Standards

CAGI Releases Compressed Air Purity Guide

By Chad Larrabee, Technical Editor, Compressed Air and Gas Institute

The Compressed Air and Gas Institute has released a Compressed Air Purity Guide to help industries achieve clean, dry compressed air and improve system reliability. The guide applies ISO 8573-1 to classify contaminants such as particles, water and oil, and defines purity levels for plant, instrument and process air. It also outlines key technologies like dryers and filtration systems to ensure optimal air quality and equipment protection.

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How to Implement Aseptic Technique in Microbiological Compressed Air Testing

By Trace Analytics

In modern and industrial work settings, people spend more than 90% of their time in enclosed spaces, such as warehouses, office buildings and factories. In most indoor environments, the air contains a variety of chemical and microbial particles, commonly defined as indoor pollutants, which can severely affect human health and product quality (1). Industries like food and beverage, medical devices and pharmaceutical manufacturers rely on their scheduled compliance testing to confirm the presence or absence of issues in workflow pipelines that are detrimental to the daily output and safety of the product.

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Compressed Air and Energy Management Systems Based on ISO 50001: What You Need to Know

By Bo Kuraa, Enersize

An Energy Management System (EnMS) according to ISO 50001:2018 provides companies with a strategic tool to help manage the performance of energy-consuming equipment, including compressed air systems. Improved performance of a compressed air system, in turn, can go a long way toward lowering energy costs and improving system uptime, both of which provide the ability to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Here’s a look at the standard and important considerations involved in the implementation of an EnMS for a compressed air system according to ISO 50001.

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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.

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Microbial Testing and Compressed Air Standard ISO 8573-7

By Maria Sandoval, Microbiologist, Trace Analytics

This article will focus on ISO8573-7 normative test methods and analysis for viable microbiological contaminants and how it can be fundamentally utilized in compressed air microbial monitoring plans. The quality of the compressed air must be monitored periodically to fulfill national and international standards. ISO 8573 is an available standard addressing compressed air quality. It consists of nine parts that address purity classes, specifications, and procedures. ISO 8573-7:2003, can be utilized across all industries’ compressed air microbial monitoring plans. It contains both informative and normative procedures but lacks any tested compressed air microbial specifications regarding colony enumeration limits for microbial plate counts.

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Innovative Adsorption Medium for Pressure Swing Desiccant Air Dryers

By Colin Billiet, CEO, Air Purification Skroll

Compressed air contains contaminants such as dirt, water and oil which must be removed before use. ISO8573.1 specifies air quality classes for these contaminants. Humidity is expressed in terms of Pressure Dew Point (PDP). PDP is the temperature at which air is fully saturated with moisture, when the air temperature falls below this point further condensation will occur.

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OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1019.134 Grade D Compressed Breathing Air Requirements

By Nancy Aulisa, Marketing Communications Manager, ENMET

Compressed air is used in more than 70 percent of all manufacturing activities including supplying breathing air to personnel using supplied air respirators. Hazardous breathing conditions exist in many routine industrial operations, such as chemical manufacturing, hospitals, abrasive blasting, paint spraying, industrial cleaning, and arc welding. In these and other operations that introduce contaminants into the workplace, supplied-air respirators, air filtration systems and carbon monoxide monitors are frequently used for worker protection.

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Motor Controls in Centrifugal Air Compressors

By The Compressed Air and Gas Institute

The days are long gone when power to a motor was controlled with a knife switch. These were cumbersome and downright dangerous to man and equipment alike. Every electric motor has some form of controller, responsible for turning over (starting) the motor or motor-controlled equipment. These controllers offer differing features and complexity depending on the application, United States electrical codes require the use of a motor starter that meets NEMA’s National Electrical Code as well as all local electrical codes.

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Refrigerated Dryers Tested by the CAGI Performance Verification Program

By Rick Stasyshan for the Compressed Air and Gas Institute

Compressed Air Best Practices® (CABP) Magazine and the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI) cooperate to provide readers with educational materials, updates on standards and information on other CAGI initiatives. CABP recently caught up with Rick Stasyshan, Technical Director for the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI) to provide readers with some insights into the benefits of CAGI’s Verified Performance Program for refrigerated compressed air dryers.

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Key Considerations for Installing Centrifugal Air Compressors

By the Compressed Air and Gas Institute

Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine and the Compressed Air and Gas Institute have been cooperating on educating readers on the design, features, and benefits of centrifugal compressor systems. As part of this series, Compressed Air Best Practices® (CABP) Magazine recently caught up with the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI). During our discussion, we reviewed some of the things readers should consider when installing a centrifugal compressor system.

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ISO 22000 Certification for the Food & Beverage Industry

By Atlas Copco Compressors

ISO 22000 is a food and beverage (F&B) specific derivative of ISO 9001, a family of standards from the International Organization for Standardization that details the requirements of a quality management system. It is a quality certification that can be applied to any organization in the food chain — from packaging machine manufacturers to the actual food processing facilities.

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