Technology

ASHRAE 90.1 Brings New Requirements to Compressed Air System Design

By Troy Dreier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Word is beginning to filter out about the 2022 changes to the ASHRAE 90.1 energy efficiency standard, and the changes it promises to bring to how compressed air systems are specified, commissioned and maintained. More specifically, the industry is learning about section 10.4.6 of 90.1, which is the first time the standard has included a section on compressed air.

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Designing Efficient PSA Nitrogen Generation Systems for Food & Beverage Production

By Alan Hopkins, Purity Gas Inc.

This article is for you if your company is purchasing nitrogen gas at 99.999% purity and you’re not sure why. While there are many applications which do require nitrogen gas concentrated to 99.999%, they are significantly outweighed by the applications that don’t. Rather than relying on a delivery of bulk liquid or pressurized cylinders, many nitrogen users are choosing to produce a custom supply of nitrogen within their facility, and they are doing it at a fraction of the cost. Over the past decade we’ve seen a mass industry shift from delivered nitrogen supply, to nitrogen generation.

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Proactively Maintaining Desiccant Dryers Yields Efficiencies and Reliable Service

By Russ Jones, BEKO Technologies

Moisture in compressed air is almost never a good thing. It can damage a compressed air system by causing corrosion, rust and scale buildup. It can damage downstream equipment with these moisture byproducts or with the moisture itself. It can negatively affect processes and products that require dry compressed air.

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Three Real-World Applications for Pneumatics and IIoT

By Enrico De Carolis, Emerson

Industrial operations and manufacturers using pneumatics have access to more Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology than ever before, from position sensors on cylinders to system flow sensors and edge gateways that operate independently from the machine controller with globally accepted communication protocols.

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Troubleshooting Heatless Desiccant Dryer Proves Challenging Yet Successful

By Chris E. Beals, Air System Management, Inc.

One of the most satisfying parts of being a compressed air system auditor is resolving compressed air system reliability issues. This article exposes a seldom, if ever, mentioned problem that can occur when air dryers are dedicated to air compressors. It examines a real-world application and discusses the action taken to remedy the situation.

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Rotary Screw Air Compressor Oil System Components

By Dave Brockett, Isel Inc.

There are many critical components involved in rotary screw air compressors, and the lubricant we use is of vital importance in the process. Screw machines rely heavily on these fluids for bearing lubrication, system cleanliness, water removal, sealing, as well as heat transfer. These fluids work in a very unforgiving environment and must function well in circumstances that would normally be deemed torturous in other lubricant applications. We run it at high velocities, through scorching temperatures, while we blast it with water.

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AZEK Compressed Air Project Enhances Reliability While Saving Energy

By Airleader North America, and Dave Suder, Industrial Air Centers

The AZEK Company is a producer of durable and low maintenance building materials, and like many manufacturers, it found its compressed air system to be time consuming and expensive to keep maintained. But that changed after the company replaced its outdated and faulty compressed air system with a new design that includes technically advanced air compressors, dryers, receiver tanks – as well as controls to provide better control of the entire system and achieve optimal performance.

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Smart Monitoring: The Power Behind Pneumatics Productivity

By Mark Densley, Emerson, and Motion Industries

In manufacturing and packaging facilities that rely on pneumatics, there’s a four-letter word worse than virtually any other: leak. Unidentified air leakage and unexpected maintenance in pneumatic systems are significant sources of revenue and productivity loss but identifying the cause of leakages and preventing unforeseen downtime is typically a challenge.

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Networked Air Compressors Operate in Harmony at Automotive Manufacturer

By Stephen Parry, Bay Controls

When an automotive company added a new 200-horsepower (hp) rotary screw air compressor and accompanying dryer to a satellite building at its Chicago-area assembly plant, it needed a cost-effective way to integrate the equipment into its existing compressed air network. Doing so would allow plant personnel to easily monitor the air compressor’s performance and ensure it operates in harmony with the plant’s centrifugal air compressors. Importantly, it would contribute to efficient and reliable air compressor operation at all times.

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Automaker to Save $3.6 Million Over 10 Years with Outsourced Compressed Air

By Kurt Metzler, Universal Compressed Air

A major automotive company needed a newer and more efficient compressed air system at one of its manufacturing plants. The original system had been operating inefficiently with old equipment and controls. Faced with a major capital investment, the plant switched to a performance contracting model.

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Chemical Plant Compressed Air Audit Using Cloud-based Software

By Rok Trelc, CALMS Air Inc.

A large chemical plant in Celje, Slovenia, planned to retrofit a kiln used to produce titanium dioxide. To make space for the new equipment related to the retrofit, the plant needed to relocate its high-pressure compressed air system feeding an adjacent pressing process used to dry the material before firing it in the kiln. However, a comprehensive compressed air audit using cloud-based software showed the plant did not need to relocate the system.

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