Metal foundries operate under some of the most demanding temperature conditions in manufacturing. With melting furnaces reaching several thousand degrees, reliable process cooling is essential to maintaining equipment performance, protecting production, and controlling operating costs.
As a leading distributor of NIMBUS Advanced Process Cooling systems, Coward Environmental Systems, Inc. (CESI) helps industrial facilities evaluate cooling technologies designed for high-temperature, high-flow applications. A NIMBUS installation at a Michigan metal foundry demonstrates how the right hybrid adiabatic cooling system can replace aging equipment while significantly reducing energy use, water consumption, and space requirements.
The Foundry’s Process Cooling Challenge
The foundry needed to cool process fluid from 135°F to 110°F at a required flow rate of 592 gallons per minute. Its existing system used seven dry air coolers, each equipped with eight fans.
Although the coolers provided the required capacity, the arrangement consumed considerable energy and occupied valuable facility space. NIMBUS engineers also needed to account for demanding summer design conditions, including a 90°F dry-bulb temperature and a 73°F wet-bulb temperature.
The challenge was to design a system that could consistently achieve the required 110°F leaving fluid temperature during the hottest periods of the year without relying on the foundry’s large bank of dry coolers.
A Hybrid Adiabatic Cooling Solution
NIMBUS developed a solution using two custom-manufactured VIRGA III hybrid adiabatic cooling systems. Each unit included five fans, allowing the two-system configuration to replace all seven existing dry air coolers.
Hybrid adiabatic technology improves cooling performance by temporarily reducing the temperature of the air entering the unit. Under the foundry’s peak summer conditions, the system could reduce the effective ambient air temperature to approximately 80°F, helping the equipment maintain the required process fluid temperature even during hot weather.
The smaller system configuration also provided meaningful space savings. Instead of maintaining seven separate coolers with a combined 56 fans, the foundry could meet its process requirements with two VIRGA III units using only 10 fans.
Lower Annual Energy Costs
Reducing the number of fans and cooling units produced a measurable operating benefit. According to the NIMBUS case study, the two VIRGA III systems saved the foundry an average of more than $11,000 per year in operating costs compared with the seven dry air coolers they replaced.
For industrial operations running cooling equipment for long periods, fan energy can represent a substantial portion of total system cost. A properly sized hybrid system can reduce that demand while still delivering the required flow rate and leaving fluid temperature.
Significant Water Savings
NIMBUS also compared the VIRGA III solution with an induced-draft, counterflow, closed-circuit fluid cooler of equivalent capacity.
The conventional closed-circuit system was estimated to consume approximately 3.35 million gallons of water annually. By comparison, the two VIRGA III systems were projected to use approximately 434,000 gallons per year—a difference of nearly 2.92 million gallons.
The alternative system would also have added more than $6,000 in annual operating costs. The VIRGA III configuration therefore helped the foundry balance cooling performance with lower water use and reduced utility expenses.
Selecting the Right Industrial Cooling System
Every industrial process presents different temperature, flow, space, climate, and water-use requirements. The most effective cooling system is not simply the one with the greatest capacity. It must be engineered around the facility’s actual process conditions and long-term operating priorities.
CESI works with manufacturers and industrial facilities to evaluate NIMBUS cooling technologies for demanding process applications. By considering entering and leaving fluid temperatures, required flow, local design conditions, equipment placement, energy use, and water availability, CESI can help customers identify a system that supports both production reliability and operating efficiency.
For foundries and other heat-intensive operations, NIMBUS hybrid adiabatic cooling systems offer a practical path toward reducing equipment count, lowering utility costs, conserving water, and maintaining dependable process temperatures. Contact CESI today for more information.
