Introduction
As the UK’s leading healthcare waste services company, SRCL works with local and national companies to improve employee and customer safety, ensure legislative compliance and minimise the environmental impact of waste disposal.
It provides a range of services including clinical waste collection and disposal to NHS trusts, GPs, dentists, pharmaceutical manufacturers and private sector businesses with a comprehensive infrastructure of over 20 Waste-to-Energy facilities, alternative treatment plants and waste transfer stations throughout the UK and Ireland.
The challenge
Using advanced technologies, including the latest heat disinfection units and high temperature incinerators, SRCL provides compliant disposal for all types of healthcare and many hazardous waste streams.
At its incinerator facility on the Royal Bournemouth Hospital site, the company was using two compressors located in its main work area fed by two refrigerant dryers on a lower level, which was not always a reliable process.
As both sets of equipment had been in place for some time, and the dryers were frequently breaking down resulting in moisture appearing in the compressed air system, SRCL, whose waste disposal operation is heavily dependent on a reliable supply of compressed air, decided it was time they were replaced.
Results
Airchannel installed two CompAir L37F-07A air compressors with integrated refrigerant dryers, an energair control system (metacentre S2) and CompAir Owamat 12 oil and water separator to enable SRCL to start using clean and dry air with the additional benefit of reduced noise output.
Condensate is cleaned of contamination, allowing safe and legal discharge of water to foul drain in compliance with ISO14001.
The compressors’ control system uses automatic rotation on standby and therefore does not need to be manned. As well as improved operating efficiency, they are also more reliable than the company’s previous arrangement, saving SRCL a significant amount of time due to the reduction in maintenance requirements.
Conclusion
General manager at SRCL, Scott Davidson, comments on the installation: “We required a solution almost immediately to ensure our operation continued with minimum disruption. Airchannel was able to exceed our high expectations and install a fully comprehensive solution within a matter of days.
“The quality of compressed air has dramatically improved and increased the efficiency of our processes. The improvements also ensure we fully comply with the ISO14001 environmental standard.”
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Friday, 9 October 2009
Thursday, 8 October 2009
80-93% of energy used in a compressor is wasted as heat!
As much as 80-93% of the electrical energy used by an industrial compressor is converted into heat. In many cases, a properly designed heat recovery unit can recover anywhere from 50-90% of this available thermal energy and put it to useful work heating air or water.
The air entering the compressor at atmospheric pressure has a base level of energy content. After the compression process increases the air pressure and raises its temperature, energy is available for transfer. Heat must be removed to maintain the compressor tolerances and clearances, and the compressed air cooled to make it suitable for the intended use.
The heat energy is usually released to the atmosphere or the cooling water. One of the better methods for improving the overall efficiency of any compressed air system is to recover the released heat.
Typical uses for recovered heat include supplemental space heating, industrial process heating, water heating, makeup air heating and boiler makeup water preheating. Recoverable heat from a compressed air system is not, however, normally hot enough to be used to produce steam directly.
Using Imagination
In one case, a manufacturer used natural gas to heat wax used in its end product. In other case, in a food processing plant, the jacket water from an engine driven compressor liquefied chocolate and sugar. The opportunities are excellent. Use your imagination to recover air compressor heat and reap the benefits of reduced energy consumption and lower operating costs.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
October Newsletter
Airchannel is pleased to announce that the October edition of our newsletter has just been sent out. You can download a pdf version here.
If you would like to receive our newsletter direct to your inbox, register here or email us at info@airchannel.co.uk
Your Airchannel Team
If you would like to receive our newsletter direct to your inbox, register here or email us at info@airchannel.co.uk
Your Airchannel Team
Monday, 5 October 2009
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