Industrial Utility Efficiency

Industries

The current cost to operate the compressed air system is \$139,100 annually, and the proposed measures will reduce it by \$50,700 annually. The proposed cost to complete the measures is $47,600 providing a simple payback of 11 months. The cost included in the Action Plan includes engineering, project assistance, services to maintain the gains, and a 10% contingency.  

Blow Molding Equipment: Review and Process Steps to Minimize Energy Usage

Stretch blow molding equipment requires a significant amount of energy—both compressed air and electrical—to produce bottles. Creating an effective and efficient process, as well as monitoring and maintaining optimal process settings, can result in significant energy cost reduction. These efforts will also help produce containers that meet all of the required quality standards.

Improve Pneumatic Performance Through Filtration System Design

In an ideal world, industrial air or gas supply lines would be free of particulate, water, oil and other contaminants. In the real world, however, supply lines typically deliver some contaminants along with the air or gas they were designed to carry. Left unchecked, these contaminants will cause efficiency losses, maintenance headaches and the premature failure of pneumatic components.

MGM Industries Reduces Chilled Water Requirements with Dry Vacuum Pumps

Two years ago, sales were picking up and we began operating six extrusion lines on most days. We had to bring in some portable chillers, to keep up, and we started looking at buying a larger cooling system. We wanted to get rid of the portable chillers and have room to grow into four more extrusion lines. The new system we looked at was a 100-ton system that would have cost us around \$150,000 in capital and installation and with a larger monthly electricity bill.

We were about to buy the new 100-ton chiller when our President, Abe Gaskins said, “Hold-on, can we replace the Liquid Ring pumps with something that doesn’t consume water”? That was our “Eureka!” moment.

Plastic Extruder Saves $116,000 in Energy Costs

This plastic extrusion factory spent an estimated \$180,711 annually on energy to operate the compressed air system at their Midwestern facility. Based on the air system operating 8,760 hours per year, the group of projects recommended below could reduce these energy costs by an estimated \$116,520 or 67% of current use. Estimated costs for completing the recommended projects total \$20,100. This figure represents a simple payback period of 2 months.

Screw Blowers and Membrane Bioreactor Treat Wastewater at a Bottling Plant

The right ingredients and processes are essential for manufacturing flavorful beverages that contribute to the company’s bottom line. But what happens to all those other “ingredients” that aren’t part of the recipe? Cleaning up those unwanted ingredients from bottling plant wastewater can consume large amounts energy, time and money—and become a distraction from the company’s primary goal of manufacturing beverages.

Meat Packager Reduces Compressed Air Demand

This meat processing and packaging factory spent an estimated \$203,640 annually on energy to operate the compressed air system at their Midwestern facility. Based on the air system operating 8,760 hours per year, the group of projects recommended below could reduce these energy costs by an estimated \$107,522 or 47% of current use. In addition, these projects will decrease compressor maintenance costs. Estimated costs for completing the recommended projects total \$21,900. This figure represents a simple payback period of 2 months.

Handling Corrugated Cardboard with Optimized Pressure-Regulation of Air-Driven Vacuum Pumps

Using suction cups and air-driven vacuum pumps is a preferable gripping and handling method of corrugated cardboard materials and boxes in carton-machines like case/carton erectors and rotary cartoners. Robot based applications, like palletizing and de-palletizing, are other examples where the best practice technology for gripping and handling is by suction cups and air-driven vacuum pumps.

 

Blow Molder Sequences 40 Bar Compressors

A recently completed energy efficiency improvement programme at the Britvic Beckton bottling plant has resulted in substantial energy savings and a positive impact on the company’s carbon emissions allocation.

Improved Aeration Efficiency through Design and Control

With the recent and future increases of the cost of energy, operating a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as efficiently as possible has become one of the most important factors that operators and managers are facing today. The implementation of a properly designed aeration control system has been reported by the United Sates Environmental Protection Agency to reduce aeration energy by 25 to 40 percent.

Auto

Given that compressed air leak management programs are meant to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions,

Bulk

When the design capabilities of an installed compressed air system didn’t align with real-world

Food

There were two situations brought to our attention. The first was that production at times was

Medical

The air is delivered through a distribution piping system that ends with a medical air outlet

Metals

Vane motors can run at much higher speeds (2000 rpm and up), but piston motors tend to turn much

Paper

Detecting Compressed Air Leaks Can Lead to Reduced Energy Waste, Boosted Productivity, and

Pharmaceutical

This article is intended to show the relationships between risks and specifications, opportunities

Plastics

Logoplaste, based in Cascais, Portugal, introduced its embedded wall-to-wall manufacturing model to

Power

A newly constructed ethanol plant experienced control gap issues shortly after comissioning. 

Printing

The Trinity Mirror Group print works on Oldham is one of the UK’s largest newspaper printers. The

Transit

In the absence of the control system, the air compressors were loading and unloading according to

Wastewater

When selecting a mixing technology, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their consultant