Industrial Utility Efficiency

Power

Air Compressor Control Gap Issues Solved at an Ethanol Plant

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

A newly constructed ethanol plant experienced control gap issues shortly after comissioning.  This article discusses the cause of the issue and how the problem was solved.

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Explosion-Proof Vacuum Systems for Combustible Dust

By Paul R. Miller, Vice President and General Manager, Nilfisk CFM

In February of 2008, a sugar plant near Savannah, Georgia suffered the ultimate tragedy. Fouteen employees were killed and 40 injured when finely ground motes of sugar dust ignited, setting off a violent blast. If the fatalities and a tarnished reputation weren’t enough, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) then fined the company more than 8 million dollars in workplace violations related to combustible dust.
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Instrument Air in Nuclear Power Plants

By Bill Eister, Oconee Nuclear Station, Duke Energy

Nuclear power plants produce electricity for people, business and industry.  Electricity is produced in a similar fashion as fossil fuel (i.e., coal, oil, etc.) power plants, using steam to drive a turbines which spin an electrical generator, producing the electricity. 
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Boiler Soot-Blowing in Power Plants

By Hank Van Ormer, Air Power USA

Utilities have been cleaning their boilers for many years using either steam or high-pressure air.  In the past, when air was used, due to the size of the boilers and the reasonable quality of fuel used, a relatively small amount of cleaning was required.
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