Industrial Utility Efficiency

System Assessments

Operating the vacuum system at higher levels (then necessary) affects the needed volumetric flow to compensate for leaks. This required compensation of volume (ACFM) must be added to the nominal production flow demand. The ambient air leak into the system will expand to the highest vacuum level, which is known as the “Expansion Ratio.”

Helping Wisconsin Wastewater Treatment Facilities Save Energy

Leidos Engineering, LLC., is responsible for implementing the Wisconsin Focus on Energy® Large Energy Users (LEU) Program in Wisconsin. Blower & Vacuum Best Practices interviewed Leidos Engineering’s Joseph Cantwell, P.E., Senior Energy Management Professional, Focus on Energy – LEU Program, to learn how the firm works with Focus on Energy to help wastewater treatment facilities in the dairy state reduce energy consumption and save costs.

Vacuum Controls Help Semiconductor Manufacturer Ensure Uptime and Efficiency

In the world of semiconductor manufacturing, it’s an understatement to say peak productivity and uptime are top priorities. It’s why a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer in Silicon Valley, California, relies on EnergAir’s Metacentre and Airmaster modular control technology to automate the vacuum system at its plant – and in turn – significantly minimize the risks of unplanned downtime, while also ensuring peak operational efficiencies.

The Basics of Aeration Control Valves - Part 1

Sizing, selection, and adjusting control valves often causes confusion for process and control system designers. Improper valve application can cause operating problems for plant staff and waste blower power. Basing the airflow control system design on fundamental principles will improve valve and control system performance.

Engineered Vacuum Solution Saves Oregon Brewer 5,000 Gallons of Water Per Day

When Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) set a goal to dramatically reduce water consumption at its Widmer Brothers Brewery in Portland, Oregon, it focused its efforts on its bottling process – and implemented a solution engineered by Atlas Copco that saves 5,000 gallons of water per day. In addition, it saves the craft brewer $39,000 per year, thanks to the elimination of water treatment costs and reduced energy use.

Brown and Caldwell: Tackling Wastewater Aeration Challenges

Blower & Vacuum Best Practices interviewed Henryk Melcer, Senior Process Engineer, Vice President, at Brown and Caldwell. 

We’re headquartered in Denver, Colorado. In all, we have more than 1,700 professionals working in nearly 50 locations, primarily in mainland USA. About 45% of our work is focused on wastewater engineering now, having made a conscious effort to diversify into water treatment and industrial wastewater treatment. That was after we absorbed Dr. Eckenfelder’s old company, which is ironic because it came full circle for me. We also carry out environmental impact assessments, water resources modeling, collection system and stormwater modeling, and a range of other services.

Sni-A-Bar Wastewater Plant Saves $42,000 Annually in Energy with New Aeration Blowers

After auditing and field-testing, the Sni-A-Bar Municipal Wastewater Plant in Blue Springs, Missouri, partnered with Inovair to replace 4 fixed-speed rotary lobe blowers on its aeration system with 4 Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), integrally geared centrifugal blowers. The new blowers, along with improvements in blower controls, reduces annual energy use by 442,664 kWh and peak electrical demand by 48.76 kW, which translates to an annual energy reduction of 37 percent and anticipated savings of \$42,000 per year. Additionally, a rebate of \$45,799 from the local utility resulted in a payback of less than six years.

Central Vacuum Supply for Efficient Cheese Packaging

DMK Deutsches Milchkontor GmbH produces sliced cheese and Mozzarella at its production facility in Georgsmarienhütte, Germany. The various types of sliced cheese and Mozzarella blocks are vacuum packed after processing in several packaging lines. The vacuum supply for the packaging machines is provided by a Busch centralized vacuum system, which supplies both the packaging lines and the thermoforming machines.

Solving the Top Challenges of Industrial Vacuum

Industrial vacuum can be defined as vacuum used to perform a task in industrial processes, operating anywhere from atmospheric pressure to 1 torr. Traditionally, the most common technologies included liquid ring and rotary vane vacuum pumps. But as with any industry, there was room for improvement... otherwise, we’d still be driving Model A Fords and talking on corded telephones. Luckily in recent years, the industrial vacuum market has started making significant advancements in technology and efficiency.

Less Maintenance Thanks to the Centralization of the Vacuum Supply

Choosing the right vacuum supply can lead to huge cost savings in plastics processing. Mar-Bal, Incorporated has undertaken a critical review of the existing vacuum supply for injection molding when moving to a new plant and has collaborated with Busch, LLC to find a solution that will achieve savings in energy, maintenance and production times.

Reducing Demand in Industrial Vacuum Systems

This article will focus on optimizing the demand-side so the centralized “supply-side” (the vacuum pumps and controls) can then run at a lower energy and maintenance cost. First, I will start with a simplified model of a vacuum pump system demands. See Figure 1 for a one-pump/one-demand simplified system. See Figures 2-6 for some typical controlled and uncontrolled demands. The symbol with the three lines is an orifice, a hole essentially. I am defining three types of system demands adding up to the total demand on the vacuum pump.

Blow-off Air

A metal producer, in the Midwest, spends an estimated $2.4 million annually on electricity to

Blower Controls

The capacity and pressure requirements of blowers in a Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) are

Conveying

In open end pipe line suspension flow, or dilute phase pneumatic conveying, proper particle

Piping/Pressure Loss

Pressure/Vacuum

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the uses for receiver tanks for positive pressure systems

Vacuum Controls

In the world of semiconductor manufacturing, it’s an understatement to say peak productivity and

Vacuum Generation

Autonomous Mobile Robots and Automated Guided Vehicles can automate receiving and unloading,