Industrial Utility Efficiency

Printing

Blue Mountain Reins in a Sprawling Compressed Air System

By Ken Morris, Service and Sales Consultant, Blue Mountain Air Compressor Services

The plant was intermittently operating a staggering 11 air compressors scattered across its facility. Its system was a patchwork of different air compressor sizes and technologies, including two 25 hp fixed-speed rotary screw air compressors, one 30 hp fixed-speed rotary screw air compressor and one 100 hp fixed-speed rotary screw air compressor as its primary air compressors. It also kept several 15 to 50 hp reciprocating air compressors on standby, turning to them when primary units were down for maintenance.

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Quad Drives Compressed Air Efficiencies at 1.7 million-square-foot Printing Plant

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

The Sussex plant operates no less than 22 air compressors to keep pace with demand, which ranges from 11,000 to 16,000 cfm. The water-cooled, rotary screw air compressors, which are predominately 200-horsepower (hp) machines, in addition to a select number of 100-hp and smaller units, are strategically located throughout the sprawling complex to consistently deliver clean dry air where needed. A total of 18 air compressors are fixed-speed machines while the remainder are Variable Speed Drive (VSD) machines. The plant’s system also includes 26 refrigerated dryers, as well as various receiver tanks.
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U.K. Printer Saves Energy with Compressed Air Automation

By Nicolas De Deken, EnergAir

The Trinity Mirror Group print works on Oldham is one of the UK’s largest newspaper printers. The nine presses in the facility produce around 1million papers every day, including the Independent, the Daily Mirror and a range of local, regional and sports titles. Printing on this scale does not come cheap in energy terms, however. The plant’s annual electricity bill is in the order of £1.5 million. With energy prices on the rise, and a strong desire to improve environmental performance and reduce its carbon footprint, the plant’s management has recently embarked on a project to cut energy use substantially.
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Sanity Check: Will the Standby Air Compressors Start-Up During Cold Weather?

By Gary Wamsley, PE, CEM

Several days prior to our visit, during a cold winter evening, the lead air compressor in one mechanical room tripped off (apparently due to a fouled intake filter and low air flow through the machine). A crucial situation then developed: The "stand-by" unit did not start. Maintenance folks had to be called in to get a compressor running. That delay caused low plant air pressure, production curtailment and some defective product. They had yet to determine the conditions that caused the "no-start".
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Printing Facility Vacuum System Upgrades

By Compressed Air Best Practices

Most printing facilities use vacuum for one process or another. I recently spoke with Jesse Krivolavek, (a vacuum system efficiency specialist with IVS, Inc.) about his recent adventures in the world of printing.
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Printing Facility Reduces Air Demand

Ron Marshall, CET, CIM, Manitoba Hydro

This article will focus on a compressed air system assessment done at a printing facility in Canada. The energy costs at the time, in Manitoba, were $0.025 per kWh and the installation was of just 65 horsepower of air compressors.
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Green Printer Reduces Energy Costs by 50%

By Patricia Boyd, Ecos Air

The primary objective of this case study is to illustrate the process in which industrial facilities can qualify for energy incentives on projects that reduce the energy usage of their compressed air system.
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Sustainability at RR Donnelley

Compressed Air Best Practices interviewed Michael D. Manzella. Mr. Manzella is a Senior Vice President, Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality (EH&S), and also the Chief Sustainability Officer for RR Donnelley (RRD).

Sustainability at RRD starts with a philosophy. It is then executed through a global policy and objectives. RRD’s philosophy does not see sustainability as making a choice between being cost-effective and improving environmental impacts. On the contrary, sustainability represents integrating these two factors. This philosophy guides our sustainability objectives and strategies.
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