Compressed Air Best Practices

A new compressed air sales and service company has opened for business in Stafford, Texas. FS-Compression Co., LLC is a direct sales and service company launched by Fusheng Group to support FS-Curtis and FS-Elliott compressed air system products for southern Texas and southwestern Louisiana.

Its simple physics that compressing air gives off heat. The heat energy is concentrated in the decreasing volume of air. To maintain proper operating temperatures, the compressor must transfer excess heat to a cooling media before the air goes out into the pipe system. As much as 90 percent of that heat can be recovered for use in your operation. If you can supplement or replace the electricity, gas or oil needed to create hot water for washrooms, or direct warm air into a workspace, warehouse, loading dock, or entryway, the savings can really add up.

While biodegradable, energy efficient, and recyclable are terms that come to mind when thinking about protecting the environment we live in today, these three terms are also, ironically, directly related to protecting a company's bottom line... profit.

A new cogeneration system installed at the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant by the LOTT (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Thurston County) Clean Water Alliance late last year uses treatment by-products as fuel to generate electricity and heat energy. This renewable energy system, combined with an aeration blower retrofit currently underway at the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, is expected to save LOTT more than $228,000 per year in utility costs.

One major problem that causes severe damage or system failure for any water treatment station is water hammer shock waves. “Water Hammer” or “Hydraulic Shock” is a pressure surge or shockwave resulting when a fluid (usually a liquid but sometimes also a gas) in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly (momentum change). The reversed momentum then continues to multiply the further it travels before being stopped.

"The Numbers Don’t Lie". It’s a popular saying everyone has heard before, applied to a variety of situations – political statistics, figures backing up an athlete’s performance and budget data.

Thirty percent is a big number. Applied to the above scenarios, it could entail a landslide victory or a hitter gaining entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But just imagine, if the manager of a wastewater treatment facility were to trim 30 percent from their operating costs, he or she might also consider that a landslide victory of their own.

In an effort to help cities, universities, customers and members of private industry improve energy efficiency and cut costs, GE (NYSE: GE) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are collaborating to identify energy savings opportunities for partners. Through New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Hospital Challenge, Continuum Health Partners’ (CHP) Roosevelt Hospital served as the first site for the ecomagination Treasure Hunt program, where opportunities for $2.1 million in energy savings with a payback of 2.6 years were identified, leading to over 7,500 metric tons of emissions reductions annually.

Did you know that wastewater contains ten times the energy needed to treat it? Located near Strass im Zillertal, the Strass wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) serves 31 communities in the Achental and Zillertal valleys east of Innsbruck, Austria. It provides wastewater treatment for a population that ranges from approximately 60,000 in the summer to 250,000 during the winter tourist season, and has treatment requirements that include organic and nitrogen removal. An energy-independent facility, the plant produces more electrical energy than it requires for its operation.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Regional Administrator, Stan Meiburg, today joined Congressman Bennie Thompson and a host of state and local officials at a news conference to announce the start of construction of a wastewater treatment system costing approximately $1 million in Bolivar County, Mississippi. Of the $1 million, Bolivar County received approximately $500,000 from EPA in addition to approximately $500,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant program.

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping utility customers benefit from saving energy and tapping renewable resources. Our services, cash incentives and energy solutions have helped participating customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save nearly $600 million on energy bills.