Compressed Air System Optimization Saves Energy and Improves Production at a Synthetic Textile Plant: Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) BestPractices Technical Case Study
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The next problem that the survey revealed was pressure drop in all four systems. Pressure loss/drop is a function of a compressed air system's dynamics-the interaction of airflow with the inherent resistance of the pipeline and air system components. Pressure drop also causes a system's pressure level to fluctuate and leads to inconsistent pressure at end-use applications. If a system has excessive pressure drop, the compressor discharge pressure must be set higher than normal, which wastes energy and increases operating costs. In both the 230 and 135 psig systems, the pressure drop across the dryers was not very acute, but did reach 3.9 psig in the 230 psig system and 6.3 psig in the 135 psig system. By contrast, in the 125 psig system the pressure loss across the dryers was more severe and reached 13.9 psig. In the 100 psig system, the overloaded dryers, various isolation and switching valves, hot taps, orifice plates, and cleanup equipment, contributed to a pressure drop of more than 15 psig. In addition, one sector of the plant was being supplied by separate headers that did not allow the most optimal flow rate in that segment of the plant and contributed to pressure loss in that area. Another problem that three of the four systems experienced was excessive compressor blow off. Most of the plant's compressors are centrifugal compressors, which need to vent compressed air when the system demand falls below the compressors' minimum stable flow. This is because centrifugal compressors have limited throttling capacity and run the risk of shutting down if they cannot vent enough excess air to prevent the system pressure from 7 a IiLE
Wogsland, J.Compressed Air System Optimization Saves Energy and Improves Production at a Synthetic Textile Plant: Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) BestPractices Technical Case Study,
book,
May 17, 2001;
Golden, Colorado.
(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc724483/m1/3/:
accessed July 16, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu;
crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.