Chemical industry

Chemical industry 
1. Electroplating, anodizing, and electrophoresis industries

In the electroplating and electrophoresis industries, chillers help stabilize metal and non-metal ions, enabling rapid deposition onto plated, oxidized, or electrophoretically coated parts. This not only enhances density and surface smoothness but also reduces the number of plating cycles required. During electroplating, the plating bath continuously generates heat as the electrochemical reaction proceeds, causing the solution temperature to rise gradually. When the bath temperature exceeds the process‑specified range, it significantly affects the adhesion, uniformity, flatness, and surface finish of the plated coating. By using a chiller to maintain a stable temperature, the electroplating solution can be kept at an optimal level, thereby substantially improving both the electroplating process and production efficiency.

2. Cooling the reactor vessel

In food, pharmaceutical, and chemical plants, during industrial processes involving reaction vessels, the raw materials inside the vessel often require rapid cooling. To achieve this, we aim to cool the reactor directly through refrigeration, thereby indirectly reducing the temperature of the materials within. To accomplish this, it is essential to select appropriate refrigeration equipment capable of lowering the reactor’s temperature.

3. Ink and Powder Coatings Industry

During the grinding process, inks or coatings can cause changes in the molecular structure of the materials, generating high temperatures that compromise the quality of the raw materials. This leads to reduced production efficiency and severe wear on the grinding equipment. To address this, it is necessary to supply chilled water to the grinder for temperature control, thereby protecting both the equipment and the material quality while also enhancing production efficiency.

When grinding raw materials into powder, excessively high powder temperatures can cause agglomeration, compromising both production efficiency and powder quality. To address this, we install a low‑temperature cooling system that introduces cold air into the grinding chamber to rapidly cool the material, preventing clumping.

4. Injection molding, thermoforming, and extrusion industries

Injection Molding: Injection molds almost always require a cooling system, because the process involves heating molten plastic pellets to 200–300°C in an injection molding machine and then injecting them into the mold cavity. Imagine injecting such hot plastic into the mold cavity: without a cooling system, what would normally take 30 seconds per cycle could stretch to five minutes, ten minutes, or even twenty minutes per mold—resulting in prohibitively high production costs.

Vacuum forming: To enhance production efficiency, vacuum‑formed parts are typically cooled before demolding. Ideally, both the inner and outer surfaces of the part in contact with the mold should be cooled; it is preferable to use molds equipped with internal cooling coils. For non‑metallic molds—such as those made of wood, plaster, glass‑fiber‑reinforced plastic, or epoxy resin—water cooling is not feasible, so air cooling may be employed instead, with water mist applied to cool the outer surface of the vacuum‑formed part.

Extrusion: Cooling of extruded products is a critical step for ensuring the dimensional stability and internal structure of the finished parts. Immediately after exiting the die, plastic extrudates must be cooled; otherwise, they will deform under the influence of gravity. For non‑crystalline materials such as polyvinyl chloride, crystallization can be disregarded, and rapid cooling—direct water quenching—can be employed to ensure thorough cooling within the cooling tank, preventing further deformation. In contrast, for crystalline polymers like polyethylene and polypropylene, crystallization must be taken into account; rapid cooling can adversely affect the material’s microstructure, inducing residual stresses that may later lead to cracking. This issue demands careful attention in the extrusion process. For the extruded layers of crystalline plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene, a gradual, stepwise cooling method using warm water is recommended. The specific approach depends on the equipment and auxiliary systems available; the cooling tank should be divided into sections, with the water temperature starting at 75–85°C upon entry into the first section and decreasing progressively through each subsequent stage until ambient temperature is reached. A smaller temperature differential between successive stages is generally more desirable.

Kawamoto industrial chillers (for chilled water and chilled air) are widely used in the chemical industry.