Companies in the production industries must come to terms with growing challenges in the areas of energy- and resource efficiency. The task involves not only reduction of energy consumption, but also reducing the consumption of limited resources. The DBU-supported project MinEnerWe is addressing these challenges through the development of an innovative, combined hydraulic aggregate and closed coolant circuit for machine tools, which increases energy efficiency. Its operation with a mineral oil-free fluid also saves the finite resource mineral oil.

The project aims at uniting for the first time the hydraulic aggregate and the closed coolant circuit of a machine tool, and the development of a common, mineral oil-free fluid. With the current technology, mineral oil is often used for the hydraulic aggregate because of its good lubrication characteristics, while in the coolant circuit water is used as a fluid due to its cooling properties. The challenge now becomes the development of a fluid which can combine both attributes. Through this symbiosis both circuits could be served by a single pump, eliminating the need for an overall motor-pump unit. Via the enlarged volume of the common tanks, an energy-efficient concept for the cooling system could then be employed. Both aspects would then produce energy savings. Because only one tank is then necessary, required space is also reduced.

Project implementation:
BKW Kälte-Wärme-Versorgungstechnik GmbH
Benzstraße 2
72649 Wolfschlugen
07022 | 5003 0
info@bkw-kuema.de
www.bkw-kuema.de

Cooperation partner:
Carl Bechem GmbH, Hagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Werkzeugmaschinenlabor WZL der RWTH Aachen

AZ 31555