Atlas Copco has developed what they call the world’s first completely solid desiccant for air dryers. The material, termed Cerades, will be initially used in its CD 20⁺-335⁺ series of dryers. Company officials said the new product will revolutionize compressed air drying. Adsorption dryers have previously used containers filled with thousands of tiny desiccant beads […]
Air Preparation
Compressed air optimization — 5 basic demand side measures
A compressed air system can have superior efficiency on the supply side, but yet waste a large portion of what its compressors produce. Here are five common items of demand side improvement for any system: Fix leakage — Typical compressed air leakage levels are between 15% and 30% of average flow. Some outlier plants leak […]
FM-approved hazardous location regulators
Four new products are joining the Proportion-Air hazardous location series of regulators. These new Factory Mutual-approved devices meet the precision pneumatic pressure control needs of professionals working in environments where flammable gases, combustible dust or fibers/flyings and filings may be present. Two new intrinsically safe products offer higher accuracy and flow rates for hazardous locations. […]
How do you select compressed air hose sizes?
True story: a fiberglass parts plant was having air pressure problems in their plant, so much so that they had turned their air compressor up to 140 psi. This was the highest it could go, which made it consume 15% more power. But still, their most critical air tool was having performance problems. An air […]
Why measuring in compressed air systems is a must
A common complaint from those who troubleshoot compressed air problems is the lack of information. A machine will be going down, caused by low compressed air pressure, but nobody knows what went wrong, why or even when. The first thing a compressed air assessor will do in solving the problems is go look at measurement […]
Compressed air fail: Clog prevention blow
Rather than skill and experience, sometimes serendipity comes into play when optimizing a compressed air system. An auditor was just finishing up a system assessment and was ready to leave the site when he spotted a previously installed flow meter. He had located it on a previous audit a few years before. The device […]
Ultrapac Smart dryer for compressed air process filtration applications
Donaldson Company Inc. introduced the Ultrapac Smart dryer, a solution that removes condensate and dries compressed air streams in manufacturing facilities using three stages of separation: filtering, drying and purifying. Highly purified compressed air is critical for food and beverage process applications, like beer, bottled water, milk, wine and yogurt. “In recent years, Donaldson has […]
Compressed air fail: Dust collectors
It is common to see reverse pulse filters applied to any process that creates dust in an industrial plant. Collecting the dust is sometimes part of the industrial process, or it could be applied for pollution control, preventing the dust from contaminating the neighborhood. Within these dust collectors are an array of filter elements, sometimes […]
What are some clues to compressed air leaks?
Sometimes you don’t need an expensive leak detector to find leaks. There are often clues scattered around the facilities that show you where costly compressed air is escaping from your system. Consider an automotive manufacturer where a variety of common leaks were found during a recent compressed air audit: Various leaking regulators were found […]
Five supply side improvements for compressed air systems
By Ron Marshall Here are five common ways to improve your compressed air system efficiency and save electrical costs: Choose an efficient compressor — Air compressors have come a long way over the years, with many design improvements implemented. Chances are that a new compressor will be more efficient than your old unit, and if […]
