2 heat pump cools the air so that it is pre-dried before it is sent into the dehumidifier.
There it is dried further, so that process air at approximately 30 degrees and 5% RH can be sent into the drum and dry the net. Excess heat from the cooling is used to regenerate the dehumidifier, thus keeping energy consumption very low.
