A metal foundry was struggling for years with their compressed air system. Dirty water was fouling the air compressor cooling systems. Prying fingers were altering compressor set points. Units were shutting down so often that the plant was forced to rent three expensive diesel units—for two years!—just to keep their plant pressure from falling like a rock.
Finally, after a long battle with the accountants, the plant finally received approval to replace three of their four compressors with high-efficiency, two stage units, one unit using VSD technology. The installation took place during a shutdown and the start-up was successful. The units ran beautifully, aided by a sequencing control system that maintained the VSD compressor as the trim unit and all the fixed speed compressors as base load.
But there was a problem. Leakage measurements showed that the plant was using more than 1000 cfm of air flow—even when there was no production in the plant. This level consumed more than 65% of the plant’s average air flow. The plant maintenance manager, being short on staff, hired a contractor to find and fix leaks. After two weekends of minor repairs at overtime rates, the leak levels only fell to 950 cfm.
A compressed air consultant, dissatisfied with these results, took matters into his own hands and performed a thorough no-charge ultrasonic leak detection to try and prove a point. He looked everywhere for the big leak, covering all parts of the plant, even the basement. After a full day of effort, the results were only minimal. Giving up in disgust, the consultant threw the leak detector over his shoulder to make his way back to the office. When he made this move, he heard a faint but funny noise coming from the roof near a compressed air powered dust collector. The sound was very uncharacteristic of the dust collector. Further investigation showed that the dust collector manifold had cracked, causing a large leak. The manifold was quickly isolated, which immediately allowed a compressor to shut down.
The leak had been consuming 550 cfm of air, or about 130-hp worth. A lucky break found a huge saving that may have been hidden in the rafters for years. Further investigation of the old compressors revealed that two of the three units that were removed had control issues, one having its inlet butterfly valve installed incorrectly, which meant the unit could only produce minimal air. A second unit had faulty pressure switch controls, which also greatly limited its output. All-in-all, the new system is now running smoothly on two compressors, one during light loads. The plant manager is currently scratching his head, wondering why he purchased so many compressors.
Learn more about leaks in the Compressed Air Challenge webinar scheduled for November 2013. Visit www.compressedairchallenge.org for more information.
By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge.
Paul Passarelli says
The simplest way to locate a leak is to take a page from the gas company’s playbook, with a twist…
First — tell the workforce that there will be a CONTEST and the prize will be a ***CASH*** bonus!
Second, explain that the contest is safe, fun, and everybody can play. The rules are simple: When you smell something, say something. The first person to correctly _identify_ the aroma and _pinpoint_ its source WINS!!! There can be *multiple* winners. Sources pinpointed to proper exhausts during proper operation win a consolation prize. Workers who smell nothing get to share a prize-pool worth one month worth of the savings after the leaks are identified & fixed. There are no losers!
Then — add a dose of several potent odorants to the compressed air and wait…
In a short time, there should be a flurry of activity. Then the leaks can be repaired. A rooftop leak like this one might have taken a while for the “cloud” to find a receptive nostril, but even lack of evidence is evidence of something.
P.S. Don’t use the same odorant the gas company uses else there will be chaos. Try Lemon, Spearmint, Cinnamon, Chanel No5, Peach, use your imagination. Not recommended for technical or high-purity air systems, but those systems should have inherent controls in place already.
Enjoy!