Case Study
Abbott Murex
Spirax Sarco EasiHeats save space and reduce maintenance for Abbott Murex
A single EasiHeat™ Engineered System from Spirax Sarco has replaced two bulky shell-and-tube heat exchangers at Abbott Murex’s site in Dartford. The change has delivered reduced maintenance and more space in the plant room.
Abbott Murex is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories and produces diagnostic tests designed to protect the blood supply from infectious agents. The new EasiHeat system uses plant steam to produce on-demand domestic hot water for sinks and showers throughout the Dartford site.
EasiHeat Solution
“There hasn’t been a single problem with the EasiHeat unit since it was installed almost a year ago.”Engineering Facilities Manager, Peter Phillips
“The two shell-and-tube heat exchangers were 25 years old and were starting to develop leaks,” says Abbott Murex’s Engineering Facilities Manager, Peter Phillips. “They also took up a lot of space and were difficult to maintain.”
In addition, the old exchangers suffered periodically from a build up of scale and had to be completely stripped down for insurance inspections every other year.
The steam-to-hot water plate heat exchanger at the heart of the EasiHeat system presents no such problems.
“We initially thought we needed to buy two EasiHeats. But after talking to Spirax Sarco, we decided that this unit is robust enough and sufficiently easy to maintain for us to rely on just one,” says Mr. Phillips. “That made it a very cost-effective option.”
The company purchased a spare set of heat exchanger plates and gaskets at the same time as the EasiHeat system itself.