Fonterra Energy Reduction Project – Heat Recovery Loop
Demand Response Ltd; Process Development Ltd

Efficient energy utilisation is a key factor in most process engineering projects today. This reality is reflected in the design and implementation of the heat recovery loop on Fonterra’s key Whareroa site. The Whareroa project covers milk treatment, five milk powder plants, and butter, AMD, cheese casein and whey products factories.

The design process exploited opportunities to save 11 megawatts of energy in various forms. When it is rolled out over all of Fonterra’s sites, the solution will enable the company to achieve its aim of a 10 per cent reduction in energy intensity.

Pinch technology analysis was applied to mass and heat balances site-wide. The solution was a heat-recovery water loop system, which heats water using several low-grade sources and then stores and transfers the heat to a number of heat sinks – a challenge since heat sources and sinks were scattered around the site. The innovative heart of the solution and the key in the project was controlling the hot/cold temperature interface in a new 500 cubic metre stratified heat recovery water storage tank.

The project was delivered on schedule and to budget, and commissioned at the peak of the 2005 season.

The Heat Recovery Loop project is a worthy winner, not just for the excellence of the engineering involved but because of the contribution it will make to energy savings by one of the largest companies in New Zealand.

<< Back