Industrial Utility Efficiency

Industries

Nitrogen Gas in the Food Process

By Jenny Palkowitsh, Trace Analytics

Gaseous nitrogen is used in a variety of systems and processes in the food manufacturing and packaging industries. Often regarded as the industry standard for non-chemical preservation, nitrogen is an inexpensive, readily available option. Suited for a variety of uses, Nitrogen needs to be monitored for purity and potential contaminants. Depending on the type of use, the distribution channel, and the required purity levels, different testing plans should be implemented to ensure safety.
[ Read Full Story ]

University of Manitoba Bannatyne Medical Campus Saves 15% Annually in Energy Costs

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

The University of Manitoba Bannatyne Campus, Canada, upgraded its compressed air system to include variable speed drive (VSD) air compressors and the use of internal heat-of-compression (HOC) drying, replacing oil-free air compressors and refrigerated dryers that reached the end of useful life. In doing so, the campus reduced annual energy consumption by 15%, improved the quality of the compressed air to modern day instrument air standards and gained additional compressed-air capacity. The local utility also awarded the medical campus an incentive of \$13,500, offsetting the cost of the initiative.  
[ Read Full Story ]

Medical Air Monitoring and Quality Verification

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Compressed Air Best Practices® interviewed Norman Davis, Jr., President of ENMET, LLC. Our products include medical verification instrumentation, compressed airline monitors, and single- and multi-gas detectors along with ambient air oxygen monitors. Many of these systems are designed to ensure compliance with NFPA 99 (National Fire Protection Agency) Medical Air Systems Guidelines and OSHA monitoring requirements for Grade D breathing air.
[ Read Full Story ]

Pure & Enriched: The Advantages of Using Oxygen in Wastewater Treatment Processes

By Vince Hartley, Airgas, an Air Liquide Company

Wastewater treatment processes have come a long way in the past century, but demand continues to grow for more reliable and efficient treatment technologies. As a result, industry professionals are searching for an all-encompassing solution to enhance their treatment plants and processes. One of the purest environmental aids on the market is oxygen.
[ Read Full Story ]

New York City Transit Authority Reduces Energy Use with Compressed Air Heat Recovery System

By Bruce Williams, HydroThrift Corporation

When the New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) set out to comply with local regulations calling for reductions in energy usage, it leveraged new air compressors for use in transit bus maintenance and repair – and took things to another level by recovering air compressor waste heat to provide hot potable water for the bus depot. The air compressor and heat recovery system, installed in spring 2017, is on its way to helping NYCT achieve the best energy savings possible.
[ Read Full Story ]

From Wastewater Agitation to Air Compressor Controls-Food Processor Finds 74% Savings Potential

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

As many well know, system measurement is essential to ensuring a compressed air system is running efficiently and effectively, with good air quality and adequate pressure.  This is also well understood by a multi-national food company (name has been withheld to protect the innocent) who started a focused effort to measure and improve their compressed air systems in their many processing plants worldwide. 
[ Read Full Story ]

Chicago Heights Steel Saves $215,000 Annually in Energy Costs

By Mike Grennier, Contributing Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Chicago Heights Steel, Chicago Heights, Ill., leveraged an advanced data monitoring system and adopted a demand-based compressor air management approach to save 2.5 million kWh and \$215,037 per year in energy costs. With an incentive of \$188, 714 from local utility ComEd, the project delivered a payback of 2.4 months.
[ Read Full Story ]

Nitrogen Generation in the Metal Industry

By Patrick Hyland, Technical Specialist, Valin Corporation

Factory lasers use nitrogen right at the cutting point on the metal because the high temperatures used in the process can often cause oxidation. When oxidation occurs, the metal pieces being cut can be damaged, as can the tooling creating the cut. Structural damage or inaccurate cuts can make parts weak and render them useless. The use of nitrogen at the point of contact from laser to metal removes oxygen from the cutting area and helps cool the die as it cuts, thus preventing oxidation. This prevention improves the quality of the final products, produces less scrap metal and cuts back on the reworking of pieces.
[ Read Full Story ]

Missed Demand-Side Opportunities Part 4 - Utilizing Air- Driven Venturi Vacuum Generators Efficiently

By Hank van Ormer, Contributing Editor

When the 18th Century Italian physicist Giovanni Venturi discovered when air is forced through a conical nozzle its velocity increases as the pressure decreases, neither he nor anyone could conceive it would ultimately spawn one of the most used and most highly controversial products in the industry today- the Venturi vacuum generator (aka, ejector).
[ Read Full Story ]

A Pulse Jet Dust Collector Optimization Study

By Russell Morine, Compressed Air Systems Evaluation Specialist, The Baker Group

A flour based frozen foods manufacturer orders a compressed air efficiency audit. The audit establishes the cost of compressed air at \$0.27/1000 cubic feet. The study finds the 116 pulse jet dust collectors represent the greatest opportunity for compressed air demand reduction and energy cost savings. A dust collector optimization study/service is suggested and the customer agrees to proceed. In this facility, pulse jet dust collectors are used to filter dust from raw materials entering the plant, for conveying and mixing of ingredients, and for the final packaged finished products leaving the plant.  
[ Read Full Story ]

Auto

Hyster-Yale Sustainability Recognized by North Carolina DEQ
Hyster-Yale’s Greenville, North Carolina, plant reduced compressed air waste through employee-driven
More Articles ›

Bulk

Compressed Air at a West Texas Silica Mine
Compressed air system reliability relies on engineering expertise, environmental management and
More Articles ›

Food

Leland Brewing Adopts Modular Nitrogen Generation
A modular nitrogen generation system integrated with compressed air infrastructure enabled on-site
More Articles ›

Medical

An Overview of Medical Air Packages
The air is delivered through a distribution piping system that ends with a medical air outlet within
More Articles ›

Metals

IPS Advises Midwest Industry on Compressed Air Efficiency
IPS supplies compressed air to a lot of machinery running outdoors, such as dust collectors and feed
More Articles ›

Paper

Best Practices for Acoustic Inspections in the Pulp and Paper Industry
Detecting Compressed Air Leaks Can Lead to Reduced Energy Waste, Boosted Productivity, and Improved
More Articles ›

Pharmaceutical

GMP Compliant Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Plant Compressed Air Systems
This article is intended to show the relationships between risks and specifications, opportunities
More Articles ›

Plastics

Rotary Screw Booster Advances for Blow Molding
Compressed air boosters are engineered to amplify medium-pressure air (90–150 psig) to high-pressure
More Articles ›

Power

Air Compressor Control Gap Issues Solved at an Ethanol Plant
A newly constructed ethanol plant experienced control gap issues shortly after comissioning. 
More Articles ›

Printing

Blue Mountain Reins in a Sprawling Compressed Air System
The plant was intermittently operating a staggering 11 air compressors scattered across its facility
More Articles ›

Transit

Renew Energy Partners Fixes Variable Demand on a Large Campus
An aerospace manufacturer worked with Renew Energy Partners to address energy waste caused by
More Articles ›

Wastewater

Air Compressor Design Considerations for a Successful Compressed Gas Mixing Project
Compressed Gas Mixing provides uniform mixing of water or wastewater tank contents by firing
More Articles ›