Industrial Utility Efficiency

Industries

Re-engineered Compressed Air System Scores Perfect “10” at PC Forge

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Since completion of the system upgrade in the fall of 2020, PC Forge is on track to save an average of 1.9 million kWh and $266,000.00 per year in energy costs – and increase the production capability of its forging operation by 40%. The project also achieved a one-year payback with a \$245,000 incentive from Government of Ontario’s utility Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
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Front Row Motorsports Takes the Checkered Flag with Clean, Dry Compressed Air

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

At the paint booths, FRM team members typically use conventional High-Volume Low-Pressure (HVLP) paint sprayers to prime the chassis and car bodies. Paint pressure pots (also called paint tanks) feed paint to the paint sprayers. The compressed air system supplies air to the paint pots at a steady 65 psi. The tanks regulate air output for the sprayers at 12 to 15 psi in order to deliver the precise amount of paint to a given chassis or car body.
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Tetra Pak Solutions Conserve Water & Energy for Food & Beverage Sector

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

“Our view is always from the perspective of the value chain from the raw materials to the end product,” Wellendorph said. “How do we work with our suppliers who supply us? How do we look at our own manufacturing to avoid waste? Then, how can our equipment minimize the amount of energy or water it uses when processing and packaging customers products? It’s more than just focusing on ourselves.”
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Pure Gas Testing-The Benefits of Point of Use Sampling

By Jenny Irvin, Trace Analytics

Regular testing of pure gases helps to ensure the safety of consumers and of end products. Whether the pure gas is used directly for medical patients, or in the manufacturing of food, beverages, or pharmaceutical products, quality is of the highest importance. Inadequate levels of purity or unsafe contamination can be detrimental to the products or consumers.
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The Gentex Journey to Reliable Energy Conservation - 3 Levels of Compressed Air Systems

By John Bilsky, Facilities Maintenance, Gentex Corporation

The information contained in this article, will help the operator to assess his/her systems, and identify where these systems fall within a three-level category. There are many ways, and opportunities to make a compressed air system produce reliable and good quality air. The three levels discussed here could also be characterized as a “continuous improvement plan” which can be achieved over the course of time, and with the occasional investment of money.
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HAUG Oxygen Compressors for Efficient Gold Extraction

By Paul Frank, Technical Proposal Manager, Sauer Compressors USA

Logistics and supply problems are widespread on the African continent. Lack of infrastructure as well as capacity and efficiency deficiencies can affect supply chains and make them more expensive. Gold mines, which are often located in secluded areas, therefore seek to provide their entire infrastructure themselves. Even the oxygen required for efficient gold extraction by cyanide leaching is therefore not delivered but generated on site.
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Remote Monitoring Takes Off for Aerospace Manufacturer

By Nicolas De Deken, President, ENERGAIR

In the absence of the control system, the air compressors were loading and unloading according to pre-set pressure bands, which forced the system to operate at higher pressures and run inefficient combinations of compressors in order to effectively match air demand. When switched on, irrespective of air demand, the control system was able to control all compressors on a single, tight pressure band and efficiently match output with demand.
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Milk Plant Deploys the Second Stage of Energy Savings

By John Molnar, P.E., Rogers Machinery Company

Yearly energy reduction quotas drive utilities, plant, and energy managers to continue to reduce energy consumption in all areas. A frequent question asked is, “Where can we find more energy savings once we have a VFD compressor and we have fixed all our leaks?”
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Quad Drives Compressed Air Efficiencies at 1.7 million-square-foot Printing Plant

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

The Sussex plant operates no less than 22 air compressors to keep pace with demand, which ranges from 11,000 to 16,000 cfm. The water-cooled, rotary screw air compressors, which are predominately 200-horsepower (hp) machines, in addition to a select number of 100-hp and smaller units, are strategically located throughout the sprawling complex to consistently deliver clean dry air where needed. A total of 18 air compressors are fixed-speed machines while the remainder are Variable Speed Drive (VSD) machines. The plant’s system also includes 26 refrigerated dryers, as well as various receiver tanks.
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Auto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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