Leaks

Hyster-Yale Sustainability Recognized by North Carolina DEQ

By Stephen Kelly, Senior EHS Manager, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling

Hyster-Yale’s Greenville, North Carolina, plant reduced compressed air waste through employee-driven leak detection and system optimization, achieving $177,000 in annual energy savings. The initiative also avoided 858 tons of CO2 emissions and earned the facility Environmental Steward recognition from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

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Thought Leaders on System Optimization Past & Future

Edited by Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

We asked a hand-selected list of original equipment manufacturers, independent compressed air system sales and service companies, manufacturing plants and independent system auditors to share their thoughts, highlighting the changes they’ve seen over the past 20 years, then predicting what the next 20 years will bring.
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Ultrasound Saves Energy by Detecting Compressed Air System Leaks

By Robin Marcinkus, Global Content Marketing Specialist, UE Systems

One of the primary applications of ultrasound is detecting and repairing compressed air system leaks. These leaks not only waste money, but also reduce equipment efficiency, increase wear and pose safety risks for employees. However, with a simple point-and-scan approach, maintenance teams can quickly locate leaks. This helps lower energy costs, improve safety and keep industrial operations running at peak efficiency.
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Kirsh Foundry Drives Energy Efficiency with Compressed Air Optimization

By Juan Espindola, CEM, Facilities Optimization Leader, The Wasmer Company

The energy savings amounted to 550,873.5 kWh per year, resulting in a reduction of $49,579 in energy costs annually. Additionally, nitrogen savings were significant, with annual expenses dropping by $8,602 due to the installation of the on-site nitrogen generator. Overall, the project achieved total annual savings of $58,181, with implementation costs of $74,676 and an impressive payback period of just 1.28 years.
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After the Energy Audit, What’s Next?

By Michael Younis, CEM, Principal, Dove Energy Services

After an energy audit is performed, how much value has been created? The answer is zero. It's the work done after the audit that makes the difference between a binder on a shelf gathering dust and an executed energy conservation measure creating value. Your management wants results, not reports.
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Leak Detection Leads to Energy Savings for Cabinet Manufacturing Plant

By Juan Londono, Applications Engineer, Air Unlimited Inc.

The plant’s compressed air system consisted of multiple air compressors from different manufacturers, with capacities ranging from 100 to 250-horsepower (hp), for a total system capacity of around 1,100-hp. The plant’s average compressed air demand was 2,300 cfm, with peaks reaching 3,500 cfm. System pressure fluctuated between 105 and 110 psi (7.2-7.6 bar).
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Tools for Detecting Compressed Air Leaks

By Menno Verbeek, Sales Director, VPInstruments

This article discusses methods and techniques to increase the efficiency of a compressed air installation in both the short and long term. Start by identifying and repairing compressed air leaks, which can result in a decrease in energy use and a savings in operating costs. There are various methods for detecting and quantifying leaks. Simple methods provide a rough indication of the leakage level.
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Four Compressed Air Demand Reduction Projects

By Don Van Ormer, Senior Auditor, APenergy

A large food manufacturing operation in the U.S. Midwest spends $529,000 annually on energy to operate the compressed air system. The plant currently has two supply-side systems that operate and feed two different distribution networks at two different pressures. One compressed air system is at 115 psig (medium pressure system) and the low-pressure system is at 30 psig. The compressed air equipment for both systems is located in four areas throughout the facility.
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Beyond Leaks—Factory Continues Reducing Compressed Air Demand

By Don Van Ormer, Senior Auditor, APenergy

A significant manufacturing operation, in the U.S. Midwest, had successfully deployed a compressed air leak management program. This on-going leak management program, along with tuning the air compressor control system, had delivered energy savings and a more reliable compressed air system.
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Improve Process Efficiency and Reduce Energy Use with Compressed Air Monitoring

By Hendrik Priemer, Product Manager IIoT Applications, Machine Automation, Emerson 

Without compressed air monitoring, up to 30% of the compressed air generated goes to waste. This waste occurs for several reasons, including leaks caused by failures at joints and tubes, exposure to vibration and normal component wear, and the suboptimization of machines and devices. Continuous monitoring capabilities allow operators to detect leaks and other anomalies in their early stages. By addressing pneumatic issues before they can grow, companies can reduce compressed air use by 20% to 30%.
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Best Practices for Acoustic Inspections in the Pulp and Paper Industry

By Rob Milner, FLIR, a Teledyne Company

Detecting Compressed Air Leaks Can Lead to Reduced Energy Waste, Boosted Productivity, and Improved Profits for Paper Mills Many manufacturing industries including food and beverage, chemical, mining and pulp and paper are heavily reliant on the use of compressed air within their production processes. Paper mills are major industrial facilities that rely on compressed air throughout the entire process as it is used to separate and clean the raw pulp fiber, operate pneumatic tools, and even control valves.
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DENSO Compressed Air Leak Detection Program Drives CO2 Reduction Results

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Given that compressed air leak management programs are meant to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, and generate ROI, DENSO’s Maryville, Tennessee, manufacturing facility can definitively say it has scored a trifecta when it comes to results – and reaped benefits beyond hard numbers alone.
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The Myth of Leak Repairs

By Tyler Costa, ALD Compressed Air Energy Solutions

When fundamentals like leak detection are neglected, best practices begin to slip. Inefficiency does not happen instantaneously, but slowly becomes the new norm as leaks or open blows are overlooked. Maintaining peak compressed air system efficiency is essential to streamlined operations. Better yet: it doesn’t need to be complicated. A clear, concise, and actionable plan will prevent negligence and keep your operation up-to-date on energy efficiency and cost savings.
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Compressed Air Audit Details Two Energy Saving Projects for Maintenance Teams

By Don Van Ormer, Senior Auditor, APenergy

In this article, we will provide detail on the characteristics of the baseline system and then share the energy-saving work identified in two projects. These two projects represent work which can be performed by the maintenance teams in every plant. These are also project opportunities we find in almost every plant we visit. The two projects are to (1) repair/replace condensate drains wasting compressed air and (2) to perform a compressed air leak survey.
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Air Compressor Control Lessons Learned at Metal Products Company

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

Their system was designed and built to achieve premium performance, yet in a recent compressed air assessment the numbers showed their system had surprisingly poor performance, and worse, their staff was unaware of the problems. This article discusses some of the challenges faced and some future solutions that could get their system back to higher performance levels.
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DOE Better Plants Partners Get Serious About Compressed Air Systems

By Robert Lung, BGS, with contributions from: Ed Willhite, Schneider Electric; Stephen Tankersley, Ring Containers; Marco Gonzalez, Waupaca Foundry; and Darwin Jaeger, Plastics Engineering Company.

Compressed air is used in all the company’s plants and is often the single largest energy end use within them. As a result, compressed air energy-saving measures are often replicable across the company and offer significant positive impacts. One area of focus is with compressed air leaks since they are “the best low hanging fruit to focus on and they always keep popping up and waste energy”.
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Whiskey Distillery Compressed Air Study Saves Energy

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

A premium whiskey distillery was seeking to renew their compressed air system and meet their corporate mandate in making their production facility more efficient. The first step on the road to improvement was having their compressed air system assessed. This article discusses some of the findings of the system study, which saved significant energy, improved system reliability, and captured a significant utility incentive to help with the study costs and the cost of a new compressor.
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Compressed Air Assessment at Grundfos Finds Big Savings

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

Analysis of the pressure data logging showed that, while the variable speed drive compressor maintained a constant discharge pressure near 120 psi, the pressure at various critical points fell to as low as 85 psi during peak production operations. General pressure in the plants, especially Plant 2, fluctuated between 102 and 112 psi, showing that the pressure/flow control valve was not regulating properly, and that Plant 2 lacked enough general storage volume to support transient flows.
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A High-Tech Way to Extend Your Reach to Leaks

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

One of the best ways to reduce compressed air costs is to look for ways to reduce leakage flow, an unnecessary load that is a constant demand on the compressed air system. This flow is never-ending and occurs during production periods, and during quiet times at night or on weekends. Reducing the flow in a well-controlled compressed air system will result in the reduction of compressor energy consumption, usually by about $1,750 per every 10 cfm, and often reduces pressure loss, allowing your machines to run better. This article discusses some recent experiences in using an acoustical imaging leak detector.
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Saint-Gobain Makes Solving Sustainability Competitive and Fun

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Challenging teams of employees to generate energy savings while having a good time in the process is the idea behind Saint-Gobain’s “Compress It,” which is the name given to the company’s competition and ongoing effort to reduce compressed air energy and costs. The initiative, which Saint-Gobain rolled out to manufacturing plants throughout North America in 2018, has been met with success. Compress It identified potential energy savings amounting to 26 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity and $2.5 million.
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Leak Detection Technology Transitions Toward Maintenance 4.0

By Brian Kavanagh, SONOTEC USA

Awareness and interest in leak detection only continues to grow thanks to a number of factors. What we have seen over the last 20 years is a more sustainable way of thinking, established international energy efficiency standards, reliable leak detection technology, and best practices to implement leak detection.
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Protect Profits with Compressed Air Leakage Best Practices

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

This article discusses leak assessments and the barriers to effective leak management. Some best practices will be discussed as suggested tips to help you get the most of your leakage reduction efforts. We all hear it time and time again, leakage reduction is one of the first things we can do to reduce compressed air system electrical costs. Yet almost every industrial compressed air system assessment finds high levels of leakage, and too often plant maintenance staff are fully aware they have a problem but fail to act.
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Milk Products Plant Finds 52 Percent Potential Savings

By Ron Marshall, Marshall Compressed Air Consulting

A food processor was having compressed air problems, so they invited a compressed air auditor into their plant for an assessment and to help them size future permanent air compressors. The plant was experiencing low air pressure and detecting water in the compressed air lines despite having a desiccant air dryer. The auditor thoroughly analyzed the compressed air system production equipment and did end-use assessment and leakage detection. This article discusses the findings leading to a potential cost savings of 52% of the current level.
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Culture Building with ENERGY STAR® Energy Treasure Hunts

By Mike Grennier, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

There are many reasons why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Energy Treasure Hunts have proven successful in helping companies save energy and natural resources, but one that rises to the top is their ability to build a culture of energy efficiency throughout an organization.
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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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