Industrial Utility Efficiency

Industries

IUE-CWA Labor Union Members Embrace Energy Treasure Hunts

Manufacturers familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Energy Treasure Hunts initiative know it’s a great way to save energy and natural resources – as long as it’s done right – which is why some are turning to perhaps their best asset to achieve success: their unionized workforce.

Sustainability is “Part of Who We Are” at Eastman

By making sustainability a requirement and a core element of its growth strategy, Eastman has improved the energy efficiency of manufacturing operations by 13% since its baseline year of 2008 (the year Eastman became an ENERGY STAR® Partner). By 2018, Eastman had decreased its greenhouse gas intensity by 20%, two years ahead of its goal. Additionally, Eastman received the 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence, marking the company’s eighth consecutive ENERGY STAR award: two years as Partner of the Year and six years of Sustained Excellence recognition.

Fifteen Years of Compressed Air Best Practices Support Gentex Business and Production Goals

While many businesses strive to plan, install and maintain a compressed air system that fulfils the company’s specific needs, I’ve found that implementing compressed air best practices not only accomplishes specific goals, but also results in time-tested advantages that aid in the overall business and production goals of the organization.

Compressed Air System Upgrades Need Follow-up Attention at Food Operation

There is usually a deep feeling of pride welling up inside the designers and installers after completing the installation of a new compressed air system, especially if it starts up and works perfectly. But what happens after a few years, are things as perfect as at the start? This is a question with an answer that very few people know for their system. This article describes some interesting experiences with a food products company at two plants where compressed air assessments of optimized systems done a few years after the system upgrades showed problems.

Keep Contaminants Out of Food and Beverage Processing Air Supplies

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 30,000 food and beverage processing plants across the United States employ more than 1.5 million workers.1 Each of those plants applies a wide range of processes to raw agricultural goods to produce consumable food and beverage products.

Milk Products Plant Finds 52 Percent Potential Savings

A food processor was having compressed air problems, so they invited a compressed air auditor into their plant for an assessment and to help them size future permanent air compressors. The plant was experiencing low air pressure and detecting water in the compressed air lines despite having a desiccant air dryer. The auditor thoroughly analyzed the compressed air system production equipment and did end-use assessment and leakage detection. This article discusses the findings leading to a potential cost savings of 52% of the current level.

Standardization of Automation Components Pays Off at New Biotest AG Plasma Fractionation Plant

Blood plasma is an indispensable resource in the production of life-saving medicines. It is also in high demand on global markets. To make more efficient use of this valuable commodity, Biotest AG developed a new large-scale production plant in Dreieich, Germany, for plasma fractionation capable of obtaining five instead of the previous three products from a single liter of blood plasma. As part of its strategy, Biotest AG worked with Festo to standardize automation components used at the plant, resulting in simplified installation and maintenance.

An Overview of Medical Air Packages

The air is delivered through a distribution piping system that ends with a medical air outlet within the room. Outlet requirements per room are governed by American Institute of America (AIA) Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities. Equipment is plugged into the medical air outlet to treat the patient. Many studies have been done determining the load required for medical air compressors. The sizing can be calculated using several methods. 

Auto

Hyster-Yale’s Greenville, North Carolina, plant reduced compressed air waste through employee-driven

Bulk

Compressed air system reliability relies on engineering expertise, environmental management and

Food

A modular nitrogen generation system integrated with compressed air infrastructure enabled on-site

Medical

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

Metals

IPS supplies compressed air to a lot of machinery running outdoors, such as dust collectors and feed

Paper

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

Pharmaceutical

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

Plastics

Compressed air boosters are engineered to amplify medium-pressure air (90–150 psig) to high-pressure

Power

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

Printing

The plant was intermittently operating a staggering 11 air compressors scattered across its facility

Transit

An aerospace manufacturer worked with Renew Energy Partners to address energy waste caused by

Wastewater

Compressed Gas Mixing provides uniform mixing of water or wastewater tank contents by firing