When it's hot outside, a newly renovated section of the Lima Engine Plant stays comfortably cool, thanks to an innovative geothermal project that uses 40-degree quarry water to chill the plant's air.
Water from a pair of 85-foot-deep quarries on the Ohio plant property is pumped into the facility through two circulation loops. A pump house ferries cold reservoir water up to one of several heat exchangers in the plant. Warmer water from the plant's cooling system transfers its heat to the quarry water. Because the two water supplies circulate in separate paths and never mix, the purity of the quarry water is maintained.
The warmed quarry water is then returned to the quarry, sprayed over the surface to encourage evaporation and minimize heat gain. Meanwhile, the plant water is pumped back to the plant, through more than 3,500 feet of pipe, and then re-cooled.
The Lima plant began manufacturing the new aluminum Duratec 35 V-6 engine in the summer of 2006. Aluminum engine components react and perform better when the ambient temperature remains constant.
Installing the environmentally friendly project cost $300,000 less than a traditional cooling system. Moreover, Ford expects the new application to save another $150,000 and millions of gallons of water annually.
This project earned the 2005 Ohio Governor's Award for Excellence in Energy and the Design-Build Institute's 2005 national award.
