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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DOE Better Plants Partners Get Serious About Compressed Air Systems

By Robert Lung, BGS, with contributions from: Ed Willhite, Schneider Electric; Stephen Tankersley, Ring Containers; Marco Gonzalez, Waupaca Foundry; and Darwin Jaeger, Plastics Engineering Company.

Compressed air is used in all the company’s plants and is often the single largest energy end use within them. As a result, compressed air energy-saving measures are often replicable across the company and offer significant positive impacts. One area of focus is with compressed air leaks since they are “the best low hanging fruit to focus on and they always keep popping up and waste energy”.

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A Case for Using Compressed Air Flow Meters

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

To accurately assess compressed air systems, it is best to gather as much information as possible, for as long as practical so a clear picture of the operation of the system can be formed. The basic equipment needed includes pressure and amp/power data loggers, but in the past decade some excellent advances in instrumentation design has made very affordable flow meters available. This article discusses using flow meters for an example compressed air assessment.

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Cartiera Confalone Tissue Paper Line Cuts the Cost of Compressed Air

By Ilari Pakkala, Area Sales Manager, Sulzer

The pulp and paper industry depends on reliable sources of energy, water and compressed air; maintaining cost-effective supplies of these utilities is important to every successful business. Within paper making processes, a clean, oil-free air supply is essential for the reliable operation of pneumatic equipment and a high-quality end product. For one manufacturer in Italy, the selection of an oil-free turbocompressor enabled both operational and maintenance costs to be reduced.

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Moisture: the Assassin in Compressed Air Installations

By Pascal van Putten, CEO, VPInstruments and Frank Moskowitz, Instructor, Compressed Air Challenge

Moisture can freeze in compressed air systems and cause rust and pitting in pipes and components. It can also flush out the lubricant resulting in accelerated tool wear and damage to valves and cylinders. Moist air is also a rewarding breeding ground for bacteria, which especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries can lead to product rejection and costly production downtime. It is therefore strange that many companies limit themselves to measuring only basic quantities such as pressure, flow and (absorbed) power.

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Compressed Air Systems and Rocket Science

By Mustafa Uslu, Revindus

Would you believe the same technology used in the launching and controlling of a space rocket is also used in your compressed air system? Yes, in some cases, “rocket science” helps to solve problems in compressed air systems and ensures the performance of the installed units. In this article, we are going to explain the technology called the “Sonic Nozzle”, that combines a space rocket thruster and your compressed air system. Additionally, we are going to walk through a case study, step by step, to show how it works.

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Achieving Sustainability Targets by Optimizing Compressed Air Use

By Jan Edler, IIoT Manufacturing Applications Leader, Emerson, and Michael Britzger, Senior Manager IIoT Engineering & Innovation, Emerson

By monitoring compressed air consumption using smart pneumatic sensors, companies can reliably reduce energy use and emissions. The digital transformation of pneumatic systems is one critical way that companies can improve operational sustainability. Advanced airflow-sensing technology provides compressed air monitoring and valuable insights that allow companies to control and significantly reduce the energy used to produce compressed air as well as related carbon emissions.

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Metal Fabricator Measures Nitrogen Use, Receives a Surprise

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

Nitrogen is used in many facilities for a variety of purposes. The most common source of N2 is through the use of bulk liquid storage. A plant owner was recently surprised to learn that a large portion of his N2 was disappearing, without ever being used by his production process. This article discusses where it went and what we could do about it.

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Kaishan USA - All In with Global Manufacturing and Engineering Center

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Today Kaishan USA, operates its global manufacturing and engineering center in Loxley, Alabama. The goal of the company, said compressed air industry veteran and Kaishan USA CEO Keith Schumacher, was to put the right pieces in place from the very beginning. “To that end, we’ve invested $20 million in our facility and created a team allowing us to develop technologies and manufacture products not only for the Americas, but also for export globally,” Schumacher said.

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Lubricants for Centrifugal Air Compressors

By the Compressed Air & Gas Institute

Centrifugal air compressors efficiently convert energy utilizing a series of stages to compress and cool the air as it continuously flows through the unit. A centrifugal compressor imparts kinetic energy into the airstream by increasing the velocity of the air using a rotating element and then converts this kinetic energy into potential energy in the form of pressure. In between each stage of compression, the air is cooled, and excess moisture is removed to further increase the efficiency and air quality.

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Sensor Technologies Used in Dew Point Transmitters - Advantages/Disadvantages

By Simon Gleissner, SUTO iTEC

Have you ever had a failing dryer in your compressed air system, ruining your production output, but it was not noticed until it was already too late? Dry compressed air is one of the most important quality parameters when it comes to process safety. When ambient air is compressed, the ratio of the humidity to the air volume will rise drastically. Therefore the higher concentration of humidity in the compressed air leads to a higher dew point temperature and the humidity is more likely to condensate at higher temperatures.

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