Chemelot and Sitech are very enthusiastic about this scoop. As through application of the Hydra technique the energy efficiency of the factory improved. Together with Sitech the following article was produced:

On November 7 and 8, 2019, the heat exchanger bundles of Arlanxeo's EPT3 factory were cleaned, as part of the Turn Around that was in full swing at the time. The bundles were cleaned using a new procedure – a scoop at the Chemelot site.

Jan Houben, TA manager at Sitech: “We engaged Mourik to clean the heat exchangers entirely automatically,” explains TA Manager Jan Houben. “There are a number of advantages to this. It not only ensures the bundles receive a more thorough cleaning, but also that they’re out of commission for a shorter time and that the water and energy required is kept to a minimum. This way of doing things is also safer, as there are no people involved. We’re really happy with how it turned out.”

With its Hydra Robotic Exchanger Cleaning, Mourik is the first company to successfully transfer autonomous internal bundle cleaning from the lab to the real world. Hydra performs a 3D scan of the heat exchanger’s tubesheet, before carrying out the cleaning completely independently. No people need be involved at all. The result is a short, predictable process time and uniformly clean heat exchangers. That guarantees maximal heat transfer and therefore optimal production, which in turn improves the energy efficiency of the factory as a whole.

Marco Biermans, Sourcing manager, is happy that this technique is now also being applied on the Chemelot site. “We are pleased that Arlanxeo have given the opportunity to put this into practice. In this way we hope to bring several new technologies to the site in the future."

If you would like to see more of Hydra Robotic Exchanger Cleaning, follow this link.