Technology

SupremeX, a Canadian based envelope and packaging manufacturer, with 11 facilities across six provinces, as well as five facilities in the United States, recently upgraded the vacuum system in their Winnipeg based plant. This article discusses the system before and after the changes, and the significant energy savings, plus improved system reliability that resulted. The company also captured a significant utility incentive to help with the cost of a new cutting-edge variable speed vacuum pump.

Positive Displacement (PD) blowers have been a workhorse for wastewater treatment for over 150 years. They are robust and simple to operate. They are often the first choice for small facilities and for applications with wide variations in discharge pressure. When combined with variable frequency drives (VFDs) they provide operational flexibility in flowrate across a wide range of discharge pressures.

Single-stage centrifugal blowers are a proven technology that have been around for many years and will probably be here for many years to come. A well maintained machine can last for decades and will likely outlast its original control system. Even if the control system is still in good working order the components might already be end of life and hard to replace if any of them fail. If you are thinking about modernizing the hardware (PLC / HMI / Instruments) this is also a great opportunity to make the system a little smarter and user friendly. 

Vacuuming fresh food using chamber machines is often a daily activity in butcher shops, at fresh food counters for meat, sausage, and cheese products, as well as in the foodservice industry. All fresh foods contain more or less unbound water, which partially evaporates during vacuum packaging. This can influence the quality of the product. Furthermore, if the packaging machine is not permanently in operation, the packaging result may deteriorate, or the packaging process may take too long.

One definition of “calibrate” is “to determine, rectify, or mark the graduations of something”. An ammeter is an instrument for measuring electric current. Therefore the simple definition of a calibrated ammeter is a current measuring device marked with units of measure, presumably amperes. In the blower industry, however, the term has developed a specific meaning. A calibrated ammeter is an instrument that measures a blower motor’s current draw and converts the measurement to a display of blower airflow rate. 
 

The 2022 AISTech Conference and Exposition was held May 16-18 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the conference and exposition’s most successful year yet with more than 8,000 attendees. The event featured 300+ technical presentations and 500+ exhibitors, featuring the latest technologies in iron- and steelmaking from all over the world. AISTech 2022 also gave away a brand new, fully loaded, 2022 Chevy Silverado Truck to one lucky attendee. Both Blower & Vacuum Best Practices and Compressed Air Best Practices Magazines were pleased to be in the literature bins. 

The basic function of vacuum degassing is to remove the vaporized gas and moisture from the extruded material. During the extrusion process, as raw materials melt under heat and pressure inside the extruder. The polymer chains and chemical compositions are going through changes, and a variety of gases are released.

More than 300 million tons of plastic is produced every year, and much of it ends up causing environmental problems. In response to these challenges, there are widespread global efforts to increase recycling capacity and innovate for more efficient and effective recycling solutions. Vacuum plays a critical role in achieving these improvements.

The plant recorded another win in its long list of accomplishments when it replaced aging multistage blowers with high-speed integrally geared blowers in 2020. The new blowers with Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) control are credited with a 40% reduction in energy consumption for aeration. This results in an annual savings of $35,000. The blower upgrade, which also helps protect the safety of employees, is expected to deliver a payback of less than five years.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) released their Wire-to-Air Performance Test Code for Blower Systems in 2018. Designated PTC 13-2018, it has rapidly become a standard for inclusion in blower specifications.