Water Cooling for Aluminum Production with Extrusion

1. Installation context

In 1995 and 2006, MITA Cooling Technologies, a company part of MITA Group, provided several solutions to Gruppo Vedani, an end customer in the aluminum processing industry (Pavia province). Over the years, Vedani has faced a significant increase in productivity scale, from a few tons to 60,000 tons of aluminum produced per year.

Similarly, the company’s cooling needs have changed significantly: in 1995 the need was for cooling and condensation of vapors from the production processes; in 2006, the production of aluminum itself by continuous casting (extrusion) also needed new heat disposal solutions. In addition, while at first the main focus was on dirty water cooling, later the installation of large coolers for vast industrial plants became necessary.

Not only that. Vedani Group has always been attentive to sustainability issues: since 1995, therefore, the company has also required systems for the recovery, treatment and reuse of process wastewater: all this long before recycling of the blue resource became a necessity for industries and environmental awareness in this regard became widespread.

2. Proposed solution

To meet Vedani’s needs, MITA Cooling Technologies has provided several solutions at different periods. This began in 1995, with the installation of four PME 4815 E GS open circuit cooling towers designed to handle the cooling and condensation of vapors from production processes. In addition, MITA Water Technologies, a MITA Group company, provided wastewater treatment systems, including a Filtrasand sand filter to treat process water from processing queues, a floater for stormwater clarification, and Biorulli rotating biological contactors for biological water treatment.

Then, in 2006, MITA Cooling Technologies again came to meet Vedani’s needs, proposing and installing three PMM 20 modular cooling towers for cooling water used in aluminum production by continuous casting (extrusion). Three focuses of the new supply: high cooling capacities (with large size and flow rate solutions), handling of dirty water, and maintenance of near dew temperature according to design specifications.

3. Results and key to success

The solutions provided by MITA Cooling Technologies and MITA Water Technologies have led to several positive results for Vedani Group.

First of all, the efficient cooling of production processes has enabled Vedani to successfully manage the scaling up of aluminum production by ensuring adequate temperatures. In addition, thanks to the water treatment systems provided by MITA Water Technologies, Vedani has been able to recover and reuse process water, contributing to efficiency and environmental sustainability.

A key factor in the success of this collaboration was undoubtedly the integrated offering of water management solutions by MITA Cooling Technologies and MITA Water Technologies. The ability to provide a complete package of cooling and wastewater treatment solutions simplified the decision-making process for Vedani by offering integrated water cycle management.