Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008 - (Page 7)

Compressed Air Industry PLASTICS BLOW-MOLDING | 04/08 | FROM THE EDITOR A Bright Future for Compressed Air Energy Management As I listen to the doom and gloom of the politicians and broadcasters on TV, I feel lucky to be involved with a long-term growth industry. Energy management, as a whole, is a growth industry and compressed air system energy management is participating. The PET blow-molding market has a bright future. Compressed air is used at ca. 40 bar (572 psig) to blow the bottles to size from their original pre-form molds. The desire to use less plastic has led to lighter-weight plastics where we now see 30 bar compressed air being used. These same systems have lower pressure compressed air (11–25 psig) for blow-off and air knife processes. Compressed air systems for PET plastic blow-molding operations are fertile grounds for energy managers. Dean Smith, a veteran auditor of the blow-molding industry, shares examples of where he finds energy saving opportunities with us in the “April Audit of the Month.” Dean also, in a separate article, discusses how audit ROI’s can be guaranteed so that CEO/CFO level executives will have more confidence investing in facility energy management projects. We are excited to announce a strategic alliance between Compressed Air Best Practices™ Magazine and NPE 2009 — the prestigious trade show and conference for the plastics industry (www.npe.org). NPE 2009 is organized by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) and will be held in June of 2009. We will sponsor a Compressed Air Pavilion where we can draw attention to the opportunities to improve compressed air systems in the plastics industry. Manufacturers who design and build energy-efficient products also have a bright future. AF Compressors is a manufacturer of three-stage reciprocating air compressors designed for the PET industry. They tell us a story, in this edition, on how the company started to grow when they decided to focus exclusively on providing 40 bar, oil-free air. Their future is bright as they are now building a new factory in China to keep up with the booming blow-molding market there. There is a time and place for every technology and our regular contributor Hank Van Ormer provides advice on when to use boosters in PET systems. A huge (and relatively untapped) opportunity for energy savings exists with blower, vacuum and pneumatic systems. Dan Bott (also known as Dr. Vacuum) talks to us about managing differential pressure in vacuum and Chris Landis discusses pneumatic valves in this months’ edition. Thank you for your support and keep up the good work in energy management. ROD SMITH 7 http://www.mikroporamerica.com http://www.npe.org http://www.mikroporamerica.com

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

Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008 Contents From the Editor Utility-Air News The Compressed Air Audit of the Month: Minimizing Blow-Molding Pressure Fluctuations AF Compressors: Focused on 40 Bar, Oil-Free Air for the PET Industry Real World Best Practices: PET Plants Using Boosters for High-Pressure Air Guaranteeing Audit ROI for Blow-Molders Managing Vacuum Pressure Differential Are You Taking Full Advantage of Pneumatic Valve Technology? Are You Strategic? Resources for Energy Engineers: Training Calendar & Product Picks Wall Street Watch Advertiser Index Job Market

Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008

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