The Fresh Factory: Clean Air and Cool Conditions in Canmaking Plants

The Fresh Factory: Clean Air and Cool Conditions in Canmaking Plants

When it comes to climate control in can making plants, temperature is often the first thing that comes to mind. But air quality is just as important. While maintaining cool temperatures is essential for smooth operations, ensuring a steady supply of clean, fresh air is equally crucial. Unfortunately, this aspect is frequently overlooked, despite its direct impact on worker health, equipment longevity, and overall production efficiency.

The Hidden Challenge: Air Contamination in Canmaking Plants

The canmaking process involves several critical machines—cuppers, trimmers, neckers, decorators, conveyors, washers, and ovens—each contributing to airborne contaminants. These pollutants don’t just settle on surfaces; they circulate through the air, affecting both the workforce and the machinery. Here's a breakdown of the key contaminants produced by these systems:

• Lubricants & Oils: Emitted from machines like cuppers, trimmers, neckers, decorators, and conveyors, lubricants and oils form airborne particles that can accumulate on surfaces and impact both worker health and machine efficiency.
• Inks & Solvents: Used primarily in decorators, inks and solvents release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, negatively impacting air quality and potentially causing irritation or long-term health problems in a poorly ventilated space.
• Chemicals: Generated from washers, chemicals create excess moisture, heat, and residues that can contribute to an unstable indoor environment. This could lead to corrosion on machinery and contribute to long-term equipment issues.
• Oven Emissions: Ovens used for curing inks and varnish, as well as burning off lubricants from the pin chains, release heat, gases, and particulate matter into the air. These contaminants can degrade air quality, which not only affects worker health but can also lead to a build-up of residue on equipment, increasing maintenance needs and reducing the overall lifespan of machinery.

These pollutants circulate throughout the plant, increasing the importance of proper ventilation and air filtration to maintain a clean, healthy working environment.

Why a Fresh Factory Matters

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can have significant impacts on the operations of canmaking plants:

• Health Issues: Prolonged exposure to contaminated air can lead to respiratory problems, skin irritation, and other long-term health risks for employees. A fresh, clean air supply helps protect your workforce’s well-being.
• Reduced Productivity: Workers in poorly ventilated environments, particularly in high-temperature conditions, often experience fatigue, reduced concentration, and increased mistakes, all of which lower productivity and efficiency.
• Increased Wear on Equipment: Airborne contaminants from cuppers, trimmers, neckers, decorators, conveyors, washers, and ovens accumulate on machinery. This leads to more frequent maintenance, higher repair costs, and potential downtime, all of which reduce overall operational efficiency.
• Hygiene Concerns: In the beverage can industry, hygiene is paramount. Poorly controlled airflow can lead to cross-contamination risks, compromising the quality of your products and potentially violating industry standards.

Ventilating While Cooling: The Power of Adiabatic Cooling

Traditional air conditioning systems may cool the air, but they don’t address ventilation, meaning contaminants continue to recirculate throughout the facility. Adiabatic cooling (also known as evaporative cooling) offers a two-fold benefit:

• Lower Temperatures: Adiabatic cooling reduces heat stress by cooling the air through water evaporation, which helps maintain an optimal environment for workers and machinery like bodymakers, trimmers, decorators, ovens, and more.
• Continuous Fresh Air: Unlike conventional air conditioning systems, adiabatic cooling introduces 100% fresh air while expelling stale, contaminated air. This ensures your facility stays clean and healthy, without the build-up of contaminants like oils, inks, and fumes from ovens.
• Energy Efficiency: These systems consume up to 85% less energy than traditional mechanical cooling, reducing operational costs and supporting sustainability efforts in your plant.
• Balanced Air Pressure: By bringing large volumes of fresh air into the facility, adiabatic systems help balance the air pressure, preventing dirty air from being sucked back into the plant. This keeps contaminants like lubricants, inks, and oven emissions properly ventilated and removed from the workspace.

?

Future-Proofing Canmaking Plants

Adopting a "Fresh Factory" approach is about more than just managing temperature. It’s about creating a healthy, productive, and sustainable environment for workers and machinery alike. Investing in the right climate solutions now can lead to fewer health issues, lower absenteeism, and improved long-term sustainability for your canmaking plant.

?Is your plant ready to become a Fresh Factory? Let’s explore how combining cooling and ventilation can make your canmaking facility cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable while protecting the equipment that drives your production.

Want to know how Colt can help your facility? Contact us today to learn more about our climate control solutions. [email protected]

#Freshfactory #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #ClimateControl #Canmaking #Kingspanlightandair #Metalpackaging #Evaporativecooling