Industrial Utility Efficiency

Food

There were two situations brought to our attention. The first was that production at times was having to slow down, or even stop, due to compressed air system pressure falling below the required levels. The second reason was due to reports, from plant personnel, of compressed air moisture problems negatively affecting the bag life of the dryer baghouses.

Clean and Dry Compressed Air Drives Success at Five Churches Brewing

Compressed air is a critical aspect of brewing craft beer and no one understands that better than Five Churches Brewing, which recently looked to MidState Air Compressor, Inc. to recommend and install an appropriate compressed air system for virtually every aspect of beer production including brewing, canning and keg washing.

 

Pneumatics Boost Productivity of Doroti Pack Thermoforming Machine

For more than 20 years, Hungarian-based Doroti Pack Ltd. has specialized in the production and servicing of state-of-the-art packaging machines. Their focus is on developing, manufacturing, producing and selling premium-quality packaging equipment, including their line of DorPack thermoforming machines which are often used for food products such as fresh meat, fish, dairy products, bakery ware, confectionery and ready-cooked foods. Dorati Pack chose to incorporate Aventics pneumatic components in latest thermoforming machine for optimal productivity and machine longevity.

Reviewing Dust Collectors and Nitrogen in a Food Manufacturing Plant

This major food manufacturing plant in the Midwest uses compressed air and onsite nitrogen generation to operate multiple snack production and packaging lines. The plant spends an estimated \$430,344 annually on energy to operate its compressed air system based on an average rate of 4.5 cents per kWh.

Lessons Learned: Saving Energy Costs with Heated Blower Desiccant Dryers

Experienced auditors become wary when they see desiccant dryers installed in customers’ plants. These dryers are required when a plant needs instrument-quality compressed air, or when compressed air piping is exposed to freezing temperatures. However, while desiccant dryers can gain this level of quality, the energy cost of stepping up from a dewpoint of 35 oF to a level of -40 oF increases quite considerably. To attempt to reduce the energy costs of drying to these low levels, heated blower desiccant styles may be used. This article describes three common desiccant dryer types, as well as some experiences, good and bad, with heated blower types.

Assessment Reveals Air Compressor Control Gap Issues

A food processor in Western Canada hired an auditor to assess the energy efficiency of its compressed air system. The results revealed surprises about the operation of some important elements of the system, and detected that the air compressors were having control gap problems. Additionally, the audit led to initial energy savings of \$20,000 – and identified the potential to achieve overall operational savings of 45%. The following details some of the audit findings and results.

Common System Issues Part 1 - Oil-Free Air Compressors Paired with Heatless Desiccant Dryers

Many food processing plants are already using oil-free compressed air at a low-pressure dewpoint. This has required the use of two-stage oil-free screw air compressors, centrifugal air compressors and other technologies, as well as regenerative dryers of one type or another. The most common oil-free air compressor in industry is the two-stage “dry screw” machine and the most common regenerative dryer type is the heatless type. These are combined in many food processing, pharmaceutical, and high-tech plants.

 

 

Safety: Food-Compliant Pneumatics for Fully Aseptic Juice Filling Machine

Machines for filling milk or juice must often work around the clock. Given the critical importance of uptime, Elopak opted for Aventics food-compliant pneumatics when developing its E-PS120A - the first fully aseptic filling machine for gable top packaging. With an output of up to 12,000 cartons per hour, disruptions and downtime are not welcome with the aseptic filling machine.

Nitrogen Gas in the Food Process

Gaseous nitrogen is used in a variety of systems and processes in the food manufacturing and packaging industries. Often regarded as the industry standard for non-chemical preservation, nitrogen is an inexpensive, readily available option. Suited for a variety of uses, Nitrogen needs to be monitored for purity and potential contaminants. Depending on the type of use, the distribution channel, and the required purity levels, different testing plans should be implemented to ensure safety.

From Wastewater Agitation to Air Compressor Controls-Food Processor Finds 74% Savings Potential

As many well know, system measurement is essential to ensuring a compressed air system is running efficiently and effectively, with good air quality and adequate pressure.  This is also well understood by a multi-national food company (name has been withheld to protect the innocent) who started a focused effort to measure and improve their compressed air systems in their many processing plants worldwide.