美国能源部更好的工厂合作伙伴认真对待压缩空气系统 | Compressed Air Best Practices

Optimizing and improving energy efficiency in compressed air systems has long been an important priority for the manufacturers in the U.S. 美国能源部的“更好的工厂”项目. 自从该项目开始提供 工厂培训 in 2011, the compressed air training has been the most frequently requested training off all the industrial system trainings. 除了, many compressed air system energy-saving opportunities have been uncovered during the energy Treasure Hunt trainings that are offered through the program. These opportunities have been shared and implemented by many Better Plants partners and were a key element for many that met the program goal as of 2019. 

In the past five years the Better Plants program has offered annual awards for significant energy-saving projects and best practices. 被称为“更好的项目和更好的实践奖”,” this initiative recognizes partners for implementing projects save large amounts of energy as well as for implementing best practices and managerial improvements that facilitate the partners’ ability to reach their sustainability goals. Partners having significant energy-saving projects receive a “Better Project” award and partners that demonstrate important best practices are awarded “Better Practice” awards. 

In 2022, four Better Project/Practice applications were related to compressed air system optimization – more than any single other system this year. 这四家合作伙伴是:施耐德电气, Waupaca铸造, RING集装箱塑料工程公司(PLENCO).

施耐德电气

在施耐德电气的案例中, traditional measures for detecting compressed air leaks were insufficient for finding all the leaks that the company’s energy management team wanted to uncover. 除了, some internal stakeholders were skeptical that leaks were a significant source of cost savings. 能源管理团队与第三方合作进行了先进的评估, acoustical imaging technology that could show the location and magnitude of compressed air leaks anywhere within a manufacturing plant.

演示表明，快速准确地定位泄漏是非常容易的, 通常是在难以进入的地方. The energy management team was then able to procure the device and train more than 40 employees how to use it. 几周后, 该公司的员工在六个工厂发现了250多个压缩空气泄漏, 结果是60美元,节省压缩空气能源成本. 因为该技术可以在任何产生声信号的环境中测量损失, 该公司计划使用这项技术来定位其他工业气体中的泄漏, 蒸汽系统甚至泵的空化. 

 
已识别的压缩空气泄漏样本

Waupaca铸造

Waupaca铸造 implemented a system-level project that included supply-side upgrades and demand reductions to improve their Waupaca, WI, 工厂的压缩空气性能. One important feature that led to the project was a Compressed Air In-Plant training offered through the Better Plants program that yielded several improvement opportunities that Waupaca implemented. 马可·冈萨雷斯, Corporate Energy Manager at Waupaca铸造 said “Energy represents our third largest expense, 直接影响到我们的环境足迹和业务底线. Having the opportunity to have a DOE In-plant training allowed us to provide our employees base knowledge to effectively monitor and manage our energy consumption, 以及在日常运作中寻找改进的机会. 训练提高了我们的能量技能，提高了意识, 促进全公司的参与和新的能源效率文化."

沃帕卡的压缩空气系统项目按类别包括以下措施:
1.    压缩空气-供应侧

• 用一个新的VFD风冷机组取代了两个传统的装饰水冷压缩机. 
• 安装主控制系统和压力/流量控制器 . 
• 压缩机房管路配置优化. 
• 通过从压缩机中回收废热来抵消冬季的天然气使用量.

2.    压缩空气-需求方 

• 将工厂整体压力降至最低水平，确保可靠生产.
• Implemented end-usage reduction projects; e.g.、漏补. 
• 通过需求侧管理策略调整大型终端用户. 

3.    压缩空气-最佳实践 

• 改进了工厂的空气泄漏管理程序.

美高梅博彩员工发现压缩空气泄漏.

压缩空气优化工程不仅节约了能源, 同时也提高了系统的可靠性，以满足铸造厂的运行需要. 项目费用总额为325 000美元. 加起来减少了大约1,100,000千瓦时的电力, 6,7.5 MMBTU天然气, 1300万加仑的水，总共节省了185美元,000元/年, 简单的回报只有1.24年. 该项目也有资格从国家能源效率计划中获得能源回扣, 谁支付了相当于工程成本28%的费用.

 
塑料工程公司

塑料工程公司 (PLENCO) is a manufacturer of phenolic resins and compounds that require compressed air for multiple processes. The largest end-uses are the grinding and compounding processes that are both served by a common header. 该公司发现核电站的这一部分有严重的泄漏负荷, 公司还专门派了一名维修技师来修理那条线上的压缩空气泄漏. 然而, the plant found that after several weeks the leakage volume during off-production hours in that part of the plant was still greater than half of the compressed air load during production. PLENCO’s engineering team decided to isolate compressed air to this part of the plant during off-production hours.

在为工厂的那部分提供服务的集管上安装隔离阀之后, 该公司发现，他们能够减少62%的压缩空气损失. 该公司的工程团队随后决定将隔离阀应用于其他领域. This decision further reduced compressed air demand to the point where the company was able to justify replacing an old, 超大空压机与新的, 可根据系统需要自动启动和停止的小型机组. The isolation valves served to reduce compressed air energy consumption and helped the system operate more efficiently, 反过来, 降低了电力需求和消耗.

Based on the implementation of isolation valves and reduced consumption from the smaller air compressor, 总共节省了406英镑的能源,每年节省压缩空气能源成本35美元,每年投资1000万美元，产生了大约1000美元的简单回报.5年.

压缩空气隔离阀.

 
RING容器技术

RING容器技术在美国经营着17家塑料瓶/容器工厂.S. using either High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic resin to produce their respective bottles and containers. RING joined the DOE Better Plants program in July 2021 with a commitment to improve energy intensity by 20% over 10 years.

Compressed air is used in all the company’s plants and is often the single largest energy end use within them. 结果是, compressed air energy-saving measures are often replicable across the company and offer significant positive impacts. One area of focus is with compressed air leaks since they are “the best low hanging fruit to focus on and they always keep popping up and waste energy” according to Stephen Tankersley, RING项目经理.

在RING的案例中, 公司利用了内部和外部的多种资源, 包括IAC评估, 揭开不止1个,900 CFM的空气泄漏浪费了大约1.每年500万千瓦时. The company then implemented a corporate-wide leak repair campaign that yielded compressed air energy cost savings of $138,000元/年. 除了, RING set up a regular leak detection/repair program that includes one large annual campaign along with daily leak checks by plant staffs. 一个额外的好处, 从压缩空气泄漏修复, is that the personnel in the plants are more aware of compressed air leaks and the losses associated with them, 即使是小的. 这导致了一种更积极主动的发现和修复压缩空气泄漏的文化.