Industrial Utility Efficiency
When selecting an air compressor for your manufacturing operation, the common choice is the industry-standard rotary screw compressor. Known as the work horse of compressed air machinery, the rotary screw compressor comes in a multitude of sizes and power levels. However, centrifugal compressors have seen some exciting technological progress in recent years and offer a wide range of pressures, flow and turndown. Long known for their longevity and durability, they offer higher efficiency, even qualifying for energy rebate programs offered by local utilities and all, notably, produce Class 0 oil free air.
The Association of Independent Compressor Distributors (AICD) held its annual show at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Savannah, GA in May of 2022. Participating distributor members and guest enjoyed a few days of networking events, trade show, speakers, the AICD Golf Tournament and more.
Today Kaishan USA, operates its global manufacturing and engineering center in Loxley, Alabama. The goal of the company, said compressed air industry veteran and Kaishan USA CEO Keith Schumacher, was to put the right pieces in place from the very beginning.
“To that end, we’ve invested $20 million in our facility and created a team allowing us to develop technologies and manufacture products not only for the Americas, but also for export globally,” Schumacher said.
Centrifugal air compressors efficiently convert energy utilizing a series of stages to compress and cool the air as it continuously flows through the unit. A centrifugal compressor imparts kinetic energy into the airstream by increasing the velocity of the air using a rotating element and then converts this kinetic energy into potential energy in the form of pressure. In between each stage of compression, the air is cooled, and excess moisture is removed to further increase the efficiency and air quality.
In order for a compressed air system to be designed properly, altitude must be taken into consideration. In order to calculate the demand profile, tool air consumption must also be adjusted for altitude.
Conventionally when we talk about oil lubricated screw air compressor maintenance, it is mostly about replacing consumables such as filters and lubricant on time. While these consumables have a defined usable life and have a direct effect on the efficiency and the life of the air compressor itself when not replaced on time, there are a few critical valves in the air compressor that require maintenance as well.
Just as many ambient air issues with regard to the actual equipment operating environment are created by personnel and can be corrected by personnel, inlet air contamination is always created by humans and there is almost always a correction that will either eliminate the issue or mitigate the effect.
Growing awareness of the importance of food grade lubricants for consumer safety and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, as well as increasing consciousness about Kosher and Halal registrations triggered an increasing demand for high performance food grade lubricants.
Uptime. Profitability. Quality. Sustainability. Those goals are shared by leading manufacturers who have another thing in common: They use compressed air to achieve their goals, which is why those who make, sell and service compressed air systems say anything less than top-notch training of sales engineers is unthinkable considering how the sales team directly influences whether a compressed air system will fall woefully short, or deliver immeasurable value for years on end.
The EXPO & Conference focuses on “Optimizing On-site Utilities Powering Automation.” Experts from all over the world convened to discuss compressed air, pneumatics, motors and drives, vacuum, aeration blower and chiller/cooling and water treatment systems.
Held November 2-4, 2021, this 3rd installment of the event continued to provide continuing education, certification and networking opportunities to equipment sales engineers, engineering firm and manufacturing plant personnel.
Room temperature, or ambient temperature, has a significant effect on plant operation. The amount of space, or lack thereof, for compressed air equipment and the cooling flow all have an important impact on plant operation; because if the air compressors are down; so are you!
