Kiilto started to utilize waste heat for the heating of their more than three-hectare factory facilities and hot water in Lempäälä, Finland.  Kiilto produces industrial adhesives and chemical products for the construction industry.

The waste heat recycling system was installed in 2018. It utilizes waste heat generated in the production process of adhesives. Encouraged by the great experiences, Kiilto decided to expand the system to another production unit. 

Since the fall of 2019, also the waste heat from the production of hot melt adhesives is utilized, bringing the total annual savings to 150 ooo euros.

Because heat pumps increase the cooling capacity, both waste heat systems have also improved production, balanced the processes, and increased capacity.

Hybrid System

At Kiilto the implemented system consists of geothermal heating and cooling in addition to waste heat and heat pumps.

Geothermal wells drilled into the solid rock act as storage for waste heat which can be used when needed. The wells were executed by Rototec Oy.

Boosting Production with Cooling Capacity

The combination of geothermal cooling and heat pumps has brought with it much-needed extra cooling power. The capacity of the polymerization process has increased significantly.

Furthermore, there is no longer a need to adjust production schedules based on the cooling capacity. For the technical manager of Kiilto, Vesa Juhannusvuori this is the most important improvement.

– The cooling water remains at a constant temperature at all stages of the process, throughout the year. This increases the production stability and improves quality, says Juhannusvuori.

Also, the production of hot melt adhesives has improved. The lead time has decreased, as the cooling has become more efficient.

Operational Reliability

– Heat recovery systems are very complex, especially when they are connected to production processes. Since the start-up, everything has worked as it should. We haven’t had any disruptions. This is very rare, Vesa Juhannusvuori comments on the total system delivered by Calefa. 

Next step: Ambiheat and Selling the Excess Heat

Currently, Kiilto is going through the third energy efficiency project. They will start to sell excess heat as district heating to the local energy company. The technical system will be implemented as a turnkey delivery from the trusted partner, Calefa Oy.