ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Air compressors form an important part of a plant’s infrastructure, which is why it is important they run efficiently.

Is that hissing noise the sound of money going up in smoke?

An air audit of your air compressor systems could save you a lot of money. Food & Beverage Industry News talks to ELGi’s Greg Gillespie.

One thing that never fails to amaze Greg Gillespie is the amount of times he walks into a manufacturing or processing plant and hears hissing. It immediately tells him that they are running an air compressor or a bank of air compressors. It also tells him that the company is throwing money down the drain. That hissing sound is either one, or a series of leaks, coming from the compressed air system.

Gillespie, who is the national sales manager for air compressor manufacturer ELGi, said that in some cases companies are literally throwing thousands of dollars down the drain every year. Not only that, but when he hears that tell-tale sign of hissing, he knows that doesn’t include the ones he can’t hear.

“I’ve walked into a lot of different places – and to be fair my ear is tuned for it – and I immediately hear all the air leaks,” he said. “And I’ll say to the person on site, ‘you’ve got a few air leaks’. They generally reply, ‘no we don’t’. They don’t hear them because it is background noise to them.”

What he encourages people to do is stay back for five minutes after the work day when everything is quiet. He’s confident that they will then hear the noise.

“And the thing is, if you can hear an air leak, it’s a large one. There will be quite a few air leaks you’ll never hear without ultrasonic equipment, especially if they are inside a piece of equipment,” he said.

Gillespie said the culprits in these leaks are usually the same range of suspects – hose clamp connections, seals failing, and worn fittings. And he’s not saying that maintenance managers have to fix them all at once. He knows that, especially in the some of the bigger food and beverage manufacturing and process plants, it can be a big job. A maintenance plan is needed and such a plan is not something whereby a leak is fixed once and then forgotten about. It will depend on the size of the factory and plant and how many compressors are working. He acknowledges it would be a big task to do it all in one go, so maintenance managers would set about a plan to go and rectify the leaks starting with the biggest one first. Then they would just do a constant, weekly check. But what is the cost?

“If someone has an air audit done then they start to realise that ‘holy heck, we’re leaking thousands of dollar per annum’,” he said. “The more plant and machinery you have in place, the more the leaks are going to cost your bottom line.

“If you have a small place with a 2.2kW compressor, then that cost isn’t going to be that high. But if it is a larger factory with 100kW of installed compressor power, then it will cost a lot.

“I know of a place that has three 55kW machines. One of those 55kW machines pretty much services air leaks. If they fixed their air leaks they can turn one of their compressors off. Do the maths of 55kW of power running all day. They operate 24/7 – not at full capacity – but they are aware of it. I’m sure if you put all the numbers down in front of the people running the place, suddenly it wouldn’t be too hard to fix.”

Education is also a key ingredient. A lot of places he visits think the air is free. Quite often Gillespie will see people “sweeping” the floor with an air gun. It’s convenient, it’s quick, but it does come at a cost.

“Some think it is quicker doing it that way because it reduces the labour cost involved,” he said. “I

routinely see people cleaning down their areas using air. It’s not a safe practice to do it.”

But what causes the leaks in the first place? The leak itself is being caused by faulty equipment, but what caused that equipment to become faulty in the first place? Gillespie believes that not only does the factory need the right air compressor for the right job, but it is also the type of air distribution network that is being used that can be a problem. This includes not only the size of the pipe that is distributing the air, but what it is made out of, too.

“I talk to people about becoming efficient, which starts with the right compressor and the right distribution network,” he said. “That is where things like the pipe size, pipe type (poly, aluminium, copper) and how you articulate it comes into play.”

A good distribution system will be one that will be less likely to leak over time – what sort of pipe and the distance over which it is set up are important considerations to limit pressure losses.

“The type of pipe is important because with some piping temperature changes can cause it to expand and contract, and start to bend and twist, so I much prefer people investing in rigid pipe,” said Gillespie. “Depending on the type of rigid pipe system you go for – if you go for something like a braised copper, or stainless steel or even

An air audit will tell users where leaks are occurring.

aluminium/copper pipe with fittings – these are going to be less leaks than some other methods.”

If it is the wrong size pipe it will put unnecessary load on the compressor under pressure, which can induce something called artificial demand. This can be magnified if there are multiple compressors in the system, which can be very costly, he said. Gillespie also pointed out that there are also

Seals failing and worn fittings are the usual culprits when it comes to air leaks.

lots of government grants that can help companies become more energy efficient. They change on a regular basis. At the moment there is grant that finished recently that was available for companies that were replacing existing equipment with more efficient equipment with variable speed drives.

“I helped a customer do that and they got nearly 50 per cent of the price of the compressor rebated,” he said. “There is another grant available at the moment which is up to $5,000 rebate for people to put permanent monitoring equipment in to their plant so they can monitor the efficiencies of their compressed air system. Compressed air systems account for about 30 per cent of all industrial power.”

As part of the government’s push to increase energy savings and reduce emissions, they are encouraging industry to work in a more economical way and an area to do that is air compressors, said Gillespie. A lot of people think these things revolve around lighting and solar power. However, quite often there are grants going around to make more efficient compressed air systems.

For the bigger companies that are setting up a new system or refurbishing an older system, Gillespie said putting some budget aside for a monitoring system is also a good idea.

“I have a company I’m dealing with at the moment and they are going to need about 300kW of power. It’s going to be a couple of hundred thousand dollars’ worth of equipment and I’m putting monitoring equipment in my quote – $6,000 worth. To me, it would be absolutely crazy not to do it. The advantages are a no brainer on a system that size.”

Gillespie also cautions against overthinking too much about what to do. An air audit is a simple thing to do and that will give a clearer indication of what a company’s needs are and how they can be remedied.

“I would try not to oversell it because sometimes you can take somebody down that rabbit hole and they can become overwhelmed because they have been inundated with the information and data,” he said.

“You have to find that balance. There are instances where you might spend $10,000 to modify pipework and save yourself $1,000. There’s no payback.”

There are lots of things going on with flow and thermodynamics, you could easily make someone’s head spin.

“At the end of the day, a well-designed and maintained compressed air system is going to be more efficient. And that will save money every day of operation.” F

Bespoke flooring solutions available for small and large beverage plants

Roxset doesn’t make a one-size-fits-all flooring for beverage plants. The company will find out the exact needs and find a solution that fits. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.

Food hygiene and safety are critical in an industry where traceability is a key plank on which some brands live or die. And it’s just not the source of the product where traceability comes into its own, there are the processing aspects, too.

Australian food and beverage manufacturing and processing have a good worldwide reputation when it comes to the quality of its processing plants. As well as having high-end technologies, the country’s safety and hygiene standards are up there with the best in the world. There is a reason the rest of the world covets produce made on these shores.

This reputation doesn’t come by accident. It is due to diligent, and sometimes overbearing government standards and regulations that make Australian-made food and beverages popular around the globe.

It is also due to the commitment by service providers who build the plant and machinery that make up this important primary industry.

Flooring is a key component of any food or beverage plant, but it’s not just a case of laying a concrete slab and hoping for the best. There are many considerations that need taking into account.

“First, the flooring, will have to be safe underfoot,” said Tony Miller, who is director of flooring specialist, Roxset. “In other words it has to be a finish that’s slip resistant.

“Second, it needs to be graded to floor waste because they’ll have a lot of liquids about, not only during the cleaning process, but for general processing, too.

“Third, the floor should conform to Food Safe Australia regulations. From the point of view it needs to be seamless, impervious, and have a radius cove at the floor wall intersection.

“Finally, there is the aspect of cleaning depending on what sort of chemicals they use. If they use a CIP, or caustic solution for cleaning, then they need a floor that doesn’t wear away.”

Miller has been in the flooring business for 35 years and knows the pitfalls that customers – especially those who are starting on their manufacturing and processing journey – can fall into if they don’t get the right type of flooring in place. When Roxset first visits clients, usually there is a general awareness about the regulations and standards that need to be met, but it still pays to get expert advice.

“Not only is there an expectation

from regulators that standards are met, but end-users and customers – the like of Coles and Woolworths – that are going to buy a product from a particular beverage manufacturer might send in their own auditors. They will come in and make sure these standards are being met. They will also have an audit trail, which goes through and looks at all aspects of what the manufacturer is doing and they would expect it to meet and certain standard. If it doesn’t, they are not likely to buy it.”

Traceability is where the audit trail comes in. According to Miller, these companies would expect manufacturers to be able to demonstrate that they have followed procedures and at various demarcation points it has been signed off.

“There may be a recording made of things like temperatures and bacteria counts and all sorts of things could be incorporated into the audit trail,” he said. “And that is where a HACCP system is good. It details the various aspects of an audit that need to be met so that management has a guideline and something to follow.”

While the type of flooring that Roxset produces is top-end, it is the outcome that is important. Miller knows that when it comes to building a plant that is up to state or federal standards then it is the whole package that is important – and that can come at a cost.

“Every aspect of the building is going to be expensive, but they are upfront costs,” he said. “You can’t operate a business without drainage, without proper equipment and it just falls into that category. You can’t be expected to run a business without proper ceiling, wall and floor finishes.”

When it comes to beverage manufacturing such as boutique breweries and distilleries, Miller not only can supply the right type of floor for the environment, but also give advice on how to make it last as long as possible.

“In beverage manufacturing, we have a client whose floor we laid over 20 years ago and they have never had to replace it,” he said. “It comes down to a couple of things. One is maintenance – if they are using the correct cleaning procedures and are maintaining the floor correctly, the floor will last a lot longer. If they are abusing the floor, and they do have to drive traffic on it and people

"In beverage manufacturing, we have a client whose floor we laid over 20 years ago and they have never had to replace it... It comes down to a couple of things.

One is maintenance – if they are using the correct cleaning procedures and are maintaining the floor correctly, the floor will last a lot longer. If they are abusing the floor, and they do have to drive traffic on it and people are wilful in their actions, of course they can damage it."

are wilful in their actions, of course they can damage it.”

In a working environment like a beverage manufacturing place, Miller recommends the epoxy floor be a minimum of 6mm in depth, and that will give users in excess of 20 years of life. Roxset also puts an extensive warranty on it that can range from about seven to 10 years depending on what it assesses the activity is occurring on the floor and the state of the existing building. Miller also said that the type of surface that the floor is going to be is something Roxset can design for the customer. Roxset tailors the slip-resistance of that floor to meet the requirement of the individual customer.

“For example, if someone is involved in completely dry production then they don’t need the same level of slip-resistance as some of them where there is a lot of liquid on the floor ,” he said. “If you don’t have a sufficient slip-resistant medium on the floor, and you’ve got something like a banana skin on it, you are going to have a problem.”

Roxset specialises in epoxy finishes, which look smooth and easy to clean. Is that the reality?

“Epoxy is very easy to clean,” said Miller. “Inherent in a slip-resistant finish is the fact is what you need to do the requirement of how you clean the surface as opposed to something that is completely smooth. It is not something you are going to go around with a mop and bucket and mop. That is not compatible with a slip-resistant surface. Captivating scrubbing is.”

One thing that Miller is keen to push is that Roxset is not a company that’s products are a one-size fits all. It designs bespoke floors for a range of different environments in the food and beverage industry.

“We’re not an off-the-shelf product,” said Miller. “What we are doing is tailoring the floor in situ to meet their individual requirements. They are bespoke solutions.

“What we decided to do was make our own product to suit the requirement that we see in the individual operation depending on what they are doing. We look at what liquids might go on the floor; what contaminant might go on the floor; and what chemicals might go on the floor. We design to their circumstance so they are getting the best possible for finish for their particular requirement rather than give them a generic product that might not suit what they are doing.”

Miller said it is important to differentiate between different types of flooring because the requirements for say, an abattoir over a gin distillery, are far apart – different chemicals are needed.

“If it is a lamb abattoir for instance, they can have solid particles of fat on a floor,” he said. “Well, if you don’t have a certain degree of non-slip there, you are going to have major problem. There is going to be a lot of blood going on the floor.

“However, in a beverage manufacturer, it may be just constituent parts of whatever the product they are making. It might have high sugar content but it hasn’t got any fat, so the slip resistance doesn’t need to be to the same extent. That is why we tailor the floor to meet the expectation.”

Finally, Miller said if customers were to remember one thing when putting down a new floor, it’s this: “It needs to reach a certain standard from the point of view of beverage safety, which in other words it can’t harbour bacteria. That practically means it needs to be impervious, which is what we offer.” F