COMPRESSED AIR FEATURE
Do I have open ends to atmosphere? A
t the recent Air-Tech exhibition Beko Technologies gave a presentation
about the issues of having an air supply at for example 7 bar (g) venting down to atmosphere without doing any useful work or work that cannot be done more economically or safely by another medium eg the use of blow guns to clean machinery down at the end of a production period which could be three times per day. This practice was wasteful in that the dirt/dust would resettle, the pressure was not often regulated and it is potentially dangerous. The solution: use a vacuum attachment to the airline or a venturi assisted type which increases the flow at reduced pressure. Bearing in mind that 10% of all power
used in industry will be to compress air, then we waste 1% of all power even when we are good at housekeeping so it is important to make sure that the wastage is not significantly higher. Principle opportunities for a compressed air network to develop leaks include corrosive condensate, poor installation and poor maintenance. Compressed air is often wasted in the
drying process; there are many which require a dew point below the -3°C which refrigeration dryers are capable of
A company in the automotive industry
with a part purge drying system lost a smaller notionally 5% of the compressed air but had heating and cooling costs. A zero purge system showed a payback of less than two years for the purchase, installation and commissioning of four large BEKO FRAV dryers. Ongoing annual savings of more than £250,000 were attractive and it was no longer necessary to invest in a further large compressor which would have been costly. Users of oil-free compressors should
reaching. This could be for instrument air for pneumatic conveying, food, beverage or medical grade compressed air. The lower dew point (typically -40°C)
is achieved by use of a desiccant material which is unchanged by the process of attracting water vapour via molecular forces but will need to be regenerated in order to be used over multiple drying/ regenerating cycles. Zero Purge dryers are becoming the
norm for larger installations. They use external heat to regenerate the desiccant and blown external air to cool so costs are kept to a sensible level for drying.
Users of oil-free compressor should consider the use of heat of compression types of dryer which take advantage of the higher temperatures generated in a dry compressor
consider the use of heat of compression types of dryer which take advantage of the higher temperatures generated in a dry compressor as opposed to an oil lubricated type to use the heat for regeneration of a desiccant. Compressed air is expensive and should
be used selectively. When looking at energy saving possibilities the factory engineer should ask: “Have I got these open ends to atmosphere?” If the answer is yes then an action plan to reduce or eliminate should be high on his agenda.
Beko Technologies T: 01527 575778
www.beko-technologies.co.uk Enter 331
BEKO Technologies, 2 & 3 West Court, Buntsford Park Road, Bromsgrove, Worcs B60 3DX Tel 01527 575778 Fax 01527 575779 email
info@beko-technologies.co.uk website
www.beko-technologies.co.uk Enter 16
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