Industrial Utility Efficiency

Water Conservation

Texas Recycling Plant Saves Water with Air-Cooled Air Compressors

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

There are multiple compressed air applications in a waste management facility. This new recycling center uses laser-guided optical sorters to divide waste, with no human involvement on the sorting line. Laser optics determine what type of material each scrap is, then compressed air jets maneuver each piece to its collection area. Compressed air also powers handheld blow guns used for cleaning, as well as the bundling and packaging system.

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Brewing a More Sustainable Future at Tröegs

By Brooke Jones, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine 

Beer manufacturing creates three byproducts: heat, CO2 and alcohol. The CO2 vents back into the atmosphere, but soon Tröegs will be able to put it into a collection system and reuse it.
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Tetra Pak Solutions Conserve Water & Energy for Food & Beverage Sector

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

“Our view is always from the perspective of the value chain from the raw materials to the end product,” Wellendorph said. “How do we work with our suppliers who supply us? How do we look at our own manufacturing to avoid waste? Then, how can our equipment minimize the amount of energy or water it uses when processing and packaging customers products? It’s more than just focusing on ourselves.”
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Better Plants® Partners Get a Leg up in the Battle for Energy and Water Efficiency

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

In 2019, more than 230 Better Plants partners took advantage of the program to gain considerable ground in their sustainability efforts. In so doing, they cumulatively saved more than $6.7 billion in energy costs and more than 1.3 quadrillion British Thermal Units (BTUs). These same companies have more than 3,200 facilities and represent approximately 12% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint. In addition to energy, partners are excelling at projects to improve water efficiency.
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Stanley Black & Decker Plant in Tennessee: A Beacon of Sustainability

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

New Britain, Connecticut-based Stanley Black & Decker has gained widespread recognition for its commitment to social responsibility and sustainability – and with good reason: The company has reduced CO2 emissions in 2018 by 8,840 metric tons and in 2019 it was on track to further reduce greenhouse CO2 emissions by another 4,000 metric tons.
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Technical College Audit Finds Savings of $45,000 in Energy and Water Use

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

As part of an energy reduction effort, a Canadian technical college hired a compressed air auditor to do a leakage audit of their large campus, which houses over 30 mixed use buildings, including laboratories, research facilities, shops and classrooms. The audit found very few leaks, the reduction of which would achieve minimal savings; however, a few surprising items of interest were noticed during the study that showed very good potential for operating cost savings of 64% with an estimated $45,000 per year in reduced energy and water costs. This article discusses some of the findings and how savings can be achieved on lightly loaded compressed air systems.
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Evaluating Air Compressor Cooling Systems

By Air Technology Group, Hitachi America.

As the population continues to grow in the United States, industrial water use will need to continue to fall to help offset the increases in public-supply water use. Water-cooled compressed air systems provide an opportunity for sustainability managers to reduce associated cooling water consumption and costs. If switching to air-cooled air compressors is not possible, understanding the costs and the alternative types of liquid cooling systems is important.
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Calculating the Water Costs of Water-Cooled Air Compressors

By Sullair

Compressed air systems are present in almost all industrial processes and facilities. They have been correctly identified as an area of opportunity to reduce electrical (kW) energy costs through measures like reducing compressed air leaks and identifying artificial demand and inappropriate uses. Water-cooled air compressors can also be significant consumers of water and reducing these costs can represent a second area of opportunity.
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Ozone Laundry System Reduces Hotels Operational Costs by 40%

By Marc DeBrum, ClearWater Tech, LLC

Growing operational costs and lower than average occupancy rates spurred Apple Farm Inn and Suites, San Luis Obispo, Ca., to explore economic and facility efficiency benefits obtained through the installation of an ozone laundry system. At the Apple Farm Inn laundry facility, an evaluation was conducted in late 2006 to early 2007, comparing the costs of laundering by traditional methods versus ozone laundering.
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Chillers Save on Energy and Water Consumption

By Rod Smith, Compressed Air Best Practices®

Industrial plants are major consumers of water. Water is used in many processes. Sustainability projects focus on reducing the consumption of water and the energy-costs associated with cooling water so it may be effectively used.
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Savings at the Steel Mill

By Chuck Gerbe, Total Equipment Company

This major mill complex upgraded their compressed air system and thereby eliminated $500,000 in annual rental compressor costs, reduced annual cooling-water costs by $500,000, and reduced electrical energy costs by $135,000 per year.
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Paper Mill Upgrades Air Dryer and Cooling System

By Rich Whitmore

This article reviews two major processes in paper mills: compressed air quality and air compressor cooling. The central air compressor room was expanded and relocated at the largest privately owned paper mill in Canada. The compressor space was required by a plant expansion, which would occupy the original compressor space for increased production.
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Seven Sustainability Projects: Project Implementation

By Thomas Mort, CEM

This article reviews the 7th of the key elements for Low Cost – High Value energy savings. Each of the previous articles reviewed types of projects which are applicable at many facilities. The projects ranged from simple procedural actions such as turning off equipment when it is not making a product to more complex, like adding a water to air heat exchanger and extracting heat from the coolant loops to provide warmed make-up air.
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Seven Sustainability Projects: Heat Recovery

By Thomas Mort CEM

Reducing energy costs and pollution emissions involves many areas within an industrial facility. My studies have found seven (7) key (or common) areas where low cost practical projects can be implemented. Combined, these projects provide savings exceeding 10% of the annual energy spend with an average payback of less than one year. This article will focus on the opportunities for using waste heat sources to supplement winter building heat.
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Assessment Improves Electroplater Production

By Paul Shaw, Scales Industrial Technologies

Faced with rising energy costs, a large electroplating company sought to improve the efficiency and reliability of its compressed air system. After getting a quote from their vendor on a new 300-hp compressor to replace an existing unit, the company sought a comparison quote due to the significant investment the new compressor represented. Based on a recommendation from one of their customers, they turned to Scales Industrial Technologies.
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Tubular Membranes Handle Oily Wastewater at Metaldyne

By Bill Cleary, Metaldyne

Finding the most effective, reliable and economical method for separating and concentrating die lubricant is no easy task for die casting plants – and the situation at the Metaldyne aluminum die casting plant in Twinsburg, Ohio was no different.
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