Industries

Low-Pressure Air Compressors Deliver Savings for Lafarge Cement Distribution

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

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.

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Plastic Extruder Reduces Compressed Air Use by 367 cfm

By Don van Ormer, Air Power USA

A plastic product manufacturer spends an estimated \$245,000 annually on electricity to operate the air compressors in a compressed air system at its plant located in a midwestern U.S. state. The main manufacturing process is plastic extruding. The current average electric rate, at this plant, is 7 cents per kWh. The compressed air system operates 8,760 hours per year and the load profile of this system is relatively stable during all shifts.

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Australian Company Focuses on Compressed Air Waste & Quality

By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge®

A small Australian company, Basil V.R. Greatrex (BVRG), is shaking up the compressed air industry in Australia. While other companies focus on the sale of more and bigger compressed air production equipment, BVRG is helping customers reduce their compressed air system size and lower system flow by attacking waste, inappropriate use, and at the same time improving air quality.

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Plastic Extruder Optimizes Blow-Offs for Cooling

By Hank van Ormer, Air Power USA

At a Midwest window manufacturing plant, the cooling process for the plastic frame pieces, after leaving the extruder, was critical to process productivity and quality. Too much cooling air (or not enough cooling air) would generate scrap and rejected product. The plants’ 17 extruders and 55 separate blow-offs in these lines had similar cooling stations at the cooling boxes. They consisted of about three hoses at each exit frame angled down to the extruded piece moving past it. The compressed air flow was controlled by a manual control valve set by an operator. The operator used his experience to control the flow delivered and thereby control the product quality.

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Compressed Air is a Star at Ball Corporation

By Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Paying close attention to compressed air use is paramount for identifying potential energy-saving projects. The engineering team at Ball Corporation has been well aware of this fact for years. An active member in the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® program, Ball Corporation scrutinizes manufacturing processes to maximize the energy efficiency of compressed air systems in each of its plants.

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Poultry Plant Reduces Compressed Air Use by 44%

By Don van Ormer, APenergy

A major poultry processor and packager spends an estimated \$96,374 annually on energy to operate the compressed air system at its plant located in a southern U.S. state. The current average electric rate, at this plant, is 8 cents per kWh.

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Control Improvements at Forge Plant Make Big Impact

By Ron Marshall

Metaldyne Performance Group (called MPG in this article) Plant 1 in Columbus, Indiana (formerly known as Impact Forge) has made significant efficiency improvements to their compressed air system. With the help of their service provider, IAC Air Compression, MPG has implemented some innovative control on their existing air compressors, added new air compressors with variable capacity control, and tied everything together with a modern central controller. This installation has been recognized for its wise use of power by their power utility Duke Energy.

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Selecting Purity Levels with Onsite Nitrogen Generators

By David Connaughton, Product Sales Manager, Parker Hannifin, Gas Separation and Filtration Division

The useful and various properties of nitrogen (N2) in industrial applications rank it as one of the most specified gases in industry. For the manufacturer, nitrogen options exist in the choice of delivery system, compliance with clean air standards, safety and purity. In researching these choices, manufacturers can accurately select the optimum nitrogen supply required, often at a considerable savings. Selecting purity levels of 99.99% or higher in many industries and applications ads a variety of costs, both financial and efficiency, which may be needlessly incurred.

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The Advantages of Onsite Nitrogen Generation for Brewers

By: Mike Robinson, Atlas Copco Compressors, LLC.

Made from various combinations of hops, grain, yeast and water, beer is a drink that has been produced for centuries. But while the ingredients are simple, the chemical processes behind the drink are anything but. Through various reactions, barley becomes fermentable sugars that are then digested by the active yeast to produce carbonation and alcohol. Although the basic principles behind brewing are little changed since their advent, the technological aspects are much improved. Today, large stainless steel tanks are used for fermentation and wort aeration, and complex, automated systems help with everything from temperature regulation to bottling.

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Automaker PROTON Attacks Compressed Air Waste

By Abdul Azeem bin Mohamed Mohideen, Electrical Energy Manager, PROTON

Edited by Ron Marshall

Compressed air optimization measures adopted by PTMSB have reduced the consumption of compressed air by 31 percent resulting in savings of about 3,761,000 kWh per year in energy consumption. The monetary savings are MYR 1,090,627 per year (\$255,000 USD). The CO2 reduction is estimated at 2,735 ton per year.

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