FEATURE MACHINE SAFETY Health and safety needs to be a priority as ENSURING COMPRESSED AIR PURITY AT INDUSTRIAL SITES
Compressed air is used in many integral processes across the industrial and manufacturing sector. The consequences of low quality air – product spoilage, reduced performance and damaged production equipment – can result in additional costs and unexpected downtime. Keith Atkinson, EMEAI sales manager at Gardner Denver, explains what actions owners and operators can take to ensure high-quality compressed air, and the relevant sector standards governing its purity
O
ften referred to as the ‘fourth utility’, compressed air is vital for many industrial
and manufacturing site processes. Any supply of compressed air must be consistently available in high volumes, and of sufficient quality. This quality is even more important in sites where contamination must be avoided, such as in the production of electronics. Contamination can disrupt processes such as
product drying, material handling and process air, and damage air curtains, control valves and cylinders, alongside other tools. As such, it represents a significant challenge for plant owners and operators, and can often only be resolved at significant expense.
ISO 8573 With these consequences in mind, it is evident that avoiding process contamination is a necessity for production sites. Consequently, there are rigorous standards in place governing compressed air performance and provision in these environments, ensuring that processes remain pollutant free and unscheduled downtime and associated costs are avoided. These regulations include ISO 8573, a group of
international standards stipulating compressed air purity and quality. ISO 8573 consists of nine separate parts, with part one identifying contamination levels that can be tolerated within a single cubic metre of compressed air. Specifically, part one identifies permitted particle count, pressure dewpoint and amount of oil allowed within this sample. The other eight parts detail testing methods for
a range of contaminants, including solid particles, oil vapour, organic solvents, microbiological contaminants, liquid water and gaseous contaminants, alongside humidity levels and aerosol content. They also ensure that air quality test results are comparable within a given tolerance of measurement.
THE HACCP SYSTEM By design, ISO 8573 is very strict and thorough. However, many site owners and operators are going beyond its standards to guarantee high- quality compressed air, instead adopting the principles of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, or HACCP. Instead of only checking finished product quality, the HACCP system involves integrating contamination control into production processes. Though originally developed for food safety, its approach can be adopted across multiple sectors. The control ensures facilities comply with hygiene legislation by eliminating potential
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hazards or reducing them to an acceptable level, and can be broken down into seven principles. In line with this system’s first step, stakeholders must examine what hazards may contaminate the end product, and how likely this is. Those responsible must then identify ‘critical
control points’ – steps in the manufacturing process where control can prevent, eliminate or acceptably reduce a hazard risk. Appropriate limits must then be established for these control points – easily defined metrics such as time, temperature and humidity that the hazard should not exceed or fall beneath to prevent, reduce or eliminate it. Monitoring procedures must also be introduced for these control points. After this, site operators must introduce
corrective action that employees can undertake to prevent problems from occurring, and establish verification procedures to ensure they remain in accordance with HACCP system directives. This can include, but is not limited to, monitoring records, calibrating monitoring equipment and inspecting product samples. As a final step, a record system archiving HACCP records should be organised in order to better identify patterns, problems and deviations, to ensure continued system compliance.
OIL-FREE COMPRESSORS Another way site owners and operators can ensure best possible air purity is to adopt technology that prioritises high-quality air. For example, the demand for contaminant- free air can be satisfied through oil-lubricated compressors using filtration. This process prevents oil present in the system from compromising products and equipment.
However, investors using oil-lubricated
compressors in sensitive production environments must adhere to guidelines established in European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) 23 Production and use of food-grade lubricants, Part 1 and 2 (2009). It can be logistically challenging to remain in accordance with these regulations, which are becoming increasingly rigorous. Indeed, some owners and operators could find that, over time, their previously acceptable filtration systems may quickly become unsuitable. Such concerns can be avoided with oil-free
compressor technology, which can supply compressed air of the highest possible quality and purity. This makes them ideally-suited to environments where air purity is a priority. Because multiple compressor designs and
systems are available, oil-free technology is also adaptable to differing site needs. For example, Gardner Denver offers compressors that utilise scroll technology, water-injected rotary screw technology, and the revolutionary Ultima system, which uses two high-efficiency, permanent magnet motors with separate inverters to allow optimised performance throughout the complete volume range. In conclusion, contaminated compressed air can
have a huge impact on plant processes, and is often costly to resolve. Yet by adhering to standards governing compressed air and investing in technology that prioritises compressed air purity, owners and operators can enjoy a consistent supply of high-quality compressed air, and avoid these negative consequences.
Gardner Denver
www.gardnerdenver.com/industrials
/ INDUSTRIALCOMPLIANCE
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