MDS Nordion

Ottawa, Piping and Pump Changes Solve Longstanding Problem

Advancing Technology in Pumps and Controls makes Improvement Possible An after-dinner discussion with a Trane applications engineer resulted in a plant efficiency improvement that paid for itself in a short period of time, and will actually result in a significant increase in available plant cooling capacity. This was just one of a number of plant improvements at MDS Nordion, an international health and life sciences company based in . In addition, the company added an environmental cooling system for a new radiopharma- ceutical processing facility, and upgraded an existing control system to provide complete facility environmental documentation to meet strict U.S. and Canadian pharmaceutical guidelines. MDS Nordion is headquartered in , Ontario, with additional facilities in , , Hong Kong, Japan, and Belgium. It is part of MDS Inc. The company’s 10,000 employees work to advance global health by providing laboratory testing, imaging agents for nuclear medicine testing, sterilization systems for medical and consumer products, and research services to speed the discovery and development of new drugs. The firm develops therapy systems for planning and delivery of cancer treatment, analytical instruments to assist in the development of new drugs, and medical/surgical supplies. An after-dinner discussion with a Trane applications engineer resulted in a plant efficiency improvement that paid for itself in a short period of time, and will actually result in a significant increase in available plant cooling capacity.

Low Chilled Water Temperatures two centrifugal chillers, a 1983 10 percent. Dodds indicated that the Needed CenTraVac™ Model CVHE rated at facility had been having trouble A major part of the Ottawa campus is 600 tons, and a 1992 Model CVHE maintaining the required chilled- dedicated to production of advanced rated at 800 tons. Condenser water is water temperatures at levels low radiopharmaceutical products under supplied by two grade-level Marley enough to get the needed carefully controlled production cooling towers. The chillers supply dehumidification. He was pleased to laboratory conditions. In 2002, MDS chilled water to air handlers in several hear that there might be a solution Nordion began planning for a new buildings on the site via 3,300 ft. (1 to his problem. 80,000 sq. ft. wing at its Ottawa km) of 12-inch chilled-water pipe. facility to support increased nuclear Present at this discussion was Trane medicine production requirements. senior principal applications Working with Ottawa consulting engineer Mick Schwedler. As he engineering firm J.L. Richards and learned about the facility, he had Associates Limited, they planned for some practical ideas for solving the the new facility to use an air-cooled problem. Sketching on a sheet of helical-rotary chiller to generate a paper at the restaurant table, chilled glycol solution at Schwedler suggested revisions in temperatures of 32°F (0°C) , returning the plant piping and pumping at 42°F (6°C). systems that could potentially These exceptionally low solution resolve the chilled water supply temperatures were selected to restrictions. He felt the cooling achieve maximum dehumidification capacity of the plant could be for each of the many small effectively increased, with an laboratories within the new wing. accompanying reduction in The rooms all use 100 percent energy costs. outdoor supply air, which is In this application, reliably low extensively filtered and adjusted to chilled-water temperatures are meet strict temperature and humidity important because, as with the new guidelines for each room. Ultimately, wing, this system provides general the company selected Trane to comfort cooling and also supports supply two Series R™ Model RTAA processing areas which require chillers, rated at 125 tons each, for temperatures of 68°F, ± 2°, and this application. But prior to the 40 percent relative humidity, ± completion of plans for this new facility, MDS Nordion met with the Trane application engineering staff in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Dinner Conversation Reveals Opportunity to Improve One evening during his visit to La Crosse, MDS Nordion’s manager of site operations systems & technical services, John Dodds, mentioned another problem the facility was facing. “We asked Trane for ideas in dealing with this problem,” says Dodds. He explained that the existing chilled-water plant at the site was unable to operate at full capacity because of pump and piping restrictions. The existing plant has

© 2005 American Standard Inc. All rights reserved tions engineer resulted in a plant efficiency od of time, and will actually result in a apacity.

Simple Changes Lead to Large cost have been dramatic. According loads. In the case of a system with Improvement to Dodds, “We can finally get the long pipe distances, such as this This after-dinner conversation led to temperatures we need in the chilled- installation, the excessive use of a subsequent detailed evaluation of water secondary loop.” energy and restrictions on system the facility. Ottawa Trane manager According to Schwedler, the heart of capacity can be costly. Guy Bourbonnière and his staff the piping scheme changes was the Precise Flow Regulation Now worked with MDS Nordion to creation of a decoupled secondary- Possible evaluate detailed plans for the plant loop chilled-water system. In many Schwedler points out that, with upgrade. Bourbonnière points out, past system designs, says Schwedler, modern digital-control capabilities “We verified this great opportunity the chilled water secondary loop used and the availability of variable speed for making the chiller plant more constant-speed pumps with three-way pumps, it is now practical to deliver effective, and we demonstrated that valves at the load points, throttling the only the amount of water needed for the payback for the changes would flow of water through cooling coils to the cooling load, and thereby reduce be colder chilled water and reduced meet the needed temperatures, and pumping costs. He notes that overall energy costs.” The bypassing the rest. The loop runs at a modern digital controls make it mechanical contractor for the project constant and high flow. was Modern Niagara of Ottawa. The possible to deliver only the exact work was completed in the winter of This is the type of system originally amount of chilled water needed for 2000-2001, and since then the results installed at MDS Nordion. The the load, thus increasing system ∆Ts have been all that was hoped for. drawbacks to these systems are the and reducing system energy use. excessive use of energy to pump Water can be delivered at lower In the MDS Nordion project, two water through the loop and lack of temperatures, and the savings in existing three-way valves were water-temperature control at reduced energy through reduced pumping replaced with two-way valves, and about 150 feet of piping was installed in the mechanical plant area to create a bypass section for the decoupled loop. A new variable-speed chilled- water pump was installed in the secondary loop, and a differential pressure sensing device was installed to control pumped water flows.

All the Benefits with Minimal Investment According to Bourbonnière, this solution was especially attractive because of the minimal amount of work that needed to be done. “They got all of the benefits of improved efficiency and colder water with a fairly minimal investment in piping and a new pump. Another important aspect was the flexibility of their Tracer Summit control system, which allowed them to adapt easily to this changed system operations scheme.” Dodds agrees, “Much of the system didn’t have to be touched, even many of the original valves.” He notes that all of the work was done in the mechanical room itself, so there was no need to disturb plant operations.

“This project paid for itself in the first couple of years in reducing pumping energy alone.”

Because of its Ottawa location, the possible.” With the installation of the MDS Nordion system can use free new air-cooled chillers, the system cooling for four to five months of the was simply expanded to fit the year. The changes to the system application. were made during the winter One other step was also taken that months, and the updated system has saved significant money for went online in April, 2001. MDS Nordion. That was to install Immediately, Dodds and his staff pipe stubs and valves at the observed lower chilled-water mechanical plant to simplify temperatures at the room air installation of an emergency chiller handlers, and a dramatic reduction in on very short notice, should the the amount of pumping energy. system lose a chiller for any reason. Dodds observes, “This project paid for itself in the first couple of years in Dodds points out that the dollar reducing pumping energy alone.” savings come from a major reduction in the insurance premium Subsequent to this system upgrade, to the company’s carrier for construction began on the new wing, insurance for loss of production cooled by the air-cooled chillers. from a chiller failure. He notes that, Work was completed in the summer through an arrangement made with of 2003, and the facility recently had the Trane ChillerSource™ its startup inspection by the U.S. organization, a replacement chiller Food and Drug Administration. could be very quickly installed at the Dodds says the inspection went well site—thus the risk of loss from lack and they expect the new facility to be of cooling was much lower. Thus the in commercial operation shortly. premium could be significantly reduced. Control System Key to System Performance The MDS Nordion projects point out The entire facility is controlled by a that chiller-plant designs should be Trane Tracer Summit™ system. Guy subject to continuing evaluation, and Bourbonnière from Ottawa Trane as new controls and chiller remarks, “Actually, that’s what makes technologies are created, so are the system perform so well. The real- opportunities for system time digital control of the chiller, improvement. The payback period pumps, and air handlers makes a can be very short, and the results variable-flow secondary loop very sweet.

CASE-SLX107-EN August 2005 New Electronic only