Industrial Utility Efficiency

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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Air System Pressure Influences Compressor Power - Part 2: The Influence of System Pressure on Centrifugal Compressors

This is the second article in a three-part compressed air series by Mark Krisa, Director – Global Services Solutions, Ingersoll Rand

It is common to see energy assessment specialists treat centrifugal compressors like positive displacement compressors when attempting to reduce compressed air system energy consumption. Unfortunately, centrifugal compressors are normally much larger, and miscalculations can easily represent hundreds of thousands of dollars in overestimated energy savings. These errors are not malicious; they result from oversimplified best practices perpetuated by individuals with limited centrifugal compressor knowledge. This type of knowledge is not readily available and most energy assessment specialists do not have access to engineering teams responsible for the technical development and design of centrifugal compressors.
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Innovative Dual Pressure Control Improves Efficiency

By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge®

Grand Manufacturing, a small community owned Canadian agricultural products manufacturer, has upgraded their compressed air system as a result of a production expansion, yet increased the compressed air energy efficiency 61% by consolidating their system and implementing an innovative dual pressure control strategy.
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Load-Sharing Centrifugal Compressor Control Saves Energy

By James G. McAuley P.E.

This article reviews portions of an audit report commissioned to survey the condition of a compressed air system in a factory located in the U.S. The objective of this study is to determine the current operating conditions and make recommendations for improvement based upon application of industry recognized best practices. Due to article space limitations, this article will focus on portions of the over-all audit report provided to the factory.
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Air System Pressure Influences Compressor Power - Part 1: System Pressure’s Influence On Rotary Screw Air Compressors

By Mark Krisa, Director – Global Services Solutions, Ingersoll Rand

Energy conservation measures (ECMs) associated with compressed air have received a significant amount of attention over the years, mostly due to a reasonably short financial return compared with other energy-consuming equipment. Over time, many of the recommended corrective actions to reduce compressed air energy consumption were simplified so much that they did not lead to positive results. One of the most common compressed air ECMs is reducing system pressure, and it leverages the best practice calculation —.5 percent power per psi — outlined in the Department of Energy’s Compressed Air Challenge. This article highlights more common issues associated with estimating energy conservation resulting from changing system pressure.
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Using KPI’s for Peak Efficiency

By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge®

For many industrial sites the only indicator of compressed air performance is the big old pressure gauge right outside the maintenance manager’s office. Over the years someone may have penciled a red line on the gauge, and if the pressure falls below the line the manager will start shouting. This is an example of the saying “ What gets measured, gets managed”, definitely the plant pressure in a facility is a very important indicator of adequate compressed air system operation, but is it the only parameter that needs to be monitored? This article explores some important compressed air KPI’s and provides some examples of how they can be collected and used.
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The Six Basic Types of Liquid Cooling Systems

By Bruce Williams, Regional Sales Manager, Hydrothrift Corporation

There are six basic types of cooling systems that you can choose from to meet the cooling needs of your load. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. This article was written to identify the different types of cooling systems and identify their strengths and weaknesses so that you can make an informed choice based on your needs.
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Natural Gas Deliquescent Dehydrator Applications

Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine interviewed Tyler Currie, Vice President Business Development, Van Air Systems and Van Gas Technologies.

Triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydrators are the most prevalent technology for removing water vapor from natural gas . Molecular sieve dryers are also quite common in gas processing plants. Molecular sieve units have operating processes similar to industrial heat-regenerated compressed air dryers. Natural gas, however, often needs to be purified at the wellhead before reaching the processing plant. Deliquescent dehydrators are normally used, in remote locations where no power supply exists, to dry small gas volumes located between the wellhead and these main treatment plants. The most common applications are instrument gas, fuel gas, sales gas, and emissions mitigation.
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Natural Gas Dehydration and Conditioning for NGV Refueling and Field Gas Upgrading

By Kurt Sorschak (President and CEO) and Guy Couturier (Applications Manager) from Xebec Adsorption, Inc.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is an alternative fuel source (to diesel and gasoline) with far-reaching benefits to North America. Strategically important benefits include energy independence, improved air quality, job creation, and lower and more stable fuel prices. This article discusses natural gas desiccant dryer requirements in Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) refueling stations, compares deliquescent to desiccant dryers and reviews two on-site field gas upgrading examples in displacing diesel fuel.
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Pneumatic Circuit Analysis for Energy Efficiency

By Clint Hodge, ASCO Numatics, EMERSON Industrial Automation

Currently, and for good reason, much attention is being focused on the conservation of energy. Compressed air, like electricity and gas, is an energy resource. It has often been referred to as the third utility. As with all energy sources, our global environment demands that it be conserved and used wisely.
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DO Control System and Turbo Blowers Optimize Energy Use at a WWTF

By Jack Troidl, P.E., Woodard & Curran

Every municipality and utility is facing the reality of rising energy costs. In 2010, the Town of Billerica, MA, which is located 22 miles northwest of Boston with a population of just under 40,000 residents, engaged Process Energy Services and Woodard & Curran to conduct an energy evaluation of the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) and pump station systems sponsored by National Grid. The objective of the evaluation was to provide an overview of each facility system to determine how electrical energy and natural gas were being used at the facility and to identify and develop potential costsaving projects.
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Air Compressors

Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference Show Report
From October 29-31, 2024, professionals who operate, maintain and design industrial compressed air,
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Air Treatment/N2

Leland Brewing Adopts Modular Nitrogen Generation
A modular nitrogen generation system integrated with compressed air infrastructure enabled on-site
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Blowers

Fayetteville Wastewater Treatment Plant Lowers Operational Costs, Increases Efficiencies
The plant upgrades, in combination with a progressive management strategy, allows the plant to
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Compressor Controls

Hitting the Gas on Efficient Compressed Air Delivery at Hitachi Astemo
Hitachi Astemo’s efficiency gains will turn into significant cost savings. In this article we
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Instrumentation

Pressure Dew Point Monitoring: The Key to ISO 8573-1 Compliance
The ISO 8573-1 standard defines clear limits for various compressed air quality parameters. This
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Pneumatics

Improving the Efficiency of Pumping Systems through Pump System Optimization
The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2002 Motor Market Assessment established that pumping systems offer
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Vacuum

Advanced Vacuum Generation Reduces Maintenance
Industrial ceramics have been produced in Hermsdorf, near Jena, since 1890. In the past, high
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Cooling Systems

The AIM Act’s Impact on HFC Gases
The AIM (American Innovation and Manufacturing) Act was finalized by the US government at the end of
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