Air Compressors Info

A brewery neglected to perform routine maintenance on its compressed air system for years. As a result, two of its centrifugal compressors, whose impellers had been rubbing against their shrouds, were unable to deliver the volume of air they were rated for and one of those units had burned up several motors during its lifetime. In addition, plant personnel did not inspect the system’s condensate traps regularly. These traps were of a type that clogged easily, which prevented the removal of moisture and affected product quality. Also, the condensate drains were set to operate under the highest humidity conditions, so they would actuate frequently, which increased the system’s air demand. As a result, energy use was excessively high, equipment repair and replacement costs were incurred unnecessarily, and product quality suffered. All of this could have been avoided through regular maintenance. Like all electro-mechanical equipment, industrial compressed air systems require periodic mai...

"Maintaining the proper air quality level is essential for keeping compressed air energy costs down and to ensure reliable production." Poor air quality can have a negative effect on production equipment and can increase energy consumption and maintenance needs. The quality of air produced should be guided by the quality required by the end-use equipment. The air quality level is a function of the levels of particulate, moisture, and lubricant contaminants that the end uses can tolerate. Such air quality levels should be determined before deciding whether the air needs additional treatment. Compressed air should be treated appropriately but not more than is required for the end-use application. The higher the quality, the more the air usually costs to produce (in terms of initial capital investment in equipment, energy consumption and maintenance). Once the true end-use air quality requirements have been determined, the proper air treatment equipment can be configured. Se...

Compressed air is one of the most important utility requirements of many industrial manufacturing plants because it directly serves processes and applications such as pneumatic tools, pneumatic controls, compressed air operated cylinders for machine actuation, product cleansing and blow-off applications. Ensuring an appropriate, stable pressure level at the end-use applications is critical to the performance of any industrial compressed air system. End uses that are engineered for maximum efficiency can help provide the consistent supply of compressed air that ensures reliable production. To ensure the efficiency of compressed air end-use applications, a number of steps should be taken: Review the pressure level requirements of the end-use applications. Those pressure level requirements should determine the system pressure level. Because there is often a substantial difference in air consumption and pressure levels required by similar tools available from different manufacturers, ...

Compressed air generation is one of the most expensive utilities in an industrial facility. When used wisely, compressed air can provide a safe and reliable source of power to key industrial processes. Users should always consider other cost-effective forms of power to accomplish the required tasks and eliminate unproductive demands. Inappropriate uses of compressed air include any application that can be done more effectively or more efficiently by a method other than compressed air. The table below provides some uses of compressed air that may be inappropriate and suggests alternative ways to perform these tasks. Potentially Inappropriate Uses could be replaced by following suggested alternatives: Clean-up, Drying, Process cooling: Low-pressure blowers, electric fans, brooms, nozzles Sparging: Low-pressure blowers and mixers Aspirating, Atomizing: Low-pressure blowers Padding: Low to medium-pressure blowers Vacuum generator: Dedicated vacuum pump or central vacuum system Pers...

The effect of intake air on compressor performance should not be underestimated. Intake air that is contaminated or hot can impair compressor performance and result in excess energy and maintenance costs. If moisture , dust , or other contaminants are present in the intake air, such contaminants can build up on the internal components of the compressor, such as valves, impellers, rotors, and vanes. Such build-up can cause premature wear and reduce compressor capacity. "When inlet air is cooler, it is also denser. As a result, mass flow and pressure capability increase with decreasing intake air temperatures, particularly in centrifugal compressors." This mass flow increase effect is less pronounced for lubricant-injected, rotary-screw compressors because the incoming air mixes with the higher temperature lubricant. Conversely, as the temperature of intake air increases, the air density decreases and mass flow and pressure capability decrease. The resulting reduction in ...

Knowing the proper air quality level required for successful production is an important factor in containing compressed air energy and other operating costs, because higher quality air is more expensive to produce. Higher quality air requires additional air treatment equipment, which increases capital costs as well as energy consumption and maintenance needs. The quality of air produced should be guided by the degree of dryness and filtration needed and by the minimum acceptable contaminant level to the end uses. Level of Air Quality: Plant Air Applications: Air tools, general plant air Level of Air Quality: Instrument Air Applications: Laboratories, paint spraying, powder coating, climate control Level of Air Quality: Process Air Applications: Food and pharmaceutical process air, electronics Level of Air Quality: Breathing Air   Applications: Hospital air systems, diving tank refill stations, respirators for cleaning and/or grit blasting Compressed Air Conta...

Most industrial facilities need some form of compressed air, whether for running a simple air tool or for more complicated tasks such as the operation of pneumatic controls. A recent survey by the U.S. Department of Energy showed that for a typical industrial facility, approximately 10% of the electricity consumed is for generating compressed air. For some facilities, compressed air generation may account for 30% or more of the electricity consumed. Compressed air is an on-site generated utility. Very often, the cost of generation is not known; however, some companies use a value of 18-30 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of air. Compressed air is one of the most expensive sources of energy in a plant. The over-all efficiency of a typical compressed air system can be as low as 10%-15%. For example, to operate a 1-horsepower (hp) air motor at 100 pounds per square inchgauge (psig), approximately 7-8 hp of electrical power is supplied to the air compressor. To calculate the cost of compresse...