Compressed Air Best Practices - March 2008 - (Page 27)

Compressed Air Industry FOOD PROCESSING | 03/08 | When designing a compressed air system or upgrading an existing one, the designer must take into account more than just product sizing and initial capital investment. Questions that cause consideration of other factors are necessary: What happens to the facility should a component fail on the compressed air cleanup equipment? How can scheduled maintenance be carried out without disrupting critical processes? How much room do I have to free up for dryers? How much does the equipment actually cost to install? A comprehensive compressed air treatment design requires addressing all aspects of the system. Take for example a system sized to deliver 8,000 scfm at 100 psig and 100 ˚F after the compressor’s aftercooler. The compressed air treatment requirement may be addressed in one of the following approaches: a) Multiple, Independent Small Dryers This is often the result of an ever-expanding system whereby the customer purchases only the amount of drying equipment necessary to address the incremental increase in capacity. In this scenario, we will assume the customer has six compressors and matching dryers of varying capacity, ranging from 500 scfm to 2,000 scfm. b) One Large, Full Capacity Dryer On new installations, many specifiers will provide a dryer sized to process the full load of the compressed air. We will assume this is a single-refrigeration system dryer sized to address the air load of the conditions noted. c) Two Large, Full Capacity Dryers This method is often used by those recognizing the value of clean dry air to their processes. A brut force approach, it makes use of two of the dryers described in “b)” above. One dryer is operational while the other, valved off by a three-valve bypass, is in a standby mode. d) One Multi-Module Dryer Rated for the Full Capacity of the System Multi-module dryers are large flow (process) air dryers assembled from two or more small dryer modules operating in parallel requiring only a single connection for air flow, electrical and (if required) cooling water. Cycling operation enables refrigeration power to modulate to accommodate varying loads. www.airbestpractices.com 27 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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