Technology

Safe Compressed Air Drying Systems for Class I, Division 1 Environments

By Jess Elley, Product Marketing Manager, Suburban Manufacturing Group – Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions

Learn how engineers can safely remove moisture from compressed air systems in hazardous environments by eliminating ignition risks through pneumatic controls. This article explores design considerations, performance characteristics and reliability factors for regenerative desiccant dryers operating in Class I, Division 1 locations.

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Sidel and Krones Blow Molders Stretch Conservation Potential

By Neal Lorenzi, Contributing Editor

The beverage industry has been using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 2-liter plastic bottles primarily for packaging carbonated soft drinks since the 1970s. As that market has grown to encompass bottled drinking water, stretch blow-molding machines continue to produce those plastic bottles. The concept is simple: A pre-form plug is inserted into the blow molding machine heated, and compressed air is injected, “blowing” into the pre-form to create the bottle.

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Sullair Celebrates 50 Years of Air Compressor Excellence

By Neal Lorenzi

A culture change is in the air at Sullair, a pioneer in air compressor technology, as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary. A global manufacturer of rotary screw air compressors used to power air-driven industrial equipment and tools used in manufacturing as well as the energy, mining and chemicals industries, Sullair operates five manufacturing facilities worldwide.

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Special Engineering Meets Speed at Parker's Finite Airtek Filtration Division (FAF)

Compressed Air Best Practices® spoke with Ted Silva (Division Sales & Marketing Manager), Allan Hoerner (Division Product Manager), Ron Nelson (Division Lean Manager), Marvin Walsh (Division Quality Manager) from Parker Hannifin’s Finite Airtek Filtration Division (FAF).

This is a 130,000 square foot manufacturing, warehousing, application engineering, new product development and customer service center all dedicated to Parker compressed air treatment and chiller technologies. We have 70,000 square feet dedicated to manufacturing, 30,000 square feet to warehousing and shipping, and 30,000 square feet for customer service and application engineering.

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Quality Compressed Air Services Is True to Its Name

By Neal Lorenzi

QCAS provides service, sales, parts and rental solutions for plant air systems, medical air systems, compressed air treatment and nitrogen generating systems. The company prides itself on being client-focused with a commitment to respond to service needs 24/7. “Our relationship with clients involves more than us just selling equipment, parts and maintenance. We provide system auditing, training, testing and information about innovations in our industry,” says Michael McCulley, president.

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Formaldehyde Monitoring in the Poultry Industry

By Nancy Aulisa, ENMET

Formaldehyde is an organic compound that can adopt several different forms. It can be used in solution form as formalin, as a free gas, or in a solid form as paraformaldehyde prills. Formaldehyde is highly toxic to humans, regardless of the method of intake. At room temperature it is a colorless gas characterized by a pungent odor. Even with very short-term exposure, formaldehyde will cause irritation to the eyes including pain, redness, blurred vision followed by sneezing, soreness, coughing, shortness of breath, headaches and nausea. Exposure to elevated levels can lead to accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema).

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Retrofitting a Compressor with a VFD and Master Controls

By Tim Dugan, P.E. President, Compression Engineering Corporation

As readers of this publication know, there are many ways to save energy in industrial compressed air systems. One common supply side technology is the variable frequency drive (VFD) of the compressor. It is well-documented that positive-displacement compressors with VFDs provide cost-effective savings in comparison to inlet modulating, load-unload, and variable displacement control.

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The Value of Service Inspection Programs

By Ron Nordby

During my forty years of involvement with distribution (companies that sell and service compressed air system products) as a Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Account Manager, I have witnessed a tremendous amount of change in the compressed air industry. As much as we like to reminisce about the good old days, it is quite apparent that the resources, capabilities and knowledge of distribution today are significantly better than ever before.

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Foundry Air Compressors Out of Control

By Ron Marshall for Compressed Air Challenge®

Quite a number of worst-case compressed air scenarios have been encountered over the years but none may compare to the conditions that existed in a metal foundry somewhere in North America. For reasons you are about to discover, we will not reveal the name of this factory or its location, in order to protect the innocent from embarrassment.

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Sullair of Houston Provides Air Compressor Solutions for Extreme Environments

By Neal Lorenzi

Sullair of Houston, one of the largest North American distributors of Sullair industrial and portable diesel compressors, loves a challenge. The company designs customized air compressor packages that fit the rough and rugged world outside the walls of an industrial plant. It builds air compressor solutions that operate efficiently in extreme, harsh environments around the globe. This includes offshore or marine environments, high or low ambient conditions—any environment where a standard air compressor will not operate safely or efficiently.

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Innovation Profile: Atlas Copco’s iPM Interior Permanent Magnet Motor and SMARTLink Service

By Scott Williams, Contributing Editor

The Department of Energy estimates that compressed air systems in the U.S. consume about 30 trillion Watt-hours of energy per year. Of all the energy used in manufacturing, compressed air systems have the greatest potential return for implementing energy efficiency practices, according to the DOE. One approach to access some of that return is to eliminate waste by producing compressed air efficiently and only in the amount demanded. Another approach is to leverage compressed air system data to assess the impact of any system changes on energy consumption and productivity.

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