Industrial Utility Efficiency

Compressor Controls

As part of its ongoing corporate initiative to find ways to reduce its energy bills, and the costly impact on the bottom line, a cleaning products plant, located southwest of Chicago, recently focused on improving their compressed air system operation. This company is a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. This article discussed their efforts to improve the operation of their compressed air system by implementing an innovative compressed air monitoring and control system.

Roxane Laboratories’ System Assessment

Roxane Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation located in Columbus, Ohio, created a world-class air system that generated \$61,314 per year in electrical energy cost savings (1,156,868 kWh), improved productivity and quality, and allowed the successful completion of a significant plant expansion.

Aluminum Mill Reconfigures Compressed Air System

This aluminum mill spends \$369,000 annually in energy costs to operate their compressed air system. This system assessment recommends actions reducing annual energy costs by \$120,000 and improving productivity and quality by delivering clean, dry compressed air.

Inappropriate-Use Assessment Saves 1,881 scfm

This factory currently spends \$735,757 annually on the electricity required to operate the compressed air system at its plant. The group of projects recommended in the system assessment will reduce these energy costs by an estimated \$364,211 (49% of current use). Estimated costs for completing the recommended projects total \$435,800. This figure represents a simple payback period of 14.4 months.

Compressed Air Leaks: Fact vs. Myth

Compressed air leaks - every system has them.  Is a leak identification and control program economically rewarding and/or necessary? Upper management sometimes doesn’t recognize the true cost of not repairing air leaks.  Knowing the high cost of compressed air, why wouldn’t every facility with a compressed air piping system implement a continuous leak identification and repair program?

Control Systems for Small and Medium-Sized Air Compressors

In today’s world, where “green” is “gold”, the efficient operation of multiple air compressors has taken on a new sense of urgency. In an era where giant manufacturing campuses with huge compressed air systems are fast disappearing, the emphasis shifts now to improving the efficiency of the higher numbers of installed small and medium size air compressors.

Grimmway Farms Implements System Automation

This article presents a case study of Grimmway Farms; a carrot growing and packing firm located in California’s Central Valley that was able to improve its compressed air system efficiency after implementing system automation and making relatively small equipment and piping changes.

Evaluating Central Compressed Air Management Systems

Productivity and profits are very directly linked to the compressed air system, as is waste elimination. High performance central compressed air management systems can respond quickly to even extreme system fluctuations, improving productivity and minimizing energy waste.  This is accomplished with modern software systems analyzing and processing appropriate data and triggering proactive actions - before the dynamics effect the compressed air production system.