4- Waste of the compressed air installation should be measured
Our planet is being combusted with waste. Alot of new rules and legislation is being introduced in various areas, such as ban of plastic bags, plastic plates, knifes and forks, straws, recycling of plastic PET bottles, .. All good initiatives ! It all helps to reduce waste !
What can we do in the Air Compressor business ?
Also in the Air Compressor business, different Air Compressors do have differences in disposal of waste !
The waste possible is :
- Oil for the mechanical lubrication
- Oil injected into the compressor chamber for sealing, lubrication and cooling
- Oil-separator elements
- Oil-filter elements
- Oil disposal from Oil-injected compressors
- Oil disposal from mechanical lubrication
- Air intake filter elements
- Dust filters
- Oil-contaminating condensate
- Clean condensate
- Oil filters for oillubricating circuit
- Other filter elements
- Uncontrolled Oil disposal from compressed air
- Packaging materials of consumables spares
- Failed electronic components
- Repair of core components (compressor blocks, gears, bearings,...)
- Seals durign maintenance and repair
- Disposal of the complete compressor
I am sure that I have not found all the waste, but it is a good collection of the possible waste during the lifetime of the compressor. I have not included the auxialliaries yet.
Important to know is the frequency of the disposal and the amount.
My believe that all compressors should be Oil-free compressors, is based on the amount of waste being produced. The difference between an Oil-free and an Oil-injected compressor is the amount of waste being produced.
The Oil-injected air-compressors are "cheap" to buy, but produce an enormous amount of waste during its lifetime. On top, the lifetime of the Oil-injected compressors, mainly Oil-injected screw compressors, is shorter than an Oil-free compressor.
The Oil-injected compressor has, on top of the needed filters for all compressors (Air Intake filters), additionally the Oil-injection related waste. Oil-injected related waste is for example the vast amount of Oil which needs to be replaced every 2000-4000 hrs, the Oil-separator elements, the oil-filters, the Oil contaminated condensate. Last but not least, the air when leaving the compressor, still contaminates, in best case, 2-10ppm of oil. This oil is being released in the environment in an uncontrolled way. At the location of usage, the Oil is being released in the form of gas, aerosol or droplets. Although the concentration is low, when calculating the total amount of compressed air being released on earth, the amount of oil released exceed a large vessel with oil !
Striving for a sustainable Compressed Air installation, the Oil-free concept is an absolute must.
VISION AND BELIEVES
4- Waste of the compressed air installation should be measured
No comments posted...