Air Treatment/N2

For many installations of industrial air dryers, a dilemma can occur when trying to achieve the correct balance between desired specifications and efficiency in the applications. Sometimes there is no way around a requirement to achieve ultra-dry dew points, but are we always considering the point-of-use needs when implementing a dry air solution? Often the dry air system is configured with one end goal in mind which is dry air but doing so without accounting for the point-of-use factors that can lead to added expenses and wasted energy.  

The foundation of any purification system is its filtration and of the ten main contaminants found in a compressed air system, filtration is responsible for the treatment of nine of them. Coalescing filters are the most important piece of purification equipment as they reduce six of the ten contaminants and a look in any air compressor room will find a pair of coalescing filters (backed up with dry particulate and oil vapor removal filters).

In the field of externally heated adsorption dryers there is a large variety of different systems on the market offering substantial flexibility in terms of process flows, dew points and energy demand. Often, economic parameters and project-specific requirements ultimately define the individual user-specific solution. This article discusses the basic types of desiccants used in compressed air dryers.

Air compressors can produce a lot of water. Humidity in ambient air, once compressed, results in much of this water falling out, which we know as condensate. On a warm and humid summer day with inlet air temperatures of 80 oF, a 75-horsepower (hp) air compressor running fully loaded can produce over 25 gallons of condensate in just one eight-hour shift, with another five gallons being produced once the compressed air is sent through a dryer. The compression process allows for the air, water vapor, and lubricating fluids to mix. Once the condensate leaves the system, trace amounts of lubricant travel with it. This condensate should be processed through an oil-water separator before being discharged to groundwater or wastewater treatment plants.

Often when you mention heat of compression the first thought generally relates to HOC desiccant dryers, which are also an under-applied opportunity for heat recovery. However, there are many other heat of compression recoverable energy savings opportunities in all compressed air and gas systems. This article reviews many opportunities in energy heat recovery and provides answer to commonly asked question.

The Best Practices EXPO & Conference held from October 13-16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee, saw a significant increase in attendance growing by 15 percent to 850 attendees from 20 countries. End user (factory personnel) attendance grew by 60 percent! The EXPO was also truly international showcasing 115 exhibitors from 16 countries and EXPO attendance was free for qualified industry personnel. This SHOW REPORT EXTRA Part 2 complements our 2019 Best Practices EXPO & Conference Show Report and the Show Extra Part 1 Report. 

The event brought together technology experts, systems assessment professionals, and manufacturing leaders – all of whom shared best practices and ideas manufacturing plants can use to save energy, improve sustainability initiatives and increase the overall reliability and quality of on-site utilities.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 30,000 food and beverage processing plants across the United States employ more than 1.5 million workers.1 Each of those plants applies a wide range of processes to raw agricultural goods to produce consumable food and beverage products.

The members of the AICD (Association of Independent Compressor Distributors) send owners and senior management to the event. AICD member companies are independent companies selling and servicing air compressors in North America. “The AICD Board is pleased to announce we have added 18 member companies in the past year alone,” said AICD President Lisa Lewis (Michigan Air Solutions). “Vendor participation is at an all-time high as we’ve added 13 new exhibitors and special networking events for vendors to interact with AICD members.”

In modern and industrial work settings, people spend more than 90% of their time in enclosed spaces, such as warehouses, office buildings and factories. In most indoor environments, the air contains a variety of chemical and microbial particles, commonly defined as indoor pollutants, which can severely affect human health and product quality (1). Industries like food and beverage, medical devices and pharmaceutical manufacturers rely on their scheduled compliance testing to confirm the presence or absence of issues in workflow pipelines that are detrimental to the daily output and safety of the product.