The cost of compressed air (c/air) in South Africa is escalating at an alarming rate. The need for c/air treatment is also increasing as global manufacturing and quality standards are applied in our country, allowing us to compete on world markets.
Most plant managers will agree that polluted compressed air escalates the leak rates, as well as increasing downtime within a plant. Dirty air also increases pneumatically driven failure rates, let alone the issue of c/air standards in contact with food or pharmaceutical products.
Employing a knowledgeable and competent partner makes treating c/air relatively simple and straightforward. It revolves around identifying the standard treatment that is required for each plant or process. Then, a treatment chain that will provide c/air at the required standard with minimal energy wastage, the lowest system pressure drop and acceptable secondary aftercare costs must be designed and implemented.
The supply partner should at least be capable of:
* Assisting and advising on the required standard of c/air according to ISO 8573.
* Specifying the required equipment.
* Supplying the c/air treatment package if required.
* Designing the c/air piping system.
* Verifying the end result at commissioning stage.
* Monitoring the system for consistent performance.
* Providing 24/7 aftercare support.
Solution implementation
The process is not overly complicated, but surprisingly the procedure is rarely followed in South Africa. Constant loss of skilled staff, lack of supplier training and lack of planning often lead to less than satisfactory air treatment results. The selection of the supply partner is thus critical. Review the company, its capabilities and its involvement in the c/air treatment industry, and gain references from its client base. Package deals may offer a solution, however some compressor suppliers offer little in the way of aftercare support.
Once past the installation process it is vital that the c/air is permanently monitored, since equipment malfunction will quickly affect c/air quality. Once a plant is infected, e.g. with water from a faulty air drying system, it can take weeks to dry down to the correct dew point again. Filter element failure due to lack of system monitoring, or the use of look-alike products, may contaminate the compressed air distribution system with compressor oils and pollutants for the remainder of its operating life.
The CSM-2G solution
CSM-2G is a wireless-based air system monitoring solution that uses ZigBee data transmission and allows plant engineers to monitor the following on the c/air system:
* Air flow and pressure.
* Dew point.
* Oil carryover and particle counts.
* Power consumption and water flow.
* Velocity.
* Air leak losses.
The ability to expand the CSM-2G system as needs grow makes this cloud based system extremely user efficient. Software upgrades occur seamlessly and the cloud data storage ensures security and continuity. Data can be fed simultaneously to a scada system as well as to any relevant engineers via a laptop or tablet with visual layout tailored to mimic the client system. All alarm setpoints are adjustable by the user.
The CSM-2G system is manufactured by CS-iTEC and distributed by Artic Driers International, It ensures that compressed air standards are monitored and met continuously, giving plant engineers the assurance that the c/air system is meeting the required international standards and plant requirements.
For more information contact Allen Cockfield, Artic Driers, +27 (0)11 420 0270, [email protected], www.articdriers.co.za
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