ANSWER: When you compress air it is a physical change, not a chemical change. So it is still 16% oxygen, 1% hydrogen, and 78% nitrogen. There is not a chemical formula for compressed air.
By Kurt Lang on February 3rd, 2012 in Newsletter Articles.
Air for Sale
Compressed air is industry’s fourth utility. Along with electricity, water and natural gas, compressed air is a resource that powers everything from handheld pneumatic tools to plantwide manufacturing systems. Most plants produce their own compressed air. Many, however, are treating compressed air like they would any other utility. They purchase compressed air, not compressed air equipment.
In simple terms, a third-party supplier produces compressed air on a user’s site and the user agrees to purchase the quantity and quality of compressed air required. A pioneer and one of the largest suppliers of air compressors in the United States is DirectAIR®, a division of Air Technologies (www.DirectAIR .com).
“In 1993, Air Technologies sold 20 compressors to a major gas utility company for filling their CNG vehicles, and we were responsible for maintaining the compressors,” explains Steve Schoeny, corporate utility services manager for Air Technologies. “They had PLCs that sent an alarm to a technician’s pager if a problem was brewing. When there was an alarm, a technician drove to the site, which could be hours away, to address the issue. Too often he’d drive all the way just to hit a reset button.”
“We have some very smart folks in-house who knew our machinery and could write software code,” Schoeny adds. “They designed and produced a control system to run compressors unattended 24/7 and to monitor them remotely. Just like that, we had something special.”
Air Technologies was already applying this remote capability for the utility company when it got a call from another business in Ohio. “A steel mill was shutting down one of its power houses,” Schoeny says. “They asked if we could supply them with compressed air – not air compressors, just compressed air.”
Building on the success of the steel mill installation, Schoeny’s team developed the concept into a separate business that evolved into DirectAIR®. It now operates 27 air-as-a-utility sites in the United States, mainly in the Midwest and Northeast.
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By Kurt Lang on March 6th, 2009 in Newsletter Articles.
PAY AS YOU SAVE!
ManagAIR® has been the #1 energy saving controls for compressed air systems for the past 14 years. It’s a unique computerized system developed by Air Technologies® that efficiently monitors and controls your compressed air system 24 hours per day. Industrial plants can spend thousands of dollars each year on the energy that powers their compressed air systems. This energy represents approximately 75% of the total cost of compressed air, according to the Industrial Efficiency Alliance (IEA).
ManagAIR can save you up to 35% on your compressed air energy costs!
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By Kurt Lang on March 6th, 2009 in Newsletter Articles.
