Alfa Laval have unveiled their latest adiabatic product, Abatigo, which they believe represents the next generation in efficient cooling. The company claims that Abatigo has been optimized to deliver long-term savings in water, energy, chemicals and maintenance time to its customers.

Abatigo has been designed in response to the growing challenge to deliver products that are both economically and ecologically sustainable. Customers are also increasingly looking for alternatives to open cooling towers for a variety of reasons including high water consumption and the risk of Legionella contamination. In a lot of cases, dry coolers are an ideal alternative to open cooling towers but under certain conditions the limitations of dry coolers can be exposed; when used in a narrow temperature approach or in a challenging climate for example. In these challenging conditions, adiabatic solutions have proven to be the most viable alternatives to open cooling towers.

The cooling method employed by the Abatigo is to spray a fine mist of water to cool the air before the air enters the heat exchanger coil. The result of this spray is that it significantly reduces both energy and water consumption, while the Abatigo is highly adaptable to different applications and climates. The closed adiabatic chamber keeps the heat exchangers completely dry by preventing any water drift to the heat exchangers, thus preventing scaling, erosion, and dangerous waterborne diseases.

Alfa Laval claim that the Abatigo can deliver up to 95% reduction in water consumption compared to a cooling tower and also up to 95% lower energy consumption in comparison with an air-cooled central chiller. The company also claims that the Abatigo guarantees perfect water temperature as a result of precise controls that continuously adjust fans and adiabatic chamber activation and ensures maximized uptime thanks to scale-free operation, durable construction, and a safer acrylic-coated heat exchanger. Other advantages of an adiabatic system are that no water treatment is required and that it delivers maximum capacity, with a low footprint compared to dry coolers.
The design of the Alfa Laval Abatigo has been optimized via a modular concept, which enables 1–20 fans per unit to be arranged in single or double row configurations, depending on capacity requirements and available space. The EC fans, which are equipped with exhaust diffusers for increased energy efficiency, should ensure close temperature control and energy consumption based on actual load conditions.