PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 35 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 04/11 www.petpla.net Optimising compressor system design can achieve energy savings of up to 35% Design to perform ABC Compressors has been working with clients across the world to design compressor systems that save energy, reduce waste and improve productivity. Whatever an organisation’s activi- ties and whatever its size, engineers designing PET blowing lines face similar challenges in the genera- tion of high-pressure air. As the PET market has matured, plant engineers have become increasingly aware of the importance of their high pressure compressor central units, participating in and guiding selection of compres- sors for their blowing lines. Plant production and, ultimately, company profitability will be affected by their decisions. A compressor may repre- sent just 10% of overall line invest- ment but might be responsible for 50% of energy consumption during production. Operating costs over 10 years will actually be higher than the initial capital investment. Install- ing one compressor per blowing line increases overall energy consump- tion in medium to large plants by more than 10%. All of this means that energy consumption is the key param- eter to be controlled, as it represents over 80% of the compressor’s total operating cost. Different lines are frequently installed sequentially, as individual units, with each compressor designed and installed for a particular blower’s needs. ABC Compressors works on savings in compressor central units and makes recommendations to guide distribution line set-up. Coordinating the work done by all the compressors together will help to provide energy savings in a number of ways. It will minimise the number of compressors running idle and the number of start- ups. It helps to stop machines that are not required and identify which compressors should be adapted to total air demand at any time; and considers and covers possible com- pressor stoppages due to mainte- nance requirements or breakdowns. ABC Compressors maintains that the familiar picture of several compres- sors, working for one blower each, must be changed into a high pressure air production central unit, which will supply air to a complete array of blow- ers’ demands. Fig. 3: Compressor 4HP-6-LT for 6.000m 3 /h Fig. 1:Compressor package from ABC