The Danish iron foundry, BIRN, aims to reduce its natural gas consumption by around 25 per cent by this year. The reason is the recirculation from two new heat recovery plants that utilise the excess heat from parts of BIRN’s production to heat the rest of the company. BIRN has invested in two new heat recovery systems that retain heat in parts of the iron foundry’s production facilities. The heat recovery units take the excess heat from the fettling shop and recycle it back into the factory. The two plants cover ten thousand square metres of production space and are expected to reduce the iron foundry’s natural gas consumption by up to 25 per cent by 2024, says Emil Brodersen, energy specialist at BIRN Group.
“We are constantly looking for ways to streamline our energy processes and optimise resource consumption and heat recovery has proven to have enormous potential for our company. The two plants have been in operation for just over two months and in that time have already saved us around 55,000 cubic metres of natural gas, so it’s a very interesting case for us – both from a sustainability and economic perspective,” Brodersen explains. BIRN expects to invest in a third heat recovery system in the spring, which will be connected to the foundry’s furnace filter, and a fourth recovery system in the summer of 2024. Through ongoing investments in recovery systems, among other things, BIRN hopes to eventually phase out the use of natural gas completely.
In addition to having a positive impact on BIRN’s natural gas consumption, the new heat recovery systems also have a positive impact on the surroundings of the company’s factory. Combined with the modernisation of production facilities, two chimneys have already been shut down during the summer of 2023, and BIRN expects to be able to shut down more chimneys in the future through increased investment in heat recovery. “We are continuously working to improve the environment around our factory wherever possible. So, when the two chimneys from our old oil centre and painting plant became redundant, it was decided that they should be removed,” Brodersen said.