Industrial Utility Efficiency

Vacuum/Blowers

A ‘Process’ application, is one where it’s all about controlling the contents of a vessel, pipeline, or chamber.  What is the gas makeup inside the vessel? How much of it is in there? All means to control a chemical and/or thermodynamic reaction so that we add value to some base ingredients to convert them into a marketable product. 

When to Repair vs. Replace Your Vacuum Pump: A Guide

If your vacuum pump is malfunctioning, you are faced with a choice: repair or replacement. Our guide will take you through both options and provide recommendations on when it makes sense to repair vacuum pumps and when to replace them. We will also take a look at how to spot and diagnose common issues before they lead to system failure.
Whatever the path of action, the decision to repair or replace always begins with testing and diagnosis. A factory-trained service technician who specializes in vacuum pump services inspects the equipment and identifies the problem.

Advanced Vacuum Generation Reduces Maintenance

Industrial ceramics have been produced in Hermsdorf, near Jena, since 1890. In the past, high-voltage insulators; now, ceramic honeycomb bodies for heat exchangers, ventilation and emission control systems. They have always kept up with the times, developing innovative materials, products and state-of-the-art production processes to do so. 

Boosting Process Vacuum Performance at a High-Tech Electronics Plant

Electronics applications typically run their tooling requiring Process Vacuum based on differential pressure from barometric; that is, they control their PVAC pumps to “Inches of Mercury Vacuum”. This is because the parts and pieces being manipulated by vacuum are of certain sizes, shapes, and weights. If the differential pressure across the part is not great enough, then the tooling will fail and result in a loss of product, adverse impact to quality, and production downtime. 

Whiskey Distillery Compressed Air Study Saves Energy

A premium whiskey distillery was seeking to renew their compressed air system and meet their corporate mandate in making their production facility more efficient. The first step on the road to improvement was having their compressed air system assessed. This article discusses some of the findings of the system study, which saved significant energy, improved system reliability, and captured a significant utility incentive to help with the study costs and the cost of a new compressor.

Industrial Central Vacuum System Evaluations: Part 2 Audit Measures

Operating the vacuum system at higher levels (then necessary) affects the needed volumetric flow to compensate for leaks. This required compensation of volume (ACFM) must be added to the nominal production flow demand. The ambient air leak into the system will expand to the highest vacuum level, which is known as the “Expansion Ratio.”

Industrial Central Vacuum System Evaluations: Part 1 Measurement

What is vacuum as used in the manufacturing/industrial sector? The clearest answer is – a contained space with gaseous pressures much less than surrounding atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure (ATM) is expressed in many units of measure. At room temperature a cubic foot of contained air at sea level – the random movement and molecular impact on the walls of the containment vessel equal a force of 14.7 psia for every square inch of the walls.

When Mixing is the Goal, Why Would You Aerate? Compressed Gas Mixing Provides an Alternative Approach

At the beginning of the 20th century, biological wastewater treatment — more specifically, the activated sludge process — was developed and became widely accepted as the treatment method for municipal wastewater, helping to protect our lakes and rivers from pollutants and support public health. In 1947, the Committee on Development of Uniform Standards for Sewage Works was created by the group known as the Great Lakes – Upper Mississippi River Board of State and Provincial Public Health and Environment Managers. 

Low-Pressure Air Compressors Deliver Savings for Lafarge Cement Distribution

The Lafarge Cement Distribution terminal located in Winnipeg, Canada has significantly reduced the site electrical demand and energy charges by changing the way they transport their cement.  Two new low-pressure rotary screw air compressors have replaced two large high-pressure air compressors that previously powered their dense phase transport system.  The resulting power reduction has saved the company 46 percent in transport operating costs.

DO Control System and Turbo Blowers Optimize Energy Use at a WWTF

Every municipality and utility is facing the reality of rising energy costs. In 2010, the Town of Billerica, MA, which is located 22 miles northwest of Boston with a population of just under 40,000 residents, engaged Process Energy Services and Woodard & Curran to conduct an energy evaluation of the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) and pump station systems sponsored by National Grid. The objective of the evaluation was to provide an overview of each facility system to determine how electrical energy and natural gas were being used at the facility and to identify and develop potential costsaving projects.

Food Industry Factory Saves $154,000 in Annual Energy Costs

This food industry factory, located in California, was spending \$386,533 annually on energy to operate their compressed air system. This system assessment detailed eleven (11) project areas where yearly energy savings totaling \$154,372 could be found with a investment of \$289,540. A local utility energy incentive, paying 9 cents/kWh, provided the factory with an incentive award of \$159,778. This reduced the investment to \$129,762 and provided a simple ROI of ten months on the project.