Compressed Air Best Practices - March 2008 - (Page 12)

| 03/08 Focus Industry FOOD PROCESSING | COMPRESSED AIR AUDIT OF THE MONTH Saving Energy with Blowers in Canada Measuring The Existing Low-Pressure Air System HSI, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of centrifugal blowers, exhausters and control systems. An ISO 9001-2000 certified company located in Houston, Texas, the products manufactured offer performance ranges up to 25 psi (1.7 bar) pressure or to 18 inHg (457 mmHg) vacuum. Flows range from 100 to 40,000 cfm (170 to 70,000 m3/hr). HSI manufactures multistage centrifugal blowers and process control systems as well as providing complete blower packages with accessories to meet a wide variety of applications (www.hsiblowers.com). The existing blower system consisted of three 1,750 hp multi-stage centrifugal blowers controlled by modulated inlet throttle-valve control as well as a blow-off control on the common header discharge. The existing system utilized static set-point surge-amp shutdowns and alarms to regulate the minimum allowable flow per blower. The system also utilized bearing vibration transducers on the bearing housings to monitor mechanical condition. The air blowers used are all connected to a common header system that provides air for the commercial fermenters. The demand for 11 psig air in these fermenters fluctuates rapidly and total flow variations range from a minimum of 12,000 Icfm to a maximum of 66,000 Icfm. Historical data showed the trended usage of this system accounts for 22,826,000 kWh per year. At $0.08 per kWh, the food processor was spending in excess of $1,826,080 per year in electricity cost. The control system, on the existing blowers, was an inlet throttle-valve control that allowed a very small amount of turn-down (reduced flow capacity). In addition, the existing control incorporated a blow-off valve to vent excess pressure in the header as the blowers could not reduce the flow demand to the required amount set by the process nor could it respond quickly enough to the rapidly changing flow demands. It was also noted that the existing blowers were operating near a surge condition which caused excess heat on the discharge bearing and was very susceptible to process upset conditions putting the blower into surge. The plant had frequent unscheduled maintenance and repairs on this blower system. HSI Supplied Optimized Blowers with Improved Efficiencies 12 www.airbestpractices.com http://www.hsiblowers.com http://www.hsiblowers.com http://www.airbestpractices.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Compressed Air Best Practices - March 2008

Compressed Air Best Practices - March 2008 Contents From the Editor Utility-Air News The Compressed Air Audit of the Month: Saving Energy with Blowers in Canada Do You Provide World-Class Service? Managing Rotary Screw Air Compressors at Midwest Bakery The Difference Between Acfm and Scfm for Proper Vacuum Sizing Best Practices — Multi-Module Process Air Dryers The Vacuum Formation Process in Building Compressed Air Filter Elements Solberg Manufacturing Real World Best Practices: Measuring Pressure Dewpoint in a Compressed Air System Resources for Energy Engineers: Training Calendar & Product Picks Wall Street Watch Advertiser Index Job Market

Compressed Air Best Practices - March 2008

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