A recent question received by email: I need some help from you regarding air leak calculation. We just purchased a new air leak detector that calculates leakage flow. We have high air leakage in our LPG bottling plant and our leak detector showed a flow of 9130.2 L/S. If we convert this to CFM then it will total […]
Air Compressors
Compressed air fail: Frankenstein controls
By Ron Marshall A wood products manufacturer decided to save money by hiring a small service company to maintain its compressors. The company had minimal experience in repairing compressors, but agreed to do the job. The company didn’t have parts available to replace the faulty controls on the two screw compressors — so they did […]
Compressed air fail: The mystery filter
By Ron Marshall A building products company had a compressed air system that featured one large 1,500-cfm compressor and three smaller ones. The compressed air flow had grown to a point where the large compressor could only be turned off during shutdown periods; when it was turned off, the plant pressure would collapse. The large […]
Global drinks manufacturer cuts air and inefficiencies
When a 40 bar turbo compressor situated within an internationally renowned British-based producer of soft drinks broke down, it was faced with two choices: repair or reconfigure. Choosing the latter, the producer found that the old proverb ‘as one door closes, another opens’ proved true. Founded in the late 1930s by an entrepreneurial chemist, Britvic […]
How can you use compressed air storage to reduce peaks?
A press operation used a pulse of compressed air for cleaning operations for 10 seconds, once every 10 minutes. The compressed air flow to the press during the cleaning was 400 cfm, a quite significant flow, and data logger measurements of the air compressors found that each time the blow happened, a 150-hp compressor would […]
Compressed air fail: Load sharing
A large foundry had four large 200-hp air compressors that were water-cooled and were having overheating problems. The units were capable of inlet modulation control, where the inlet valve of the compressor closes off the intake to control the output flow. Use of this control mode reduces the flow output of the compressors and the […]
Compressed air fail: Dryer overload
A building products company purchased a compressor with 1,520 cfm capacity to help with the increased load after a plant expansion. Various dryer sizes were available, but one sized at 1,600 cfm was selected, rather than choosing the next size up, to save purchase costs. Shortly after installation, the production machine operators started complaining about […]
The magic of compressed air heat recovery
A facilities manager at a building products plant attended a compressed air efficiency seminar sponsored by his local utility. He learned about optimizing air compressors, filters, dryers, and piping. He discovered how to arrange to have a baseline taken of his compressed air system to assess its efficiency. He discovered the excellent savings he could […]
Compressed air fail: Don’t forget the dryer!
A pump manufacturer implemented a new compressor control strategy that was intended to save energy. The c0mpany had three compressors running — one fixed speed unit and two VSD style units — and found after studying the system they only needed two compressors to feed the load. Savings could be gained by automatically turning a […]
What is the best compressed air adjustment location?
A common question posed to compressed air experts is “What component should I adjust to get my compressed air system running more efficiently”? The common answer is, “You should adjust that thing located between your ears.” Compressed air professionals commonly find poorly maintained and incorrectly adjusted equipment when they visit their customers’ compressor rooms. And […]