A project established by SGL Group to supply energy to a housing development area from the cooling water of a SGL Group production plant has won an environmental award.
‘We are very glad to be able to contribute to resource protection on site by using the thermal energy of our cooling water,’ said Dr Markus Partik, site manager of SGL Group in Meitingen, Germany, where the plant is located.
Temperatures of up to 3,000°C are possible in the high-temperature processes in the productions of the plant, and water is used to cool down the products. This water warms up to about 30°C in this process and is then supplied to the housing development area via a pipeline system. In the housing area, the energy from the cooling water is used to generate warm water and, if necessary, the higher temperatures to heat the apartments with the help of heat pumps. Subsequently, the low-energy, cooled-down water is led back to the plant and can be used for cooling again. SGL Group has agreed to supply the cooling water free of charge for 20 years.
This story is reprinted from material from SGL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
