The new recirculation station was commissioned in HKS Forge on 28 February at full operation. Construction took place during the winter and was completed by the end of the year. Starting in January, a team of workers then interfaced the facility's new outdoor system with the original indoor one. "We were most worried about the original pipes, which we had to find and close. They were not well delineated in the designs," said the technician Lukáš Andrášik. "Today, after successful start-up under full operation, we are monitoring how the system works. Important measurements and tests await us in the summer when the temperature rises above 30 degrees Celsius," he adds.
A necessary investment
According to the forge's operating electrician Ján Bažík, a new recirculation station was a necessity for HKS Forge. "The original one was located on more distant land, behind the road. It had four large pumps that pushed water to production and five smaller ones that fed it to the cooling towers. However, only two of them worked. There were water leaks and excessive energy consumption," he clarified. The uniqueness of the new system is the fact that it is much simpler. "It uses only a single series of pumps. The cold water is first pushed into the hall, where it passes through all the appliances, and then arrives at the cooling towers," explained Pavel Výmola from the supplier company. The cost of the investment is estimated by HKS Forge at EUR 560 thousand. The forge has one more important step to take in connection with the recirculation station, the drilling of wells. Thereby, it wants to use 90% rainwater and only 10% drinking water for cooling.
DARINA KVETANOVÁ
