Heat-recovery & exhaust air pollution control at Getzner AG

Founded 200 years ago, Getzner AG is today the leading company for the production of African damask fabrics and one of the leading manufacturers of shirt fashion fabrics.

Vorarlberg is the westernmost province of Austria, bordering Switzerland and Germany. With the impressive alpine scenery, it is not surprising that many tourists come here who like hiking or skiing. Although Vorarlberg is a famous tourist destination, only about 6 per cent of the gross social product is generated by tourism – a sign
of a strong industry with a high export share.

The textile industry, probably the strongest branch of industry in the last two centuries,
has lost its supremacy there in the meantime. However, it is still prominently represented:
one of the 20 largest industrial companies in Vorarlberg belongs to the textile industry – Getzner AG in Bludenz.

Founded 200 years ago, Getzner AG is today the leading company for the production of African damask fabrics and one of the leading manufacturers of shirt fashion fabrics. In the new production halls at Getzner AG’s main plant in Bludenz, fabrics are woven and finished for ready-made garments. The fabrics are finished in special processes mainly on new BRUECKNER stenters. As substances evaporate from the fabric during the textile finishing processes, the stenters have to be vacuumed off and this exhaust air has to be cleaned before being emitted into the environment.

The exhaust air treatment on the new stenters of Getzner AG is carried out by a multi-stage BRUECKNER ECO-HEAT and ECO-AIR system. In the first ECO-HEAT heat-recovery system, heated fresh air is generated for the drying process, which noticeably reduces energy consumption. In the second ECO-HEAT heat-recovery system, water is heated for the company’s internal heating system and thus, depending on the heating requirement, up to 85 per cent of the invested heat energy is recovered. The pollutants from the exhaust air are condensed and separated in the subsequent ECO-AIR exhaust air scrubber. A silencer behind the exhaust air fan reduces the exhaust noise to a minimum.

The proven ECO-HEAT components guarantee high heat transfer efficiency and a particularly robust and maintenance-friendly design. Since the heat exchangers have to be cleaned at regular intervals from unavoidable deposits in order to maintain full performance, they
are easy to remove. The heat exchangers are boiled regularly in the cleaning bath supplied. As Getzner AG has replacement heat exchanger modules in stock, the heat exchangers are cleaned without any time pressure.

With this modern multi-stage exhaust air system Getzner AG achieves a high energy efficiency, because most of the exhaust air heat is recovered in BRUECKNER ECO-HEAT systems. In addition, the picturesque environment is not polluted by smoke, noise and odours from the production process, thanks to the BRUECKNER ECO-AIR exhaust air cleaning system.

Image source/photographer: Jens Ellensohn, Koblach/A