Compressed air at a power plant finds application in coal handling, operating pneumatic instruments connected with boilers, turbines, generators, precipitators and ash handling system.

Typically, energy costs contribute to more than 75% of the total life cycle costs of a compressor. Appropriate selection of compressors will result in optimal energy utilization, thereby reducing energy costs significantly for the user.

You would find literally everything you need or did not know you needed at a supermarket. Choices of brands, products, sizes, weights, you name it! And while you find yourself spoilt for choice, there is one thing common with all these offerings and that is the packaging. Each of these products is ready and safe for use because of compressed air.

Compressed Air in Packaging Industry

As online shopping continues to rise, the packaging sector sees an expansion in its industry. Compressed air assumes a pivotal role in the manufacturing and packaging operations across various global sectors. Its applications span from cleansing, aligning, shaping, to sealing a wide array of packaging items.

Compressed Air in Food Industry

Last year, the global food packaging market crossed over US$ 302 billion in market value. Compressed air plays a vital role in safely transporting food items and other products around the factory or to their desired location, without any contamination or deterioration in quality. Compressed air is used to shape and seal cartons and boxes, manufacturing products like PET bottles and thoroughly clean all containers before they can be filled with liquids.

Oil-free compressors are indispensable in the food and beverage industry, ensuring product safety and quality by delivering contaminant-free compressed air. They are utilized for tasks like pneumatic conveying, bottling, and packaging, where maintaining a pristine and hygienic production environment is paramount.

Use of Compressed Air in Pharmaceutical Industry

In the pharma industry, oil-free compresses are used to manufacture products including pills and tablets. These tablets or pills are then safely placed in bottles, after the moisture has been removed, and then sealed airtight- maintaining the highest level of clean and sterile compressed air.

Please know more about the significance of oil free air in pharmaceutical industry.

The French fry from Belgium

So, how did the French-fry get its name? Back in the 1600s, as lore goes, villagers living in Meuse Valley, accustomed to frying and eating fish, fried potatoes as well – the same way they prepared fish. This is how the first fry is said to have been created. A few decades later, during WW1, American soldiers stationed in Belgium were introduced to the potato fry. The official language of the Belgium army at the time was French, which is why the American soldiers nicknamed the potato snack ‘french-fries.’ From then to now, this name has stuck.

The global food and grocery retail market are expected to reach USD 12.24 trillion by 2020, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 6.9%. This proposed growth will be driven by countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, China and Indonesia.

The rising population and increased affordability of premium foods and grocery products have created a need for regulatory standards. Interestingly, compressed air has become the essential power source for countless manufacturers in the food & beverage industry to maintain safety and quality while meeting the growing demands.

Air is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, less than 1% argon and contains gases like carbon dioxide, helium and neon. Each element supports numerous processes ranging from industrial to healthcare. To obtain these gases however, air needs to be separated into its primary components through a process called air separation.

Air can be separated through three processes:

1. Air Adsorption
2. Polymer Membrane
3. Cryogenic Distillation

Adsorption is a process in which atoms or molecules of gases or liquids adhere to the surface of another substance. The molecules accumulate creating a film on the surface of the solid absorbent, without entering its surface. It works like a drinking water filter where water is the adsorbate and the carbon cartridges that adsorb contaminants is the adsorbent.

This phenomenon is found in many natural physical, biological, and chemical systems and is widely used in industrial applications. In air separation, activated charcoal is coal heated to nearly 4000 C to release unwanted by-products, then ‘activated’ by exposing it to an oxidizing agent, usually steam or carbon dioxide at high temperatures that creates the essential micro porosity.

With a mission of ‘Creating Industrial Energy Savings Through Compressed Air’, the CABP magazine aggregates and presents content on methods to optimize compressed air usage, industry news, and application profiles. The conference aimed to bridge the gap between the suppliers and users of compressed air by introducing the users to best practices. The organizers hosted a fair with multiple vendor stalls and expert breakout sessions.

ELGi displayed its products with site experts engaging customers and distributors. Breakout sessions focused on customer case studies and expert recommendations. Leslie Marshall of General Mills, a large food manufacturer, spoke about the challenges of raising awareness on the true cost of compressed air leaks within a factory.

Well, it all began with the marketing of lemon juice. In the 17th century, a company sold the drink to people in Paris. Sweetened with honey, the vendors carried it in tanks and sold it in cups while wandering the streets.

A century later, there was a revolution of sorts in the beverage industry with Joseph Priestley, the multifaceted Englishman, inventing a method of producing carbonated water. He treated chalk with sulphuric acid (then known as oil of vitriol) to generate carbon dioxide. He dissolved it in a bowl of water, which he found to have a pleasant taste. Priestley’s apparatus was refined by others finally making it feasible to produce carbonated water in large quantities. Soon, juices, spices and other flavours were added to it.

In 1899, a glass blowing machine that was used to produce bottles was invented. This device allowed production of bottles (previously hand blown) to increase greatly. Cardboard cartons were invented in the 1920s and beverages started to be bottled as well. Soft drink vending machines too appeared in the same period. And later, aluminium cans came to be used. Beverages started to be bottled extensively in the early 20th century.

Pneumatic transport systems offer the advantages of ease of handling and dust-free solutions. Any dry solid that does not tend to stick can be transported using a gas or air. The temperature hardly rises, maybe by 5 degrees Celsius, and so even sensitive materials such as food and medicines can be transported. Typically, the solid is transported as a ‘dilute phase’ at high air or gas speeds of 20 to 30 metres per second. In such an application, most of the energy is spent moving the air itself, which makes it not very energy efficient.

Following the invention of steam engines, they became a popular method to power air compressors. Subsequently, Internal Combustion (IC) engines began to be used as a power source for operating reciprocating air compressors. Later, as larger industries were established, they demanded more efficient compressors capable of running with minimal maintenance and for longer periods. A rotary air compressor was the answer. Both these types of compressors continued to evolve over time and today, they are both highly efficient and technologically well advanced. Conventional reciprocating air compressors though have certain innate limitations; most notable being that the oil used for lubrication is carried along with the compressed air. Filtering removes much of the oil but not all of it. For example; pre-filters, high efficiency coalescing filters and activated carbon filters remove trapped oil to a great extent.