On request of Akzo Nobel Dynamo Project Team we ve surveyed the energy efficiency of the compressed air system in the Barcelona Deco & A/AS plant.

Transcription

1 Postbus AB Swalmen (NL) Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes S.L./Coatings S.L. Att. Mr. Cesar Franch Tel. +31(0) Fax +31(0) e.mail website Our ref. Date December 6, 2013 Dear Mr. Franch, On request of Akzo Nobel Dynamo Project Team we ve surveyed the energy efficiency of the compressed air system in the Barcelona Deco & A/AS plant. The report contains: - comments and advise concerning the compressor installation - comments and advise concerning compressed air usage in the factory. 1. Compressor installation The site has 3 (actually 4) compressor stations, excluding the nitrogen generators Compressor station building 2 GA55 FF, 55 kw compressor with integrated air dryer. No filters installed. The compressor runs approx. 20% of its time. Based on the number of start the conclusion is justified this compressor is running inefficient. Working hours loaded 17,311 hours Working hours unloaded 44,796 hours Number of starts 162,147 The air is guided into the air mains without further filtration. This is remarkable, because the other compressor station has filters installed to remove oil and dirt particles up to 0.01 micron. There s no logic in this. Have line filter CLEARPOINT model M020FWT, 1 micron installed equipped with proper capacitive drain trap, model BEKOMAT 20FM, at the outlet side of the compressor.

2 Drainage compressor It s unclear what type of drains are installed on the compressor/dryer combination. Have the drains checked and when float or time set solenoid valves are used have them replaced for capacitive drain trap, model BEKOMAT 32. Install the drain outside the compressor to enable easy checking during check rounds Drainage air receiver The drain under the air receiver tank is faulty installed and will never work. Use the bottom inlet of the drain for condensate Drainage and install a ½ balance pipe from the top of the drain connected back into the air receiver Compressor station building 29(!?) Drains on compressors (I)1 unit GA55-55 kw compressor and (II) 1 unit GA50VSD. The compressed air flows as follows: (a)wet storage tank > (b) DD500F inlet filter > (c) FD300 refrigeration dryer > (d) PD500 outlet filter. Ad. I & Ad II The drain at the after cooler Float type?), installed inside the compressor got stuck and was bleeding permanent air. This can only be noticed when the discharge hose is removed. At a pressure of 6 bar a constant flow is wasted and is very difficult to notice, because of the noisy circumstances inside the compressor station. Discharge through small diameter PU hose is not advised. It could even lead to emulsification of the condensate. Remove the present drain (float) for a capacitive sensor drain trap model BEKOMAT 32 ref Price. 189,00 and install the drain outside the compressor. This will make checking the drains more easy. Connect the condensate drain outlet to the existing condensate pipe installed at the wall. Use wide diameter flex hose for discharging to remove the condensate as quick as possible.

3 Drains on air receiver tank, dryer and filters The drain under the tank has a strainer installed at the inlet. This strainer might cause a P in the drain in will disturb reliable working. The balance hose on the top, guiding back into the air receiver tank is rather small in diameter. Remove the strainer at the inlet of the drain and ensure a free flow of condensate into the drain. Enlarge the venting hose equal to the connection diameter of the drain. The drain under DD500F filter is faulty and requires maintenance. The oil contaminated condensate will not be removed from the filter house an lead into the refrigeration dryer, resulting in a poor working dryer. Service the faulty condensate drain by using a service Kit for BEKOMAT 12 ref. no Price. 61,00 The drain at the dryer is faulty installed and cannot work properly. The drain should be mounted to the dryer and the condensate should have a free flow into the drain. Condensate inlet ½ will ensure that all condensate is swift removed from the dryer. Mount the drain direct under the cyclone inside the dryer. It s even better when the drain is installed outside the dryer and the condensate is guided into the drain with a ½ pipe or hose into the drain. Ensure that no float is installed inside the present cyclone. If so, remove the float! There s a manual drain installed under the PD500 filter. This filter 0.01 micron will remove the oil from the air and it s crucial to have a proper working drain installed. When opening the manual drain, greasy water was removed, collected from the clean side of the filter element.

4 Install a BEKOMAT 20FM incl. filter mgt, ref Price.. 231,00 The space under both line filter housings is not enough to have the filter element replaced. How is this done when servicing the filters? dew point control after FD300 dryer Measured the compressed air at the outlet of the FD300 refrigeration dryer (in accordance with ISO , class 1-4-1). Values measured on 20/11/2013: Temperature gas flow 14.1 C Pressure 5,99 barg Pressure dew point 5,1 Cdp Relative humidity 54.56% By improving the drainage in the compressor system the dryer might drop the pressure dew point further down. In other AKZO NOBEL factories we ve seen in similar production sites adsorption dryers installed pressure dew point -40 Cpdp. It appears there s no clear air class defined for the various production lines. It would be very helpful when ISO standard is defined for the various production processes Oil-/water separators All condensate is guided into the oil-/water separator installed outside the compressor station. The condition of this oil-/water separator is poor. At the clean side of the separator a lot of oil was found. The infrastructure for guiding condensate from after coolers, dryer, air receiver tank and filters is suitable for the job, only the separator is not working. Have the oil-/water separator proper serviced and cleaned. Alternatively install la new separator which is more effective and efficient. Advise to install an Öwamat 15 with pre separation tank - ref. no Price ,00. After separation all condensate can be drained into the sewage water system, without further treatment. Have the oil-/water separator in compressor room 2 replaced by an Öwamat 14 with pre separation tank - ref. no Price ,00. After separation all condensate can be drained into the sewage water system, without further treatment.

5 2. Location Air tank Site 23/46 The compressed air used for the silos should be very dry (air standard ISO , class 1-3-1). Values measured of the compressed air used for powder transport on 19/11/2013 at AM: Temperature gas flow 12.8 C Pressure 5,74 barg Pressure dew point 9,5 Cdp Relative humidity 80% The relative humidity is much too high (should be <40%) and is responsible for causing problems with the powder transport. Very dry air is required, but very wet air is used. Result; problems in powder transport. The irony is that adjustments were made in the powder transport pipe to add more compressed air to improve the flow of powder. Result; adding more wet air into the silos and wasting huge amounts of compressed air. Adjustment in powder transport pipe, and many more The same wet air is guided to a separate small desiccant dryer for the monomer tanks (23/46). When checking the drainage on the inlet filter oil was discharged indicating the drain is not working properly. When oil has entered the desiccant dryer, the hydroscopic desiccant will be sealed and the dryer will not work properly anymore. Advise The air used for the monomer tank should have same quality as for powder transport. When the air on this location is central dried, filtered and stored in a dry buffer tank, both locations can be serviced and the present dryer can be removed. To determine the correct equipment the air consumption it s advised to measure the flow at site and have a proper dryer installed at point of use, in line with the defined ISO class The air receiver tank (location GE) was filled with condensate because of the faulty drain trap. The ball valve at the drain pipe was closed and when opened, for approx. 10 minutes a large flow of condensate was discharged. Advise Have the drain repaired/replaced. In case of replacing a similar model BEKOMAT 12 can be used order ref Price. 300,00. For repairs it might be necessary to have the PCB and complete valve unit replaced. 3. Measuring compressed air Ingersoll Rand and Atlas Copco have measured the compressed air flow (power conversion) of their compressors. IR measured their 2 units 160 kw compressors in the DECO plant and AC measured the flow in A & AS (2 x GA55 and 1 unit GA50-VSD).

6 Both suppliers focused only on the present situation and no comments were made about optimization, e.g. leakage reduction. Remarkable, because AC has issued a kind of leakage survey before. Leakage repairs and optimization will have its effect on the total air consumption. AC advised to replace a 55 kw compressor for a 75 kw VSD unit. Given the circumstances and situation found, I recommend to do optimization first, before investing in new equipment. Based on the measuring results and the air waste found at present (leakage and abuse) I advise to determine the net total air consumption of both factories by taking following steps first: - Measuring air flow at the outlet of the 3 compressor stations = flow meter - Have all leakages repaired - Eliminate the abuse of compressed air - Measure air flow again during representative period Taking the measuring reports of AC and IR in consideration it might be feasible that both plants can run on 1 unit 160 kw compressor, supported by a (present) 50 or 55 kw compressor. The existing pressure tanks can work as air buffers. Both plants can be connected by extending the air mains from DECO to A & AS. Advantages: - Closing 1 compressor station (2 compressors, dryer, filters, etc ) - Central production of compressed air - Central monitoring of compressed air 4. Improvement production Building no. 2 some examples Couplings/hose connections are leak sensitive and the used quick couplings are not safe. Extended long air hoses are causing unnecessary P. At various locations a collection of couplings, piping, etc was knitted together, causing leakage and potential unsafe situations.

7 E.g. a flex hose was connected to pump (Cowles) in front of fork lift unit. Leakages inside control panel. Reorganize all connections by using proper set up connecting points, use only safety quick couplings. Remove regulators where not necessary and make sure all connections are guided direct in an air supply Building no. 14B The vacuum unit of the parcel lifter is permanent blowing air. Difficult to close, because ball valve is hidden under the platform. Compressed air is blowing through a 6 mm hose. Reorganize all connections by using proper set up connectionpoints, use only safety quick couplings Building no. 14 A Air supply by flex hoses coming from air mains in building 14 B and guided though the wall and over cable gutters using a lot of quick connectors. It appears the installation is temporary, which is not the case. Install a decent air mains with sufficient connection points for air users. Use safety quick couplings in case flexible hoses are needed.

8 Building no. 13 Air suction valves on the hoses are permanent opened, wasting a lot of energy Investigate of smart control valves can be automatically switched off when not in use. 5. Compressor station for test spray booth In a separate room an Atlas Copco screw compressor model SE11FF is installed including a Atlas Copco adsorption dryer model CD17. This compressor is only installed for feeding the test spray booths in building 13. The adsorption dryer was switched off (ball valve closed), because is using on a permanent base too much purge air. Checking the running hours we found: Number of starts Running hours Working hours Conclusion: This compressor is hardly in use and will never come to proper working conditions. The dryer is switched off while the compressed air quality should be very dry class 1. Have the compressed air for the spray booths dried at point of use (inlet test installation). Air can be taken from the air mains and dried at the point of use up to e.g. class The compressor and dryer can be removed, will be obsolete. The air receiver tank in the test area can work as air buffer. In case the present pressure of 8 bar is required a small booster can be installed at the inlet of the point of use membrane dryer. An example to get an idea about the investment for such point of use dryer, incl. filters: 3 spray guns(nozzle diameter 3 mm) Air consumption 320 L/min Utilization rate 60% Air demand/min 576 l/min. Investment ~ Maintenance costs approx.. 250,00/year Air quality ISO Class RH compressed air 5,4%

9 Upon request we ll provide a detailed proposal for completing the survey. 6. Compressor station DECO The compressor installation in DECO is new and in general the condition is good Outlet compressor there s a water separator installed with inside a float valve condensate drain. The estimated annual amount of condensate by this compressor is around 70,000 liters and should be removed a.s.a.p. Have the float removed and a BEKOMAT 13 installed ref , Price. 431,00. Use for condensate discharge a large discharge tube to ensure fast removal from the separator and have the condensate guided into the collecting pipe heading for the oil-/water separator The drain under the air receiver tank is a float type drain and sensitive for clogging and/or bleeding air. Have the float drain removed and a BEKOMAT 13 installed ref , Price. 431,00. Use for condensate discharge a large discharge tube to ensure fast removal from the separator and have the condensate guided into the collecting pipe heading for the oil-/water separator Objective in flow management to disturb the laminar flow to the Minimum. In this case the filter should have been installed in the main line and the by-pass making a U-connection. It s most unlikely this will be modified, but should be considered for future purposes Dew point control Checked the pressure dew point in Building 60 Location Let down and measured very acceptable values (21/11/2013 in the morning): Temperature gas flow 20.1 C Pressure 5,7 barg Pressure dew point 0.7 Cpdp Relative humidity 27.46%

10 I trust this report will provide more insight knowledge about the present system and I m at your disposal for any further questions. Awaiting your reply at your earliest convenience. With kindest regards, ANTS Technology & Consulting BV Norbert Rozemeijer